The mission of Mr. Schweitzer assigned by the Minister of Foreign Affairs is to expand the France-Japan bilateral cooperation in economy, science and technology and culture through mobilization of the resources in both governmental and private sectors in France. The objective of Mr. Schweitzer's trip to Japan this time is to visit a large variety of institutions which are pertinent to economy, science and technology and culture. NIMS was selected as one of the most prominent research institutes in nanotechnology and material science, research fields quite promising to grow in Japan.
They listened to the overview presentation and then made a discussion with NIMS President Prof. Ushioda and three Executive Vice Presidents. Mr. Schweitzer expressed his interest in NIMS's efforts for globalization and how to accept foreign researchers, and he expressed concern for the damage in research facilities caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and their restoration. Mr. Schweitzer introduced that there is a societal debate in France about the safety of nanotechnology and he questioned about the situation and public reaction as well as research activities regarding this subject in Japan.
Afterward, the delegation visited NIMS-Saint-Gobain Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials, the supramolecular research facility and the latest electron microscope. Mr. Schweitzer enjoyed friendly conversation with French JSPS Fellow researcher about the reason why he had chosen NIMS for his fellowship.
We wish to make Mr. Schweitzer's visit an excellent opportunity to further promote the collaboration between NIMS and French universities and research institutions.
