JSPS Quarterly No.19 2007

The following fellows participated in JSPS's Science Dialogue Program during the period from November 2006 through January 2007. For details about the program, please see its webpage at: http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-plaza/e-sdialogue/

- Overseas Fellowship Division

Fujishima Senior High School

Date: 23 January
Dr. Devang K. Thakor (USA)
Host institution: Kyoto University
Title: "Science Education in the United States"

Gunma Prefectural Takasaki High School & Waseda University Honjo Senior High School

Date: 11-12 November
Dr. Guo Yu Qiu (China)
Host institution: National Institute for Environmental Studies
Title: "Energy Balance of Our Environment and Its Relationship with Global Warming"

Dr. Manujendra N. Saha (Bangladesh)
Host institution: Gunma University
Title: "Analysis of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Infection Mechanisms and the Development of Antiviral Agents"

Dr. Davide Mariotti (Italy)
Host institution: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
Title: "Microplasmas and Nanostructures"

Dr. Yufeng Zhou (China)
Host institution: High Energy Accelerator Research Organization
Title: "What Is the World Made of?"

Ikeda High School

Date: 18 December
Dr. Kim R. Larsen (Denmark)
Host institution: Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History & Human History
Title: "Biological Science: The Work and the Wonders"

Iwata Minami High School

Date: 13 November
Dr. Tony J. De Falco (USA)
Host institution: Research Organization of Information and Systems
Title: "The Amazing Neuron"

Dr. Jan Hannemann (Germany)
Host institution: The University of Tokyo
Title: "Computer Programming - Telling Computers What to Do"

Kaiho Senior High School

Date: 25 November
Dr. Fabien Ravary (France)
Host institution: University of the Ryukyus
Title: "The Social Organization of Some Very Special Ants"

Kakogawa Higashi High School

Date: 28 November
Dr. Tesfaye B. Kidane (Ethiopia)
Host institution: Kobe University
Title: "High-Resolution Age Determination Using Integrated Paleomagnetic and Radiometric Techniques"

Nagasaki Nishi High School

Date: 21 December
Dr. Tamara Zhunussova (Kazakhstan)
Host institution: Nagasaki University
Title: "Case-Control Study of Breast Cancer in Women Living around Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site"

Nara High School

Date: 6 November
Dr. Brendan A. McIntyre (Canada)
Host institution: RIKEN
Title: "Introductory Talk on Developmental Biology"

Ritsumeikan Senior High School

Date: 19 December
Dr. Chinawat Yapwattanaphun (Thailand)
Host institution: Kyoto University
Title: "Queen of Tropical Fruit"

Shimizu Higashi Senior High School

Date: 12 January
Dr. Yessy Arvelyna (Indonesia)
Host institution: Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology
Title: "Application of Remote Sensing Images to Ocean Phenomena and Disaster Monitoring"

Takada High School

Date: 30 January
Dr. Xinh T. Phan (Vietnam)
Host institution: Research Institute, International Medical Center of Japan
Title: "Unique Features of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia in Southern Vietnam, Associated with Problem of Dioxin Exposure"

Dr. Blair Thornton (UK)
Host institution: The University of Tokyo
Title: "Underwater Robots: From Familiar Shores to the Unknown Deep"

Takahagi High School

Date: 22 January
Dr. Humnath Bhandari (Nepal)
Host institution: Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
Title: "Rural Livelihood, Cultural Values, and Tourism in Nepal-An Exploration"

Warabi High School

Date: 19 December
Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez Benitez (Paraguay)
Host institution: National Agriculture and Food Research Organization
Title: "The World Strategic Significance of Transgenic Crops"

Yamanashi Prefectural Tsuru High School

Date: 9 November
Dr. Aaron M. Laine (USA)
Host institution: Tokyo Metropolitan
Organization for Medical Research
Title: "Regulation of the Tumor Suppressor Protein p53"

Date: 14 November
Dr. Appolinaire Adandonon (Benin)
Host institution: National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences
Title: "Soil Microbes to Control Plant Diseases"

Date: 12 December
Dr. Jimila S. Gardias Hewawasam Mummullage (Sri Lanka)
Host institution: Saitama University
Title: "Culture and History of Sri Lanka; Research on Human Response to Vibration"

Date: 21 December
Dr. Lasha Ephremidze (Georgia)
Host institution: Tokai University
Title: "About Georgia and My Scientific Activity"

Date: 16 January
Dr. Shona Rennie (UK)
Host institution: Teikyo University of Science & Technology
Title: "Studying Fish and Traveling the World"

Date: 18 January
Dr. Jan Schuemann (Germany)
Host institution: High Energy Accelerator Research Organization
Title: "High-Energy Physics and Research at Belle"

Science Agora 2006 Held in Tokyo

On 25 November, JSPS took part in conducting Science Agora 2006 in Tokyo. At it, Dr. Pablo Perez Goodwyn (JSPS fellow, Kyoto University), Associate Prof. Hideyuki Takagi (Kyushu University), Mr. Kazuaki Kubota (teacher, Ritsumeikan Senior High School), and Ms. Kaori Shimura (teacher, Tsuru High School) gave presentations about their respective experiences in participating in the Science Dialogue Program.

As a component of the event, a symposium was held on "making more effective use of competitive research funding," at which JSPS executive director Prof. Kenichi Iga spoke on subject from the perspective of JSPS's role as a funding agency. His remarks stimulated a spirited discussion among the university and other participants.

JSPS Quarterly No.19 2007