Conference report: The 5th Aquaphotomics International Conference

The 5th Aquaphotomics International Conference marked the 20th anniversary of the founding of Aquaphotomics. It was held from May 17 to May 20 this year at Kobe University under the theme “The Way of Water & Light, The Path of Life” and it was simultaneously streamed online. The conference was conducted in a hybrid format, with both inperson and online participation. On the first day, a public lecture for the general audience was held, followed by the Aquaphotomics School and the Aquaphotomics Workshop. From the second day onward, the program began with an overview session and expanded into a wide range of topics across ten thematic sessions, featuring 46 oral presentations and 15 poster presentations. The presentations covered diverse fields including the applications of Aquaphotomics in agriculture, medicine, and cosmetics, as well as technical themes such as spectroscopy, instrumentation, and chemometrics. Moreover, the conference included sessions on quantum electrodynamics, which drew significant attention. In particular, lectures by physicists specializing in quantum physics and the physical properties of water prompted meaningful discussions with spectroscopy researchers, marking an important step toward the development of a new interdisciplinary research framework. The conference attracted 257 participants from 21 countries, including Japan, and is expected to further promote international and interdisciplinary collaboration, contributing to the advancement of Aquaphotomics, near– infrared spectroscopy and related scientific research.