Dr. Sangwook Kim (Researcher), Mr. Gopal Prasad Khanal (D3), Mr. Hyunwook Nam (M2), and Mr. Tomoya Aizawa (M2) received Research Encouragement Awards at the 38th Electronics Division Meeting of the Ceramics Society of Japan.

　Dr. Sangwook Kim (Researcher), Mr. Gopal Prasad Khanal (D3), Mr. Hyunwook Nam (M2) (Special Doctoral Program for Green Energy Conversion Science and Technology, Wada laboratory), and Mr. Tomoya Aizawa (M2, Applied Chemistry Course, Wada-Ueno-Fujii laboratory) were awarded Research Encouragement Awards at the 38th Electronics Division Meeting of the Ceramics Society of Japan. (15-16 November 2018). The research subjects were “Origin of material softening in Bi-based lead-free piezoelectric ceramics (Dr. Sangwook Kim)”, “Optimization of preparation conditions for a synthesis of highly textured piezoelectric (Bi_0.5K_0.5)TiO₃ ceramics (Mr. Gopal Prasad Khanal)”, “The Influence of annealing temperature and time in Bi-based piezoelectric ceramics (Mr. Hyunwook Nam)” and “Investigation of Sintering Conditions and Electrical Properties of BiFeO₃-based Piezoelectric Ceramics (Mr. Tomoya Aizawa)”. These researches are challenging to develop high performance Bi-based piezoelectric ceramics without toxic lead ions by material design and microstructural control. By combining these techniques and optimizing the preparation conditions, the lead-free piezoelectric ceramics will be capable for an application in various piezoelectric devices used in our daily life in the future.