My name is Tsuyoshi Sekitani from the University of Osaka, and I have been appointed as the third-generation Program Officer (PO). Under the leadership of the outstanding POs and ADs who preceded me, the Fusion-Oriented Research for Disruptive Science and Technology program (FOREST) has selected numerous ambitious and challenging research topics. In inheriting that baton, I intend for this third phase of the panel to further expand the breadth of research fusion and diversity.

Throughout my career, I have pursued research and development in flexible electronics—“soft” devices that stand in stark contrast to conventional rigid silicon devices—and engaged in interdisciplinary fusion spanning physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and information science, at times even reaching into civil engineering and legal studies. In my experience as an editor for international academic journals, I have also witnessed countless bold and visionary research endeavors from around the world. What these experiences reveal is that the world is no longer moved by research that is merely an extension of existing lines of inquiry or focused solely on incremental performance improvements.

This program is a venue for pursuing disruptive innovation with a long-term vision—without fear of failure. For example, in this panel, we welcome highly original proposals that, while rooted in foundations such as electrical, mechanical, physical, or systems engineering, are not confined by those frameworks, or even redefine them entirely. Unconventional ideas that provoke the question, “What field does this belong to?”, or academic systematization that elevates known but poorly understood phenomena into universal science—these are the kinds of contributions that hold the potential to become the next-generation standards. I eagerly look forward to the participation of passionate researchers who share a global perspective and are ready to “create and implement” the future of science and technology together.