Conference Report

Report on the 67th Autumn Meeting (2006) of The Japan Societyof Applied Physics
Shingo Ichimura*
Chairman, Committee on Annual Meeting

The 67th Annual JSAP Meeting (Autumn 2006) was held over fourdays, from August 29 (Tuesday) to September 1 (Friday) at the Ritsumeikan University Biwako / Kusatsu Campus (in Kusatsu City, Shiga
Prefecture). Unlike last year’s Meeting (in Tokushima), when the venue
suffered a direct hit by a typhoon on the day before the Meeting, thisyear’s Meeting enjoyed good weather on all four days, except for theoccasional cloudburst. This eventful Meeting was brought to a successful
conclusion, with no major incidents.
The members of the Local Steering Committee, comprised mainly ofinstructors from Ritsumeikan University, dedicated themselves to making
preparations for the Meeting. We would like to express our deepest
appreciation to Prof. Hideyuki Takakura, the Chairman of the Local
Steering Committee, as well as Prof. Yasushi Nanishi, the Vice Chairman,
Prof. Akihiro Morimoto, Vice Chairman in charge of Administration, andall of the other professors who acted as Committee Members, for allof their efforts. Thanks to the support and consideration of the University, we were able to use several spacious classrooms and various otherfacilities. We would like to thank Vice President Sadao Kawamura, who
assisted in overall operations as Local Executive Committee Advisor, Prof.
Yoshihiro Hamakawa, who acted as General Advisor, and the administrative staff of Ritsumeikan University, for kindly providing this year’s venue.
At this Meeting, there were a total of 3,947 presentations ofresearch results, including 3,378 regular lectures and 569 topical sessions(including 27 symposiums; calculated in 15-minute segments, representing the same time allocated to regular lectures). Active discussions took place at a total of 46 oral lecture and poster session venues.
The number of papers submitted for presentations exceeded last years
figures by 200, and the Meeting was expected to see an increase in thenumber of participants as well. In fact, the number of participants at
this Meeting far exceeded expectations, at 7,215, making this the mosthighly attended of any Autumn Meeting. Incidentally, the previous recordfor participation in an Autumn Meeting was 7,111 (1992; Kansai University). For this reason, we were unable to provide full write-ups of theproceedings to participants who arrived on the third or fourth days of
the Meeting; these participants were offered a set of materials including
Participation Forms and Presentation Programs at a special price. Fortunately, thanks to the kind understanding of all participants, we were able
to avoid any confusion at the registration desks, but we would like totake this opportunity to apologize once again for any inconvenience thatmight have been caused by our underestimate of the materials required.
To assist in the planning of future Meetings, we would also like to ask* Research Institute of Instrumentation Frontier, AIST26

JSAP International No.15 (January 2007)

for your kind cooperation in registering for Meetings as early as possible.
Figure 1 shows the movement in the number of registered participants and lectures at the Spring and Autumn Meetings over the past 15years. In general, we can see a positive correlation between the numberof participants and the number of lectures, but the number of registeredparticipants has increased dramatically compared to the past few years.
Some of the possible reasons are:1) Easy access to the Meeting Venue: There was an increase in thenumber of participants this year as well, when the Meeting was heldin the Kansai region.
2) Recovery in the economy: Participation by formal JSAP Members
increased at this meeting, and we assume that it has become easierfor Members affiliated with companies to participate.
3) Planning of attractive lectures: There was a dramatic increase in thenumber of non-member participants (about 200 more than in 2004,
when the Autumn Meeting was not affected by any typhoons). Webelieve that the attractive themes of lectures — and symposiums inparticular — drew the attention of individuals who in the past might
have felt that JSAP was not relevant to their field. We would like tothank the JSAP Committee on Annual Meeting for their valuable
efforts.
At this Meeting, which led to such a dramatic increase in thenumber of participants, 27 symposiums were planned for each of the15 Main Classifications (or jointly for multiple classifications), along withseveral presentations by invited lecturers giving overviews of relevant
fields or introducing the latest developments in R&D. One new aspectof this symposium was that local high school students were also invited
to attend the lectures. Amid much discussion and concern recently
that young people are “drifting away from sciences,” we invited thesestudents listen to these JSAP lectures in order to expand their ideas withregard to research and development, and hopefully even to become
full participants in JSAP Meetings in the future. Because Ritsumeikan
University provided such spacious lecture venues, attendance by the highschool students did not result in any inconvenience to the other participants. We plan to continue inviting students to future Meetings to theextent that the facilities allow, and we ask for your understanding andcooperation in this regard.
In addition to the symposiums outlined above, the following special
events were also held at the 67th JSAP Meeting.

Conference Report

No. of papers and lectures

10000
9000

No. of participants
at spring meetings

8000

No. of participants
at autumn meetings

7000
6000
5000

No. of lecturesat spring meetings

4000

No. of lectures
at autumn meetings

3000
2000
1000
06
2004
2002
2000
2098
1996199419921919900Year

Figure 1(1) 39th JSAP School: “Recent Micro and Nano level micromachining
technologies and industrial applications of MEMS” (held in collaboration with the Ritsumeikan University Research Institute for MicroSystem Technology)(2) 39th JSAP School: “Evolving Display technologies: Current Statusand Future Developments”(3) Special Symposium (held by the Committee on Annual Meeting):“JSAP and progress in scientific and technological R&D in Japan: Whatis required, and how can we respond?”(4) 8th Meeting held by the Manpower Training / Gender Equality
Committee: “Thinking about careers after doctorate studies”
Each of these special events had many participants, and provided avenue for valuable exchanges of opinions and information. In the caseof Event (1) above, with the kind cooperation of Ritsumeikan University, participants had a tour of the University’s SR Center following thesymposium. Due to space considerations at the SR Center, tour participation was limited to 40 persons, but the volume of applications far
exceeded this number, so unfortunately many people were not able toattend. Nevertheless, we believe that this was a very meaningful tour
for those who got in. In the case of Event (3), for the first time, persons
involved in the promotion of science and technology policies (from theMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)) gathered with
JSAP representatives (from the Board of Directors) for a panel discussion on creating a “Technology Roadmap.” In keeping with the themeof this panel discussion, it was decided that JSAP would cooperate inthe creation of an “Academia Roadmap” under METI’s leadership. TheCommittee on Annual Meeting would like to promote similar activities inthe future, while creating reports on the status of related developments.
We look forward to hearing frank comments and suggestions on thismatter from JSAP members.
Among the events held in conjunction with the JSAP Meeting was
the 28th Paper Award Ceremony, which was held on the first day ofthe Meeting. Awards presented included six JJAP Paper Awards, five
JJAP Incentive Awards, and three Explanatory Paper Awards. The recipients were presented with a certificate and a commemorative gift fromChairman Kenjiro Oura in recognition of their achievements, and had
the opportunity to do commemorative lectures on their award-winning
papers during the Meeting.
A ceremony for the 20th Scientist Awards for the Presentation of
an Excellent Paper were also held on the first day of the Meeting. A

JSAP International No.15 (January 2007)27

Conference Report

total of 41 individuals were selected through a careful screening processfrom among 754 of the 4,028 regular lectures presented at the Spring2006 Meeting for which applications had been received in advance. TheAward winners received a certificate and a commemorative gift from
Chairman Oura, and were invited to a social gathering (a new event
starting from this Meeting) in celebration of their notable accomplishments. Only 5% of applicants were selected, making this a very difficult
hurdle to overcome for the qualified applicants (lecturers aged 33 andunder), but we look forward to seeing many more ambitious applications
from outstanding young researchers in the future.
Here, I would like to analyze the Autumn 2006 Meeting from theperspective of lectures in each field. At the point when papers arereceived in electronic format, we ask that the lecturers indicate whichof four key fields that paper is most closely related to. The results are as
follows: Nanotechnology: 1,488; Telecommunications: 364; Life Sciences:116; and the Environment: 110. Papers related to Nanotechnology therefore accounted for about 40% of the total.
The lectures in the four key fields noted above were also divided
into many classifications. Figure 2 shows the number of applications for
lectures in each of the 15 major classifications and 5 Joint Sessions. We
can see that dramatic differences have begun to arise in the number ofpresentations in each classification, as a result of new trends in the areasof research covered by each field.

Upon reflection, JSAP always anticipates new trends in researchthroughout the world, and as a result has succeeded in increasing its
membership by attracting the interest of individuals in a broad rangeof fields, from industry to academia. No new classification have beencreated, however, since the start of the “Superconductivity Classification” in 1988 (although the names of several classifications havechanged recently.) Some people have pointed out that the number oflectures by corporate researchers, and the number of participants representing companies, has been dropping at recent JSAP Meetings, andhave suggested that this might be a problem. We therefore plan toconduct studies regarding ways of increasing the appeal and vitality ofthese Meetings, for example by initiating new classifications that anticipate the needs of the era.
We trust that these continued efforts to improve member services
and to incorporate new activities will make these JSAP Meetings evenmore meaningful and valuable for all members in the years to come, andwe ask you for your understanding and support.
Please note that the Meeting Report in the current Journal contains
only an overview, but that a more complete Report, including information on the various Major Classifications, Joint Sessions, and Symposiums, will be posted on the JSAP homepage. We should add, however,that starting with the 2007 Spring Meeting, a report on the Major Classifications, Joint Sessions, and Symposiums will be included in the Journal
as well.

Zinc Oxide and Related Functional Materials
Fundamentals and Applications of Quantum Information Technology
Physics and Applications of Carbon Nanotubes
Spintronics and Nanomagnetics
Fundamental Science of Plasma CVD and Its Application
15. General Applied Physics
14. Amorphous and Microcrystalline Materials
13. Science and Technology of Crystals
12. Semiconductors B (Exploratory Materials/Physics/Devices)
11. Semiconductors A (Silicon)
10. Molecular Electronics and Bioelectronics
9. Superconductivity
8. Applied Material Physics
7. Beam Technologies
6. Thin Films · Surfaces
5. Optoelectronics
4. Quantum Electronics
3. Optics
2. Measurement and Control
1. Radiation · Plasma Electronics
0100

200300400500

Number of applications for lectures
Figure 228

JSAP International No.15 (January 2007)