Overseas TrendsµTAS 2004, Sweden (September 26–30)
Overall the presentations seemed to shift incontent from single-step chemical processes to system
research envisioning applications in chemistry,biotechnology, and medicine.
The first half of the presentations seemed to focus
on nanotechnology, in which Japan is strongest, while
the second half focused more on cellular tissue andanalysis, which area is led by Europe and America.
Conspicuous among these was the presentations oncells that included reports on the proposals and trial
production of new systems from such perspectives as
positioning, culture, and lysis or from points of view atwhich these overlap, resulting in a multifaceted
presentation overall. Many presentations on MEMS
processes covered chips and MEMS structures using
polymers (PMMA, SU8/PDMS, etc.). There was also apresentation on two-layer processes that tried to drive
home the stability and commercial potential for theseprocesses.
The poster session was a great success. Presentersand participants used all the time allotted for thesession to exchange opinions directly on applications,
MEMS technology, fluid devices, and nanotechnology.
Next year, µTAS 2005 will be held in Boston,
Massachusetts, U.S.A. on October 9–13, 2005.

The 8th International Conference on Miniaturized
Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (µTAS 2004)
was held at the Malmö Exhibition and Convention
Center in Malmö, Sweden on September 26–30, 2004.
Since the first of these conferences was held in1994 as a workshop in Enschede, Holland, thenumbers of contributors and participants haveincreased each year.
The latest conference received 655 contributions ofwhich 430 were accepted. This is a large increase overthe 462 contributions and 325 acceptances of theprevious year, proving that research in this fieldcontinues to grow. Viewing the number ofcontributions by country, we can see that Japan
contributed 175, the U.S. 132, Sweden 78, andDenmark 57, indicating that Japan, America, andNorthern Europe are the leading countries and regionsin this field. Among research institutions, theUniversity of Tokyo submitted 46 contributions, theTechnical University of Denmark 26, the Research
Association of Micro Chemical Process Technology 13,and Lund University 13, indicating that the Universityof Tokyo is very active in this field. At last count, theconference attracted about 735 participants, of whichmore than 200 were from Asia.
The conference featured presentations on suchbasic technologies as microfluidics, MEMS andnanotechnology, and materials, as well as theirapplications in chemistry, biotechnology, medicine,and the like. It seemed that the conference was able
to assemble a vast array of data in the field. Poster
presentations, also reflecting the organizer’s intention,
were given on application systems, MEMS technology,
and other technologies on the verge of practicalapplications. As many as 356 presentations were given
during the three days of the conference. The
conference also provided a venue for researchers toengage in direct intercourse.

Malmö Exhibition and Convention CenterContributors

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2003
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2004

View of a conference room6