Science and technology have helped to free vulnerable human beings from the bonds of the nature and from the suffering associated with unreasonable hardship of labor, reduced regrettable deaths due to disasters and epidemics, and expanded our sphere of life, our sphere of action, our free time, and our domain of knowledge. However, there are still vulnerable people who do not fully benefit from such technological advances yet and are not free from poverty and fear of scarcity. There are also concerns about the negative effects of climate change and the increasing loss of biodiversity that will be accompanied further with population growth and expansion of human activities.

Thus, we have high expectations for the effects of solving such global issues by realizing a carbon-neutral society and a circular economy, as well as building a society where people can live in safety and contentment. To achieve this, it is essential to develop innovative elemental technologies for energy, mineral resources, water resources, and material recycling, to improve their efficiency and reliability, and to redesign current residential and transportation systems both in urban and rural areas.

Also, in order to promote the transition to a sustainable and peaceful society in which all people have a sense of self-respect and dignity, it is necessary to propose groundbreaking concepts and frameworks that will revolutionize our understandings on the Anthropocene, complex systems, networks, human behavioral choices, and trust building, and trends in theory building and R&D. It is also important to propose, design, implement, and disseminate next-generation social systems that will harness these concepts.

In this panel of the Fusion Oriented Research for Disruptive Science and Technology, we expect ambitious research proposals that will bring about the creation, innovation, and diffusion of breakthrough in science and technology in the fields of environment and disaster prevention, including resources, energy, and social infrastructure, and that will make a significant contribution to solving global and regional issues and building a sustainable society through these scientific advancements.

We hope to support up-and-coming young researchers who are willing to pioneer new science by leading integrative interdisciplinary research that utilizes science and technology to pursue the truth and solve problems, regardless of their field of study.