RIKEN–McGill University joint scientific workshop

“We hope our partnership in green chemistry and nanotechology will lead to results that will make significant contributions to resolving pressing global issues and pave the way for a sustainable society.” - RIKEN executive director Yoshiharu Doi

RIKEN executive director Yoshiharu Doi addresses the RIKEN–McGill University joint scientific workshop.

In celebration of a new general agreement on collaboration in research between RIKEN and McGill University in Canada, the two partners held a joint scientific workshop in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada, on 22–23 September 2010 with the aim of strengthening their collaborative relationship through greater communication between their respective research communities.

Founded in 1821 in Montreal, Quebec, McGill University—an English-speaking university in a French-speaking Canadian province—is well-known for its high-quality education and cutting-edge scientific research. With Nobel laureates such as physicist Ernest Rutherford (chemistry, 1908) and biologist Jack Szostak (medicine, 2009), the university’s long list of respected alumni has earned it a worldwide reputation for excellence in research. Today, McGill University comprises 11 faculties, 10 schools, more than 35,000 students, and over 1,600 tenure and tenure-stream staff.

Building on already strong ties in the areas of developmental biology, RIKEN and McGill University now seek to collaborate in the areas of green chemistry and nanotechology. The starting point for this new collaboration is an agreement for collaborative research in these fields signed on 15 July 2010 following a visit to McGill University by RIKEN President Ryoji Noyori in 2009.

This year’s workshop was attended by 14 members of RIKEN from the Wako, Yokohama and Harima institutes, including Executive Director Yoshiharu Doi, Zhaomin Hou from the Organometallic Chemistry Laboratory, Koji Ishibashi from the Advanced Device Laboratory and Takuo Tanaka from the Metamaterials Laboratory. The Canadian group numbered 17 including McGill University Vice-Principal Rima Rosen, associate deans Andrew Kirk and Peter Grütter, and Chair of the Department of Chemistry Bruce Lennox. The workshop was also attended by Chao-Jun Li, a famous chemist and winner of the 2001 United States Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award. Many of the McGill researchers arrived from places outside of Canada, including China, France and Switzerland.

The workshop included presentations by Rosen and Doi introducing their respective organization’s research activities. The workshop itself included parallel sessions on green chemistry and nanotechnology, and featured topics presented by both Canadian and Japanese researchers. Spirited discussions continued throughout the day, covering not only research itself but also the research environment in Japan and Canada.

On the last day of the workshop, after a morning of discussions on how to foster stronger ties between the two organizations, attendees returned to Montreal to attend a poster session at the university by students of McGill. The workshop was brought to a close with dinner at the McGill University Faculty Club hosted by Principal and Vice-Chancellor Heather Munroe-Blum.

RIKEN attendees returned to Japan with a strong sense of the university’s history and tradition, as well as with fond memories of the lakeside view at Mont Tremblant, and of the red and yellow of Quebec’s autumn leaves. Today’s generation faces many serious challenges, ranging from water and food shortages to climate change, the solutions to which demand a significant contribution from the world’s scientific community.

Responding to these demands, Doi cited the new agreement with McGill University as a step in the right direction. “We hope our partnership in green chemistry and nanotechology,” he said, “will lead to results that will make significant contributions to resolving pressing global issues and pave the way for a sustainable society.”

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Published: 12 Nov 2010

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http://www.rikenresearch.riken.jp/eng/roundup/6480 Link to article on RIKEN Research