The Irago Conference, November 15-16, 2012 --- Irago Sea-Park & Spa Hotel, Tahara, Aichi, Japan

The Irago Conference 2012 (Asia-Pacific Interdisciplinary Research Conference 2012) will be held November 15-16, 2012 in Irago, Aichi prefecture, Japan.

Organised by the Electronics-Inspired Interdisciplinary Research Institute (EIIRIS) at Toyohashi University of Technology, The Irago Conference aims to enhance mutual understanding between scientists, engineers, policy makers, and experts from a wide spectrum of pure and applied sciences in order to resolve major global issues.

“This is a unique conference combining thought provoking insights into global issues such as energy, disaster mitigation, and nanotechnology by internationally renowned invited speakers with selected talks, posters, and demonstrations from academics, industrialists, and think tanks,” says Professor Adarsh Sandhu, Program Chairman. “The conference is truly a ‘360 degree outlook on critical scientific and technological challenges’ ahead of us.”

Recent changes in global economics and industrial priorities, environmental and energy policies, food production and population movements have produced formidable challenges that must be addressed for sustaining life on earth.

The Irago Conference will highlight the major issues by bringing together experts from across the world who will give their views on key areas such as energy and natural resources, medicine and public health, disaster prevention and management, as well as other advances in science, technology and life sciences.

The prevention and management of disasters is one the main themes of ‘Irago 2012’ with invited speakers Professor Robert Geller (University of Tokyo) talking about the "Limitations of predicting earthquakes and the myth of safety at Fukushima", and Uracha Ruktanonchai (NANOTEC, Thailand) discussing the potential of "Nanotechnology for natural disaster mitigation” with actual first-hand examples based of the huge flooding across Thailand in 2011.

This year's keynote lectures will be given by Dr Daniel E Morse, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry of Molecular Genetics at University of California and Mr Sakae Tanaka, Chief Business Planner at AQUABIT Corporation in Japan. Dr Morse will assess “Molecular, cellular and developmental biology and thoughts on public understanding of science”, while Mr Tanaka will discuss “How the world and business will change in future”.

A sample of selected presentations to be given at the conference may be found in Annex A.

For more information:
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When: Thursday, November 15, 2012 to Friday, November 16, 2012.
Where: Irago Sea-Park & Spa Hotel, Tahara, Aichi, Japan
Important Dates: Abstract submission deadline 31 August, 2012

E-mail: secretariat[at]apirc.jp
Telephone: 81-(0)-532-81-5133
Website: http://www.apirc.jp (link below)
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ANNEX A: A sample of selected presentations to be given at the conference

Strategies and policy technologies for sustainable transport and cities
(Y. Hayashi and K. Nakamura, Nagoya University, Japan)

As economic growth increases and more people can afford motorised transport, communities are faced with the negative feedbacks such as CO2 emission increases. Hayashi and Nakamura will present a range of strategies, policies and technological instruments to deal with the impending problem of increased CO2 emission from motorisation in Asian countries.

Nanotechnology for natural disaster mitigation
(Uracha Ruktanonchai, National Science & Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Thailand.)

Ruktanonchai will give an overview of the way in which nanotechnologies are able to help alleviate the consequences of natural disasters such as flooding. Examples include water purifiers, nano-bednets and mosquito repellent lotions.

Robots and the human
(Oussama Khatib, Stanford University, USA)

Robotics is undergoing major transformation in scope and dimensions, this discussion focuses on new design concepts, novel sensing modalities, efficient planning and control strategies and the modelling and reconstruction of human motion and skills.

Thermoelectric nanocomposites and microscale modules
(Jing-Feng Li, Tsinghua University, China)

Thermoelectric materials are becoming important for energy harvesting and conversion technology. Li will discuss some of the challenges and solutions to the development of thermoelectric microdevices based on recent research aimed at improving their performance and mechanical strength.

Heterogeneous Integrated Package Systems (HIPS)
(G. P. Li and Mark Bachman, University of California, USA)

HIPS are microsystems that integrate functional materials, processes, components and interfaces into a single device. Li and Bachman will demonstrate how these devices can be made using a lamination-based manufacturing process.

Microbial methanogenesis as the process of methane hydrate formation
(S. Sakata, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan)

Methane hydrate is currently of great interest as a possible future natural gas resource. In order to develop the technology for exploration of methane hydrate in marine sediments, it is important to understand its formation process. Sakata will show what has been learned about the methane production processes mediated by marine subsurface microbes.

From 15 Nov 2012
Until 16 Nov 2012
Irago, Japan
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