Mat3ra and the University of Tsukuba’s Center for Computational Sciences Sign MoU to Expand Access to Cloud-Based Materials Modeling in Japan

Mat3ra Japan K.K., the Japan entity of Exabyte Inc., the developers of Mat3ra.com, and the Center for Computational Sciences (CCS) of the University of Tsukuba today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that establishes a framework for the use and dissemination of the Mat3ra.com computational materials platform within CCS and associated academic institutions in Japan. Under the MoU, Mat3ra provides CCS with free access to the platform for research and educational purposes, and CCS appoints a designated Mat3ra-CCS Liaison who serves as the interface between Mat3ra and the CCS community.

CCS is one of Japan’s leading centers for computational science. Approved by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in 2010 under the Advanced Interdisciplinary Computational Science Collaboration Initiative, CCS makes its supercomputing facilities available to researchers nationwide through its Multidisciplinary Cooperative Research Program. Its systems include Pegasus and Sirius (PACS12.0), as well as the 80.1-petaflops Miyabi, operated jointly with the University of Tokyo through the Joint Center for Advanced High Performance Computing (JCAHPC). Mat3ra.com complements this infrastructure with a web-based environment in which researchers design materials, run physics-based and machine-learning simulations, and organize workflows and data in a reproducible, collaborative, and AI-ready form — lowering the barrier for students and researchers to adopt first-principles and data-driven materials modeling.

Scope of the Collaboration.

Under the MoU, the two organizations will work together in the following areas:

• Platform access. Participating CCS-affiliated researchers, students, and faculty receive free access to the Mat3ra.com platform, including relevant software modules, data storage, and some computational resources, for non-commercial academic use.
   
• Liaison and training. CCS appoints a qualified Mat3ra-CCS Liaison as the official interface between the two organizations. Mat3ra provides the Liaison with comprehensive training covering technical use of the platform, user management, and workflow integration, and covers the cost of that training. The Liaison then coordinates onboarding, conducts internal workshops and training sessions at CCS, and may act as a point of contact for other academic institutions in Japan interested in using Mat3ra.
   
• Nationwide dissemination. Through the Interdisciplinary Hub for Social Implementation of Computational Science in the AI Era — hosted by CCS under the MEXT Promotion of Development of a Joint Usage/Research System Project: Coalition of Universities for Research Excellence Program (CURE) — the Liaison may contribute to the wider dissemination of computational materials science infrastructure among universities, national research institutes, and industry in Japan.
   
• Education and research integration. CCS will promote the use of Mat3ra.com among its faculty, researchers, and students, and support its integration into academic curricula, seminars, and research projects where applicable.
   
• Continuous improvement. CCS will provide Mat3ra with periodic feedback on platform performance, usability, and potential improvements to guide the platform’s ongoing development.
  

Research data generated by CCS through the platform remains the property of CCS. The MoU takes effect upon signing for an initial term of two years and may be extended by mutual agreement. Any future projects involving financial commitments or specific deliverables will be defined under separate agreements.

Statements from the Partners.

“Japan is home to some of the world’s most advanced materials research and manufacturing, and the Center for Computational Sciences at the University of Tsukuba has been at the forefront of computational science for more than three decades,” said Dr. Timur Bazhirov, Representative Director of Mat3ra Japan K.K. and CEO of Exabyte Inc. “We are honored to make Mat3ra.com available to the CCS community and, through the Hub, to universities, national institutes, and companies across Japan. Our goal is simple: give every student and researcher a practical, reproducible, and AI-ready way to design materials with modern simulation tools, and shorten the path from academic insight to industrial use.”

“The mission of our Hub is to bring computational science and supercomputing into practical use across society, including industry,” said Prof. Yasuteru Shigeta, Director of the Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba. “Mat3ra.com lowers the barrier to entry for materials simulation and complements the high-performance computing resources we operate. Through this MoU, we look forward to training our liaison, holding workshops for our community, and helping researchers and students across Japan make the most of the platform.”

The collaboration is coordinated by Prof. Minoru Otani, Professor in the Division of Quantum Condensed Matter Physics at CCS, and by Jean-Dominique Francois, Director and Business Development Lead at Mat3ra Japan K.K.

About the Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba.

Founded in 1992 as the Center for Computational Physics and relaunched under its current name in 2004, the Center for Computational Sciences (CCS) at the University of Tsukuba promotes “Multidisciplinary Computational Sciences” through the cooperation and fusion of computational and computer sciences. Its eight research divisions span particle physics, astrophysics, nuclear physics, quantum condensed matter physics, life sciences, global environmental science, high-performance computing systems, and computational informatics. Approved by MEXT in 2010 under the Advanced Interdisciplinary Computational Science Collaboration Initiative, CCS provides its supercomputing facilities to researchers nationwide through the Multidisciplinary Cooperative Research Program and operates the Joint Center for Advanced High Performance Computing (JCAHPC) together with the University of Tokyo. Since 2023, CCS has hosted the Interdisciplinary Hub for Social Implementation of Computational Science in the AI Era under MEXT’s CURE program. For more information, visit ccs.tsukuba.ac.jp/eng.

About Mat3ra.com.

Mat3ra.com, developed by Exabyte Inc., is a cloud-based research and development platform driving innovation through the strategic integration of cloud high-performance computing and artificial intelligence for materials science. The platform empowers a community of over 40,000 scientists worldwide, allowing them to collaborate and generate the high-quality, ground-truth physical data essential for advancing materials AI across the semiconductor, energy, and defense sectors. Mat3ra.com serves a diverse customer base ranging from Global 2000 companies such as ENEOS and EMD Electronics to leading government R&D institutions, with prior and ongoing work supported by the U.S. Air Force (AFRL and AFWERX), the U.S. Navy (Naval Research Laboratory), the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy. Mat3ra Japan K.K., based at Inspired.Lab in Otemachi, Tokyo, serves the company’s customers, partners, and users in Japan.

For more information, visit Mat3ra.com.

Media Contact: Team Mat3ra, Exabyte Inc. / Mat3ra.com, press@mat3ra.com

Japan: Mat3ra Japan K.K., Otemachi Building 6F, Inspired.Lab, 1-6-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0004, Japan

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Team Mat3ra

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Mat3ra Japan K.K.

press@mat3ra.com