OPTO Symposium on Photon and Beam Science

Announcement of the “Joint Symposium on Optical and Quantum Beam Science 2026”

The Joint Symposium on Optical and Quantum Beam Science 2026 (OPTO2026) was held on June 15–16, 2026, at the Kansai Institute for Photon Quantum Science of the National Institute for Quantum Science and Technology (QST).

OPTO Symposium has been jointly organized since 2017 by the Institute of Laser Science at The University of Osaka and Kansai Institute for Photon Science (KPSI), National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), with the aim of further strengthening the collaboration between the two institutions and accelerating research and development in the fields of optical and quantum beam science. This year, OPTO symposium was held at the Kansai Institute for Photon Science (KPSI), National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST). A large number of participants from across the country attended, bringing the total number of attendees to 178.

The lecture sessions featured eight oral presentations spanning a wide range of fields.
On the first day, topics included laser-driven ion sources, analytical techniques for laser-driven ion measurements using CR-39, and a new ion acceleration mechanism employing the LFEX laser. On the second day, presentations covered materials informatics and its application to fusion reactor materials, research toward laser fusion propulsion rockets, the potential of laser-based remote sensing in agriculture, laser-based quantum control, and soft X-ray generation via laser harmonics. The wide range of topics presented in the oral sessions highlighted how high-power laser applications are spreading across diverse fields. A final report on the Power Laser DX Platform was also presented. At the Power Laser Community Meeting, coordinated by Dr. Hajima, Department head of QST, Prof. Kodama, Director of ILE, U Osaka, presented the Roadmap 2026, which prompted researchers from a wide range of fields, including laser science and plasma physics, to share their views on the future direction of high-power laser development.

The poster session featured as many as 150 presentations, including reports on collaborative research outcomes and original findings by early-career researchers, and active discussions were held. Attendees also had the opportunity to reconnect with colleagues they had not seen in a long time, and the session was well attended and enjoyed by all.

The Osaka University Kondo Prize ceremony was held during the symposium. Certificates and commemorative prizes were awarded to the winners of Research Paper Award for Start-Up Researchers and Research Paper Award for Early-Career Researchers, and each awardee delivered a commemorative lecture. In the poster session, two young researchers were selected for the Best Poster Prize. We look forward to seeing these young researchers continue to make progress in their work.

Program

*Click here for the OPTO2026 Symposium program　 Program 

Monday, June 15

○ Lecture 1: Sakaki Hironao (KPSI, QST)

  Development and Future Prospects of a Laser-Driven Ion Injector

○ Presentation 2: Kanasaki Masato (Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe U)

  Identification of laser-accelerated quasi-monoenergetic 100 MeV protons using solid state nuclear track detectors

○ Presentation 3: Wei Tianyun (KPSI, QST)

  An Alternative Mechanism for Monoenergetic Ion Acceleration with High-Power Picosecond Lasers — Boosted Coulomb   Explosion —

 ○ Report on the Roadmap 2026

Tuesday, June 16

○ Lecture 4: Harashima Yosuke (NAIST)

  Materials informatics for small data and application to fusion reactor materials

 ○ Activity Report: Fujioka Shinsuke  (ILE)

  PLDX Activity Report

 ○ Lecture 5: Koba Kento (IGSES, Kyushu University)

  Inductive Energy Recovery from Fusion Plasma and Its Application to Space Propulsion

○ Lecture 6: J. K. Koga  (KPSI, QST)

  Remote Determination of Plant Health via High Power Lasers

○ Presentation 7: Koshihara Shin-ya (ILE)

  Coherent control of the photo-induced phase transition (PIPT) dynamics utilizing a fs high-power laser – a step toward the dream of the quantum control of quantum matter

 ○ Presentation 8: Ishii Nobuhisa (KPSI, QST)

　Soft x-ray high-harmonic generation across the entire water window for time-resolved absorption spectroscopy

Awards

〇The 20th Osaka University Kondo Prize

< Research Paper Award for Start-Up Researchers>

Mr. Chiharu Nakatsuji (Institute of Laser Engineering, The University of Osaka)  (left)

Title: 「Experimental study on laser-plasma interactions in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion」

< Research Paper Award for Early-Career Researchers >

Dr. Ichiro Inoue (The University of Tokyo) (right)

Title:「Development and Applications of X-ray Free-Electron Lasers with Novel Characteristics」

〇2026 Best Poster Award

<The following two recipients>

Naoya Tamaki (The University of Osaka) (second from the left in the photo)

Haruya Matsumoto (Kansai Institute for Photon Science, National Institute for Quantum Science and Technology) (second from the right in the photo)

We look forward to welcoming everyone again next year and to hearing further achievements.

(OPTO Organizing Committee)