2013 News Archives
October 2013
Special Meeting with Professor Yamanaka (Washington, D.C., October 4, 2013)
The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), and the NIH Kinyokai hosted a special meeting with Professor Shinya Yamanaka, who was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He currently works as the director and professor at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, Kyoto University. We appreciated that Professor Yamanaka was able to break free of his busy schedule in DC to come to our office. He talked about his career path both in the United States and Japan as a researcher who sometimes struggled with unexpected obstacles. Approximately 30 young Japanese researchers attended this event..jst.and JSPS would like to express our gratitude to Professor Yamanaka and all the researchers who supported this meeting on such short notice.
June 2013
Science Cafe "Keep chasing your dreams" (Washington, D.C., June 24, 2013)
Science Cafe is an event that takes place in a casual setting and features an engaging casual conversation with a scientist. The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) invited Purdue University Distinguished Professor Ei-ichi Negishi, who was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, as a speaker to this event.
JST Washington office director Takashi Ohama hosted this event. Tokyo Institute of Technology Professor Osamu Ishitani and JSPS Washington office director Osamu Shimomura also joined the event. The JST/JSPS meeting room was full of enthusiastic people. Dr. Negishi talked about his opportunity to come to the United States, how he met his mentors, and how important his effort and focus was to accomplish his remarkable achievements in his career. He also explained how the academic and research environments are different between Japan and the United States.
May 2013
tjSTAR (Thomas Jefferson Symposium to Advance Research) (Alexandria, VA, May 29, 2013)
The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) participated in tjSTAR as an exhibitor. tjSTAR is a research symposium for Thomas Jefferson High School students to share research projects, explore potential research careers, and to take part in interactive learning opportunities. Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Technology is one of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education focused high schools in the State of Virginia. We introduced the JST Visual Science Center Earth Guide and Tsunagari Project using Geo-Scope. Many students visited our booth and enjoyed exploring these programs.
Around the World Embassy Tour (Washington, D.C., May 4, 2013)
The Around the World Embassy Tour is a signature event of Passport DC - Open houses at Washington, DC Embassies. The Embassy of Japan's open house is a very popular site on this tour. The Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC) introduced Japanese culture, food, and technologies to the public at the former Japanese Ambassador’s residence. Several Japanese private companies and Japanese independent agencies, including.jst. cooperated and worked together with the JICC. JST invited Osaka University Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro from Japan. He is a famous robotics scientist and a creator of ultra-realistic androids. His laboratory team created an identical android of himself called the Geminoid and a beautiful female robot called Geminoid F. Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro and graduate student Kaikou Kuwamura brought the Geminoid and the Telenoid from Osaka University, Intelligent Robotics Laboratory. They demonstrated these robots in this event. The people who visited the embassy enjoyed interacting with the Telenoid and taking pictures with Geminoid. The participants also enjoyed exploring.jst.Virtual Science Center Earth Guide and Geo-Scope using touch-screen monitors. JST's Science Window magazines and other brochures were handed out to visitors. Approximately 6,900 people visited the Embassy of Japan on that day.
Geminoid and Professor Ishiguro
Telenoid and visitor
*Geminoid / Telenoid are registered trademarks of Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR).
April 2013
The Philadelphia Science Festival 2013: The Science Carnival on the Parkway (Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2013)
The Philadelphia Science Festival is a ten-day, community-wide event for celebration of science. The Science Carnival features more than 150 exhibitors offering interactive family-friendly scientific activities, games, and entertainment. These exhibitors uphold the theme of the event "Feed Your Curiosity". The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) was one of them. The JST booth was located on Winter Street near The Franklin Institute. Each booth set up the theme question. "What can I see with a Geo-Scope?" was hung with the JST’s tent. Approximately 600 people visited our booth to get the answer.
The 53rd Sakura Matsuri 2013 - Japanese Street Festival (Washington, D.C., April 13, 2013)
The Sakura Matsuri is the largest one-day exhibition of Japanese culture in the United States sponsored by the Japan-America Society of Washington DC. The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) participated in this event and jointly ran a booth named "SAKURA SCIENCE" with the following organizations as exhibitors (in alphabetical order):
- Embassy of Japan, Science Section
- High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK)
- Hitachi, Ltd.
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
- New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO)
- NTT DOCOMO USA, Inc.
- Sumitomo Corporation of America
- U. S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- Washington Strategy Group
JST introduced JST Virtual Science Center Earth Guide and our National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan), Tsunagari Project using Geo-Scope. Also we handed out JST's educational science magazines Science Window special edition and other brochures. Approximately 1,500 people visited our booth.
February 2013
Mission to Mexico for On-going Project in Afghanistan (Mexico City, Mexico, February 25, 2013)
A mission to Mexico on a project for Development of Wheat Breeding Materials for Sustainable Food Production in Afghanistan formed by Japanese researchers and JICA was conducted. The mission was planned to attend an opening ceremony organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico for a training course on Afghan researchers and visit research facilities of International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). This project has been executed under SATREPS program between Japanese and Afghan researchers, but because of security unstableness in Afghanistan, a capacity building component and some research activities for Afghan wheat species have been done in Mexico under collaboration with CIMMYT and related institutions.
CIMMYT is famous as a principal research institution for the green revolution, which was a series of research, development, and technology transfer initiatives after WW II to increase productivities of wheat in developing countries led by Dr. Norman Borlaug who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. This project had faced difficulties because of the security issues in Afghanistan, but thanks to the collaboration with CIMMYT in Mexico this is going on toward research goals and capacity buildings for researchers both in Japan and Afghanistan.
2013 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (Boston, MA, February 14-18, 2013)
The 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) was held at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts. The AAAS is the world’s largest scientific society and also known as the publisher of the Science, the academic journal. The Japan Science and Technology Agency participated in this event and jointly run a booth named "the Japan Booth" with following organizations as exhibitors (in alphabetical order):
- High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK)
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)
- Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA)
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
- JEOL Ltd.
- RIKEN
- Tsukuba Comprehensive Special Zones for international Competitiveness Development
- World Premier International research Center Initiative (WPI)
Each organization introduced their activities and research output and development through the display boards, videos, and machines. The Japan booth provided diverse information about Japan's leading-edge science technology and innovation. During the three-day exhibition, approximately 1,100 people visited our booth. Our exhibition appealed to a wide range of people, especially researchers and students. Many colleges and universities, including Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, are located in Boston area, which is known as a higher education center in the United States. Visitors asked questions freely and had a vibrant exchange of views with exhibitors. People were visiting our booth constantly.
January 2013
JST and NIH sign Memorandum of Understanding (Washington, D.C., January 10, 2013)
The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the U. S. National Institute of Health (NIH) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on medical research collaboration. The MoU signing ceremony between JST President Dr. Michiharu Nakamura and NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins was held at NIH headquarters in Bethesda Maryland.This MoU aims at facilitating the variety of scientific research cooperation in the biomedical field between the two countries. Both parties are expecting to gain collaborative activities such as workshops, lectures and funding bilateral medical research projects within the scope of this MoU.
The New Japanese Government and Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy (Washington, D.C., January 8, 2013)
Dr. Tomoko Steen delivered opening remarks at a special lecture on the new Japanese STI policy. The lecture was held by Professor Tateo Arimoto at the Library of Congress' Mary Pickford Theater in Washington, D.C. Professor Arimoto has served as the Director-General of the Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society (RISTEX) in Japan since 2006.
This lecture appealed to a wide range of people not only from the general public, but also from U.S. government officers. There were about forty people from the U.S. Department of State, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Academies, the Library of Congress, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, and the U.S. Congress.
Professor Arimoto discussed the new Japanese STI policy after the Lower House election last December. He presented several points of view including 1) The great transformation of the world system, 2) New commitments and responsible conduct of Science and technology, 3) Making the new Japanese STI policy after the general election, and 4) New perspectives in STI policy. Mr. Arimoto had a vibrant and frank exchange of views with the audience about these issues during the Q&A session.
News Archives
News at JST Headquarters in Japan