Mentors

Atsushi Fujita has more than 25 years of R&D experience in Panasonic corporation. He focuses mainly on power electronics and their applications, especially for cookers. He is now currently heading the development of core technologies for kitchen appliances. He holds a master's degree in engineering from Kyoto University.

Takeshi Kitaizumi has more than 25 years of R&D experience in Panasonic corporation. His research focuses mainly on power electronics and their applications, especially for cookers. He is now in charge of the development of heating control and sensing technologies for kitchen appliances. He holds a master's degree in engineering from Tohoku University.

Hiroaki Nitta has more than 17 years of R&D experience in Panasonic corporation. His research and development has mainly focused on heat transfer engineering, cookery science, and its applications, especially for cookers. He is now in charge of developing new heating technologies to achieve both the deliciousness and health of cooking equipment. He holds bachelor's degree in engineering from TOYOTA Technological Institute.

Shinsuke Sasaki has more than 14 years of R&D experience of kitchen appliances’ new features in Panasonic corporation. He has been focusing on sensing technology of food's internal state for 3 years. He has a Master of Engineering from Nara Institute of Science and Technology.

Naotsugu Koashi has 15-year experience in Panasonic's intellectual property business in the fields of cogeneration systems, IoT and other technologies. He has been involved in intellectual property incubation activities from the basic research stage to the business growth stage. He holds a master's degree in engineering from Kyoto University. He is in charge of new business areas in Panasonic Appliances Company.

Jumpei Haradahas 8 years of experience in the intellectual property field at Panasonic. He is currently based in Singapore and had started the open innovation activity in the Southeast Asia region. Playing the integral role of communicating between Panasonic R&D Centre Singapore and Panasonic HQ, Mr Harada launched the first Panasonic Deep Tech Innovation Challenge in April 2020 and continues to champion open innovation between ASEAN and Japan. He holds a master's degree in engineering from Kyoto University and is registered as a patent attorney of Japan.