Conference Report

Report on the 54th Spring Meeting (2006) ofThe Japan Society of Applied Physics and Related Societies
Shingo Ichimura*Chairman, Committee on Annual Meeting
The 54th Annual JSAP Meeting (Spring 2007) was held over fourdays, from May 27 to 30, 2007, at the Aoyama Gakuin University’s
Sagamihara Campus (Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Pref.). This year’s
meeting was one day shorter than last year’s (at the Musashi Institute ofTechnology), but it was favored by good weather from the first day tothe last, and was brought to a successful conclusion with no major incidents.
The Local Steering Committee, comprised mainly of instructors fromAoyama Gakuin University, dedicated themselves to making preparations for the meeting. We would like to take this opportunity to thankProf. Atsuhito Sawabe, the Local Executive Committee Chairman, Prof.
Yuzo Shigesato, the Vice Chairman and all of the other members of
the Local Executive Committee for their efforts. Thanks to the supportand consideration of Aoyama Gakuin University, we were able to use
several spacious classrooms and various other facilities. We would also
like to express our deep appreciation to Vice president Kiyohiko Uozumi,Vice president Ken-ichi Senba, and Vice executive manager Masakuni
Hamanaka of Aoyama Gakuin University, who assisted with the overall
operation of the Meeting in the capacity of Local Executive Committee
Advisor, and the many other individuals without whose help this Meeting
would not have been possible.
At this Meeting, there were a total of 4,588 presentations ofresearch results, including 3,891 regular lectures and 697 topical sessions(including 35 symposiums; calculated in 15-minute segments, repre-senting the same time allocated to regular lectures). Active discussions
took place at a total of 48 oral lecture and poster session venues. Figure
1 shows the movement in the number of registered participants andlectures at the Spring and Autumn Meetings over the past 15 years.
The number of papers submitted for regular presentations fell
below last year’s figures by about 130, and there were concerns that thenumber of participants might drop as well. In fact, the number of participants this at this meeting exceeded last year’s figures, at 9,166 (tentative figure), making this the most highly attended of the four Meetings
held at Aoyama Gakuin University in the past. As the head of planningfor the Meeting, I was very happy to see the strong trend toward active
participation continuing from last year’s Autumn Meeting (at Ritsumeikan University). I also believe that the following special events
contributed dramatically to the increase in the number of participants.
 Special symposium commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Oyo
Buturi Journal (hosted by the Meeting Planning Committee): “NewChallenges by JSAP: Towards establishing new partnerships andexploring new research fields”
 Special Symposium: “The Future Vision of the Japan Society ofApplied Physics”
 40th JSAP School: “Science and Technologies that contribute tosafety and security”

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
1996
1994
1992
1919900Year
Figure 1* Research Institute of Instrumentation Frontier, AIST

JSAP International No.16 (July 2007)27

Conference Report
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
0100200300400500600

Number of applications for lectures
Figure 2 40th JSAP School (planned by the Organic Molecular Electronics
and Bioelectronics Division): “The cutting edge of bioelectronics andprogress in measurement technologies”
 Manpower training/Joint Participation by Men and Women
Committee Symposium: “Thinking about public research funding:from the perspective of manpower training and international
competitiveness”
 JJAP Friendship Meeting: “JJAP reborn”
In Event , Prof. Zheong G. Khim (Seoul National Univ./ President of
Korean Physical Society), Dr. Ting-kuo Lee (Distinguished Research Fellowof the Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica / President of the PhysicalSociety located in Taipei), and Dr. Tamotsu Nomakuchi (Chairman ofMitsubishi Electric Corporation) were invited to speak about their hopesand expectations for the Japan Society of Applied Physics in the contextof overseas collaborations and collaborations with industry. Event offered a report on the current status of studies on the academic road
map in the field of applied physics, with a view to the coming 30 years.
All six of these special events attracted a high level of interest, and theMeeting Planning and Executive Committees look forward to presenting
even more attractive special events in the future. We would be gratefulfor frank comments and suggestions on this matter from JSAP members
as well.
Among the events held in conjunction with the JSAP Meeting, the7th JSAP Achievement Award Ceremony (for research achievements)
was held on the first day of the Meeting. Awards were presented to Dr.
Yasuharu Suematsu (Prof. Emeritus at Tokyo Institute of Technology)
for “Pioneering research in semiconductor lasers for optic fiber communications,” and to Dr. Eiichi Maruyama (former head of the Hitachi
Advanced Research Laboratory) for “Pioneering research in advanced
function imaging elements using non-crystalline semiconductors.” Therecipients were presented with a certificate and a commemorative gift

28

JSAP International No.16 (July 2007)

from Chairman Kenjiro Oura in recognition of their achievements, andhad the opportunity to conduct commemorative lectures during theMeeting.
A ceremony for the 21st Scientist Awards for the Presentation of anExcellent Paper was also held on the first day of the Meeting. A total of33 individuals were selected through a careful screening process fromamong 630 of the 3,378 regular lectures presented at the Autumn 2006
Meeting for which applications had been received in advance.
Here, I would like to analyze the Spring 2007 Meeting from theperspective of lectures in each field. Among the papers received alongwith applications in electronic format, the results were as follows: Nanotechnology: 1,700; Telecommunications: 420; Life Sciences: 125; andthe Environment: 138. Papers related to Nanotechnology continued toaccount for about 40% of the total.
Figure 2 shows the number of applications for lectures in eachof the 15 major classifications and 5 Joint Sessions. We can see that
dramatic differences have begun to arise in the number of presentations
in each classification, as a result of new trends in the areas of researchcovered by each field. Starting from the Spring 2008 Meeting, two newMain Classifications will be created, as “Plasma Electronics” will be separated from “Radiation and Plasma Electronics” as an independent Division, and Joint Session E has grown into the new Division of “Spintronicsand Nanomagnetics.”
We plan to conduct studies regarding ways of increasing the appealand vitality of these Meetings, for example by initiating new classifications such as the ones noted above, which anticipate the needs of theera. We trust that these continued efforts to improve member servicesand 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.