The COVID-19 pandemic, which is a biological disaster, is defining global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge for the world since World War 2. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, education sector has changed dramatically, with the distinctive rise of e-learning whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. Due to the complexities involved in and due to peculiar nature of disaster situations, even before COVID-19, there were consensus among researchers that lifelong learning is an appropriate way of ensuring continuous education to the various stakeholders of disaster management. To support lifelong learning, a number of online, distance learning opportunities emerged in the field of DRR in the recent past. As such, many countries have launched remote DRR education activities, however, these opportunities possess many challenges. To tackle these challenges, our proposal entitled INCLUDE (INCLUsive Disaster Education) aims to reimagine online distance learning education so that it better supports the diverse DRR community. INCLUDE will develop a University-Industry digital learning platform to provide high quality inclusive digital education in DRR. INCLUDE consortium is composed of 5 partners from 4 different countries (3 programme counties and 1 partner country), representing HEIs involved in research and development of DRR with specific experience on online delivery. Partners were strategically selected based on a baseline assessment, considering the expertise that they can bring to the project, from their country perspective. INCLUDE begins with identifying the currently available online, distance learning strategies in DRR, their success factors and associated issues and problems (O1). This will help to understand exactly where the gaps in remote learning exist, and how educators are coping, and their predictions for the future. To tackle the problems identified as part of O1, a framework will then be developed to reimagine online distance learning education that can support the diverse DRR community. It will outline different strategies to remote learning which suit different types of content and community groups. These strategies are guided by a concern for equity and inclusion and the need to ensure the design and delivery of distance learning do not exacerbate existing educational and social inequalities. Adopting new digital communication tools will be a key driver of change for strengthening collaborations across greater distances, as remote working has now become the new ‘normal’. Based on the framework that will be developed as part of O2, INCLUDE will strengthen university-industry collaboration in DRR in each participant country through the development of a digital learning platform (O3). It directly contributes to the objective of improving the quality of education and the relevance it has for society at large. INCLUDE will build and maintain a robust and a sustainable digital learning platform for University-Industry collaboration based on MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) principle. The priority of the INCLUDE project is to make the student-centred learning more personalised so as to enhance the quality of students’ experience, enabling interaction with a wider range of cultures, personal encounters, knowledge systems, and beliefs. Accordingly, as part of the O4, case studies will be developed to explore the opportunities of the use of disruptive technologies [AI, AR/VR, IoT, drones, big data, Robots, blockchain] in online distance learning education in DRR. Validated case studies will then be integrated into University-Industry digital learning platform developed as part of O4 to provide high quality inclusive digital education to DRR community. INCLUDE will also develop an online research repository with open educational resources (O5). Finally, a digital competence framework (O6) will be developed for DRR educators to help develop digital pedagogical competences which are responsive, adoptable and flexible. All these outputs will be developed through a rigorous scientific process and will directly contribute to the scientific theory of the domain. Based on these outputs, it is intended to produce a number of peer reviewed conference and journal papers and a journal special issue which will further enhance the knowledgebase of the DRR educators and scientists. Two stakeholder seminars will also be organised, first, to disseminate the findings of the survey of online, distance learning strategies used in DRR education (O1) and the framework to reimagine online distance learning education that can support the diverse DRR community (O2); second to disseminate the digital competence framework for DRR educators to develop digital pedagogical competences (O6). In doing so, reach to target audience can be further ensured. In addition, the inclusive University- Industry digital learning platform developed as part of the O3 will be launched in Japan.

Optical interferometry enables us to obtain displacement information of an object through a phase shift of reflected electromagnetic waves. An optomechanical coupling is a naturally existing feedback system in the interferometry, which has been applied to a variety of precise measurements including quantum ground state cooling of a macroscopic object, gravitational-wave detection, and nuclear magnetic resonance. The optomechanical coupling can be tuned through an initial offset to a resonant cavity mode and it is hitherto the only way to control the feedback system. Here we propose an active feedback system using the optomechanical coupling and a quantum filter that can be made of either a non-linear crystal or a cryogenic micro-resonator. The feedback system creates a resonator called "optical spring." An additional quantum feedback loop with a non-linear crystal increases the real part of the spring (signal gain enhancement), while in the foreseen conditions, a feedback loop with a cryogenic micro-resonator decreases the imaginary part of the spring (signal bandwidth enhancement). Our proposal is two-sided. First we establish proof-of-principle experiments for the two different types of quantum feedback system. In parallel, we start new experiments or rapidly promote on-going experiments to explore an innovative application of these state-of-the-art techniques. (i) Test of macroscopic quantum mechanics: The existence of a fundamental length at Planck scale leads to a modification of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. An extremely high precision measurement of a macroscopic object is required to observe a possible deviation from conventional quantum mechanics. We propose to perform three experiments with different resonators: a cryogenic micro-pillar (30 µg), optically-levitated mirrors (1 mg), and a torsion pendulum (10 mg). As possible deviations from standard quantum mechanics are expected to depend on the probed mass, a comparison of the results in our three state-of-art experiments might open a window to the quantum-classical border. (ii) Gravitational-wave detection: Gravitational waves (GW) are ripples of spacetime generated by massive astronomical events. A gravitational-wave detector is a km-scale Michelson interferometer with an optical resonator in each baseline. Both the signal gain and signal bandwidth enhancement can be used to improve the sensitivity of a gravitational-wave detector. A significant improvement can be expected at frequencies higher than a few kilo-Hertz where a number of valuable astrophysics sources are yet to be observed by currently operating detectors (a) The signal gain enhancement enables us to create a 3-km optical spring with 40-kg mirrors resonating at 3 kHz, and a gravitational-wave signal is parametrically amplified at the resonant frequencies of the spring. We propose to design a next-generation gravitational-wave detector based on this scheme after demonstrating the enhancement in the prototype experiment. (b) The signal bandwidth enhancement enables us to expand the observation band from a few hundred Hertz to a few ten kilohertz. (iii) Measurement of nuclear magnetic resonance: A simple electric LC circuit can play a role of the quantum feedback filter. Although classical thermal noise in the coil will overwrite the quantum property of our optomechanical oscillator, the change of the dynamics provides us with information of the coil. We call it Electro-Mechano-Optical (EMO) system. This transition can be applied to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Up-conversion of NMR signals from radio to optical frequencies with a metal-coated, high-Q membrane oscillator is a promising technique, with signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) currently limited by Brownian noise of the membrane. Using a state-of-the-art phononic- and photonic-crystal embedded SiN membrane, we are aiming at improving both mechanical and optical Qs of the EMO system to reduce the Brownian noise and thus to boost the SNR.

Driving on ice can be slippery and leads to poor road safety. In order to improve grip of tire on ice, new materials have been developed for arctic conditions, and an increasing interest to the interaction between ice and rubber has emerged. Several mechanisms govern the tribological behavior of ice-rubber, such as melting and premelting of ice, adhesion of ice-rubber interface, rubber viscoelasticity. In addition, these mechanisms are known to depend on both temperature (T) and sliding velocity (V). These dynamic mechanisms and their coupling result in the complicated friction behavior of ice-rubber interfaces. This project aims at understanding the interplay between the governing factors and their coupling, depending on the conditions as well as the rubber properties in order to elucidate the friction mechanisms of ice-rubber interfaces, and establish a guideline to design innovative rubber materials. Combination of nano and macro approaches including simulation will be employed.