ＭＲＳ-J NEWS　Vol.17 No.3  August 2005

■A Personal View of Experience on Materials Design……p.1
Dr. Kazunobu TANAKA, Fellow, AIST
　The author describes his experience on materials design of amorphous silicon (a-Si) with respect to one of the big Sunshine projects, entitled “Amorphous Thin Films Solar Cell” which started at 1980 under the collaboration among academia, governmental and private sectors. In the project he set up three main targets: ●１ To produce world-leading R&D outputs by three sectors collaboration, ●２ To develop new potential material, in addition to a-Si, for high-efficiency solar cell, and ●３ To establish new discipline for materials design through R&D of amorphous silicon and new materials. He concludes that materials design is really an unconquerable eternal target.

■Bio-Inspired Template Polymerization…p.2
Prof. Mitsuru AKASHI, Osaka University
　In the field of synthetic polymer chemistry, template polymerization is one of the final goals in structure and molecular weight regulating polymerization. In 1955, Natta and Ziegler developed organometallic catalysts to initiate the stereoregular polymerization of vinyl monomers such as propylene to create polymers superior in some physical properties to conventional polymers. On the other hands, in 1953, Watson and Crick clarified the structure and functionalities of double stranded DNA by the X-ray analysis. I think that, just at that time, chemists noticed the possibility of molecular duplication. As these bioinspired concepts influenced the synthetic chemists, trials on template polymerization originated and evolved with enthusiasm. We achieved bioinspired template polymerization of stereoregular poly (methyl metacrylate), which was inspired by DNA structure and the duplication process.

■Institute of Combustion Science and Environmental Technology (ICSET), Western Kentucky University (WKU)……p.4
　ICSET, which was established by Dr. Wei-Ping Pan in 2004, consists of three laboratories: The Thermal Analysis Laboratory, The Combustion Laboratory, and The Mercury Emissions and Control Laboratory. They all have distinct futures and unique in each field of thermal analysis, coal (inclusive of RDF, etc.) combustion, and mercury field testing. The laboratories are multifunctional facilities used for teaching, research, and service work, but all are self-supported.

■The 16th Annual Symposium of the MRS-J…p.7
　The symposium will be held December 10 to 11 at the Ochanomizu Campus of the Nihon University in Ochanomizu, Tokyo. The symposium will focus on “Frontier Materials Researches Creating Sustainable Communities” with 17sessions