Saitama University and RIKEN Commemorated the 30th Anniversary of Their Joint Graduate School

Saitama University and RIKEN held a meeting to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Joint Graduate School at Saitama University on November 22.

The Saitama University-RIKEN Joint Graduate School was established in 1989 as Japan's first collaborative graduate school, and this year marks its 30th anniversary. The Joint Graduate School Program is a system aimed at invigorating exchanges of researchers between research institutes and universities and further stimulating research activities.

First, Professor Takafumi Sakai, Dean of the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, talked about the circumstances surrounding Saitama University at the time the Program was established in his opening remarks. Hiroki Yamaguchi, President of Saitama University and Shigeo Koyasu, RIKEN Executive Director, also gave speeches reminiscing about the early days of the Joint Graduate School. How the Joint Graduate School was established and the importance of collaboration was recounted by Yuzuru Fushimi, Professor Emeritus of Saitama University and Takehiko Shibata, RIKEN Honorary Researcher. Next, Professor O Seiyo (Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University), the first graduate of the Joint Graduate School, gave a lecture on “Air pollution and hay fever”, while Naoshi Dohmae (Biomolecular Characterization Unit, RIKEN) spoke on “Biological Mass Spectrometry and the 30 years of the Saitama University-RIKEN Joint Graduate School”. About 100 people in total participated in the event including former deans of the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, professors, students and administrative staff members from Saitama University, and current and former collaborative faculty members, graduate students of the Joint Graduate School, and administrative staff members from RIKEN.