■ Making AI Real: From infrastructure to Solutions

Chetan Gupta

Technology Executive, (previously “GM Advanced AI Center and VP, Industrial AI Lab, Hitachi R&D)

Biography

I have spent my career at the intersection of advanced AI research and real-world impact, guiding global R&D teams and shaping how enterprises harness AI at scale. My focus has been on building and scaling AI solutions — from machine learning and optimization to reinforcement learning and generative AI — that deliver measurable business transformation. With 250+ patents and publications, I’m recognized for bridging cutting-edge research with practical application, helping organizations evolve and capture new opportunities. And as a trusted C-level adviser and global speaker, I thrive on working with boards and leadership teams to translate complex technology into strategy, growth, and impact.

■ Implementing AI Accelerator in Advanced Node

Shin-ichi O’uchi

Team Leader, AIST-UTokyo AI Chip Design Open Innovation Laboratory (AIDL)

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan

Biography

Shin-ichi O’uchi received Ph.D. degrees in information and communication engineering from the University of Tokyo in 2002. He was with Toshiba Corporation from 2002 to 2005. He joined National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan, in 2005. He is currently a laboratory team leader of AIST-UTokyo AI Chip Design Open Innovation Laboratory. He has worked on dedicated processor to quantum-computing simulation, CMOS-integrated DNA chips, FinFET technology and circuits, and AI accelerator.
Dr. O’uchi is a member of the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society and Electron Device Society, the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE).

■ Chips for AI, AI for chips: Redesigning AI from materials up

Daisuke Okanohara

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Preferred Networks, Inc.

Chief Executive Officer, Matlantis Corporation

Biography

Daisuke Okanohara is the Chief Executive Officer of Preferred Networks (PFN) which he co-founded in March 2014 to advance AI toward practical use across various industries. Before being appointed CEO in November 2025, he led PFN’s research and business efforts for its core technologies, including generative AI, PLaMo™ large language model, and Matlantis™ universal atomistic simulator as the company’s Chief Technology Officer.
Okanohara also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Matlantis Corporation, a PFN subsidiary that markets the Matlantis™ universal atomistic simulator for materials discovery.
Okanohara co-founded PFN’s predecessor Preferred Infrastructure with current PFN Chairman Toru Nishikawa and others when he was a graduate student in 2006. He received a Ph.D degree in Computer Science from the University of Tokyo in 2010. He has authored and co-authored several books in Japan on AI, deep learning, diffusion models and foundation models.

■ The 3D Evolution in Transistor Architectures and its Impact on Advanced Metallization

Hans Mertens

Principal Member of Technical Staff at imec

Biography

Hans Mertens is a principal member of technical staff at imec. He received a M.S. Degree in applied physics from Eindhoven University of Technology (2002) and a PhD degree in physics from Utrecht University (2007), both in The Netherlands. Prior to joining imec, he worked at NXP Semiconductors as Senior Scientist in the field of SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors for RF applications.

His current research interests include novel integration solutions for advanced CMOS transistor architectures, including nanosheet FETs, forksheet FETs, and CFETs. He has published over 40 papers at the IEEE Symposia on VLSI Technology (VLSI) and at International Electron Devices Meetings (IEDM), of which 8 papers as a first author.

■ Depth-Controllable Passivation for Isotropic Etching and Advanced Profile Engineering

Tsubasa Imamura

Senior Researcher at the Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd.

Biography

Tsubasa Imamura is a Senior Researcher at the Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd., where he leads the development of electron microscopes.He received a Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering from Nagoya University in 2021.

Prior to joining Hitachi, he worked at Toshiba, Toshiba Memory Corporation, and Kioxia Corporation, accumulating a total of 14 years of industry experience, including approximately 10 years in dry etching process development for 3D NAND devices.His research interests include semiconductor manufacturing processes, as well as gas etching and plasma etching processes.He has published four peer-reviewed journal articles and holds seven patents.

■ Surface and interface design for reversible interconnection

Akitsu Shigetou

Principal Researcher at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)

Biography

Dr. Akitsu Shigetou is a Principal Researcher at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS). She received her B.E., M.E., and Ph.D. in Precision Engineering from the University of Tokyo.

Her research focuses on the design and creation of functional surfaces and interfaces to achieve precise control over bonding and debonding properties. While this expertise is applied to semiconductor integration and packaging, her work primarily addresses the underlying surface science governing material integration. She also serves as a Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo, bridging fundamental interface engineering with industrial applications.

■ Metallic delafossites for low-resistivity advanced interconnects

Takayuki Harada

Principal Researcher, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan

Biography

Takayuki Harada is a principal researcher at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan. He received a Ph.D. degree in applied chemistry from the University of Tokyo (2011). Prior to joining NIMS, he worked at Institute for Solid State Physics in UTokyo, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, and Institute for Materials Research in Tohoku University.

He is focusing on exploratory research on thin-film heterostructures.

He has published about 40 peer-reviewed papers and holds 2 patents. Recent honors include the MEXT Prize for Young Scientists.

■ Development of a test platform to evaluate process variables for copper hybrid bonding technology

Kyung-Ho Park

Principal Researcher

Korea Advanced Nano Fab Center (KANC), Korea

Biography

Kyung-Ho Park is a principal researcher at Korea Advanced Nano Fab Center (KANC), where he leads the advanced packaging TF.
He received a Ph. D. in applied physics from Ajou University in Korea (2002).
Prior to joining the advanced packaging TF, he worked at the convergence technology division as a general manager (vice president).
His research interests include semiconductor advanced packaging technologies such as Cu hybrid bonding, silicon bridge, and RDL (Redistribution Layer).
He has published 81 peer-reviewed articles and holds 43 patents. Recent honors include a commendation from the Minister of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea.

■ Challenges for half micron pitch damascene pattern fabrication for organic RDL in next generation’s Chiplet technology

⚪︎Yoshihiko Hirai 

Professor of Physics and Electronics Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Metropolitan University

Masaru Sasago

Professor of Physics and Electronics Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Metropolitan University

Shinji Kishimura

Visiting Professor of Physics and Electronics Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Metropolitan University

Biography

Y. Hirai, 1980-1997 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., 1997-2020 Osaka Prefecture University, 2020 Osaka Metropolitan University, Appointed Professor of Osaka Metropolitan University

M. Sasago, 1978-2021 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., 2021 Osaka Metropolitan University,  Appointed Professor of Osaka Metropolitan University

K. Kishimura, 1986-1998 Mistubishi Electric, 1999-2014 Panasonic Corp., 2014-2016 University of Tokyo, 2016-2025 Kyoto University, 2025 Osaka Metropolitan University, Visiting Professor of Osaka Metropolitan University