iCeMS Crossing Ten! – introductions, Spring-8 tour and the year-end wrap up
On February 18, iCeMS held the final installment of its online retreat series. Over one hundred participants gathered online for one last round of group introductions and a recap of some of the year’s most memorable moments.
This month the Research Administrative Division (RAD), which is made of three different subgroups, introduced the Innovation and Communications Design Units and their members. According to Kazumitsu Ueda, the director of the RAD, the “main activity of the RAD is to create an environment where all the researchers at iCeMS can focus on their research.” The Innovation Unit administers international research agreements, manages intellectual property rights and patents, develops strategies to attain research grants, and oversees fundraising. The Communication Design Unit coordinates international public relations, organizes scientific outreach events, manages print and digital science communication and iCeMS news, and facilitates the international exchange of researchers.
The Horike Group presented next. They focus on fundamental research into new types of glass produced using metal organic frameworks (MOFs) for energy and environmental applications. Some of their recent research innovations include luminescent and conductive glasses. Prof Satoshi Horike introduced both members and alumni and highlighted his group’s collaborations both across groups within iCeMS and internationally with Vistec, Thailand.
Prof Daniel Packwood introduced the iCeMS Theory Group by asking participants to imagine a chemical company operating inside of a computer. The group is designing a virtual company made of three interrelated sections: chemical synthesis, evaluation, and sales, to test out ideas quickly and economically with little to no risk. The group members then introduced their individual research interests and hobbies.
Prof Kunihisa Sugimoto, who researches methodologies for crystal structure analysis using x-rays, introduced his group by giving a live tour SPring-8, a large synchrotron radiation facility located in Hyogo where he carries out his research. The facility is open for use by anyone whose application is accepted and is managed by RIKEN and JARSI.
Wrapping up the year’s festivities, co-organizer Aiko Fukazawa restated two goals of the series, “promoting mutual understanding among research groups and fostering a commitment to iCeMS, especially among young researchers.” Though in person meetings were scant, the organizers and the iCeMS members did their best to communicate their creativity, research and personalities. Overseas on-site labs and alumni were also able to contribute thanks to the new format. The take-home message from this year’s retreat was to be creative without being bound by precedent routines – don’t hesitate to try crazy ideas!
