Hiroshi Uji-i is a professor in the Research Institute for Electronic Science at Hokkaido Universityin Japan where he has been a faculty member since July, 2015.  He also serves as a research professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Leuven in Belgium.  

His research interests lie in establishment of a methodology for investigation and manipulation of molecules, with a focus on nanomaterials and nanoscopy.  This project just has launched at the University of Hokkaido since his arrival to Japan in 2015.  In Belgium, he leads a group of approximately ten scientists at the Laboratory for Photochemisty and Spectroscopy in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Leuven.  His research group focuses on fundamental studies and applications of plasmonics on photochemistry and photophysics regarding plasmon waveguiding, single-molecule studies, plasmon-enhanced photocatalysis and drug delivery system based on plasmonic structures.

He was awarded with European Research Council in 2011 and JST PRESTO research fellowship in 2010.  His scientific achievements are greatly appreciated in many fields and funded by various organizations around the world.

Hiroshi completed his Ph.D. at Tohoku University and his undergraduate studies at Osaka University.  He has spent 16 years in Europe devoting to innovation of scientific researches collaborating with other internationally acclaimed scientists.  He travels between Japan and Belgium frequently as a head of the research groups in both countries.  

Hiroshi is a dedicated educator as well as a compassionate mentor.  His passion is not limited in science but also in music.  He was a member of a rock band, which he played the guitar with and threw a number of concerts for its fans.  Although he no longer plays the guitar in a band, he keeps impressing us with numerous scientific discoveries instead.