Atsushi TakagakiAtsushi Takagaki received a BSc in chemistry from the Tokyo University of Science in 2001 and a MSc (2003) and PhD (2006) in chemistry from the Tokyo Institute of Technology supervised by Professor Kazunari Domen and Michikazu Hara. After graduating, Dr Takagaki had moved to The University of Tokyo as a postdoc in 2006–2008. In 2008, Dr Takagaki joined Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) as Assistant Professor. His research interests are the development of heterogeneous catalysts, especially solid acids for green and sustainable chemistry, including biomass utilization.