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Feb. 13, 2012

RIKEN to hold booth at AAAS Annual Meeting

RIKEN, Japan's comprehensive national laboratory for the natural sciences, will hold a booth at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) taking place in Vancouver on February 16-20. The booth is one of several in this year's Japan Pavilion, an exhibition showcasing the latest research at top Japanese universities and research institutions. Two prominent RIKEN researchers in the fields of plant science and nuclear physics will also give presentations on their research and related themes.

Diagram showing RIKEN's vision

RIKEN's themes this year are Health, Food and the Environment

Science for a connected world - the motto of Japan's largest comprehensive research institution encapsulates its uniquely interdisciplinary approach to science. For nearly 100 years since its founding in 1917, RIKEN has acted as a hub for researchers pushing the boundaries of established scientific fields, fostering an environment for creative collaboration within which innovative, groundbreaking research thrives.

A selection of this research will be on display this year at the AAAS. In keeping with this year's focus on addressing interconnected, global problems, RIKEN's booth presents research arranged into the broad themes of Health, Food and the Environment. Together, these three themes cover research on everything from care-giving robots for elderly care, to DNA amplification technology for fighting global pandemics, to new varieties of salt-resistant and high-yield rice produced using heavy-ion beams, to supercomputer-based global climate prediction.

In addition to the exhibit booth, two researchers from RIKEN will also give presentations on their research and related themes. Kazuo Shinozaki, Director of the RIKEN Plant Science Center, will give a talk on Saturday, February 18th in which he will discuss research on stress-inducible genes and applications to the development of drought tolerant plants. On Monday, Februrary 20th, nuclear physicist Pieter Doornenbal of the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science will present his perspective from Japan on response to the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

RIKEN Booth

Booth number 601 (Japan Pavilion)

Speakers

Kazuo Shinozaki
Plant Stress Biology To Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change Date: Saturday, February 18, 2012: 8:30 AM
Place: Room 214 (VCC West Building)
Shinozaki's synopsis

Pieter Doornenbal
The Perspective from Japan: Rising Panic and Common Sense Date: Monday, February 20, 2012: 9:45 AM
Place: Room 118 (VCC West Building)
Doornenbal's synopsis

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