Associate Professor
Graduate Program in Sustainability Science (GPSS)
Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo
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December 22, 2009: The following article has been published in the journal Sustainability Science: Yarime, Masaru, Yoshiyuki Takeda, and Yuya Kajikawa, "Towards Institutional Analysis of Sustainability Science: A Quantitative Examination of the Patterns of Research Collaboration," Sustainability Science, 5 (1), 115-125 (2010).
The Fifth Symposium "Technological Innovations in Japan - Collecting Experiences and Establishing Knowledge Foundation -" was held at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo on December 16 and 17. In Session on "Organizations and Institutions for Innovation," I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "The Role of Knowledge in Innovation in Japan" (in Japanese), Proceedings of the Fifth Symposium "Technological Innovations in Japan - Collecting Experiences and Establishing Foundation -," 79-84 (2009).
We organized the Third Research Seminar on Malaria Nets on December 21 at the University of Tokyo. The speaker was Associate Professor NAKAZAWA Minato, Department of Public Health, Subdivision of Socio-Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma University, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan. He discussed human behavioral factors of malaria transmission and mathematical model analysis, based on case studies in the Solomon Islands.
December 16, 2009: Nissan Intensive Program on Sustainability (IPoS) 2009 was held on December 7-14 at Sajima Marina in Yokosuka, Japan. Approximately 25 graduate students coming from all over the world participated in the program and worked on various issues related to sustainability, with a particular focus on sustainable transport systems in the future. I organized the module 5 on innovation and sustainability with a lecture and exercise. Yarime, Masaru, "Module 5: Innovation and Sustainability," Nissan Intensive Program on Sustainability (IPoS) 2009, Yokosuka, Japan, December 12 (2009).
The Second Intensive Workshop of the Nissan Leadership Program for Innovative Engineers (LPIE) was held in Tokyo on December 12-13. I attended this workshop as the Tutor to the participants.
The Annual Research Workshop of the Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS) was held on December 15 at the University of Tokyo. I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "International Comparative Analysis of Innovation Systems for Sustainability" (in Japanese), Presentation at the Annual Research Workshop of the Alliance for Global Sustainability, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, December 15 (2009).
December 15, 2009: We organized Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 11 on Wednesday, December 9 at 10:00-11:00 at Lecture Room 3 in the Environmental Building in the Kashiwa Campus of the University of Tokyo. The speaker was Yann Blumer of the Chair of Environmental Sciences – Natural and Social Science Interface (NSSI) at ETH Zurich. He discussed the transdisciplinary case study approach developed at NSSI with a particular focus on bio-energy cases. Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 11 Date: Wednesday, December 9, 10:00-11:00 Title: The NSSI framework for transdisciplinary case studies and an outline of a current NSSI project: "Critical success factors for bioenergy case studies" Speaker: Abstract: The ETH chair of Environmental Sciences - Natural and Social Science Interface (NSSI) has a long experience of over 15 years in transdisciplinary research, integrating different scientific disciplines (e.g. engineers and ecologists) as well as practitioners (e.g. farmers, administration, policy makers) into research projects. It has developed a framework for conducting transdisciplinary case studies of complex, real word problems (Scholz & Tietje 2002), which has been applied successfully in more than 25 cases covering a wide range of topics. This framework is presented. It consists of six steps (case definition/goal formation, case faceting, system analysis, scenario construction, scenario assessment and development of orientations), which are explained and illustrated by research conducted at our chair. We argue that much of what we have learned in these case studies can actually be transferred to bioenergy projects and sustainable rural development. Thus, an outline of a current research project to identify critical success factors for bioenergy case studies is presented. Reference: Contact: YARIME Masaru
December 7, 2009: The following article has been published in the web version of the journal Sustainability Science: Yarime, Masaru, Yoshiyuki Takeda, and Yuya Kajikawa, "Towards Institutional Analysis of Sustainability Science: A Quantitative Examination of the Patterns of Research Collaboration," Sustainability Science, DOI 10.1007/s11625-009-0090-4, in press.
Green Business Organization (GBO) and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) organized an event Cross-border Deal in Cleantech on December 4 at Thomson Reuters in Tokyo. I made the following keynote speech in the meeting: Yarime, Masaru, "Implementing Sustainability Innovation for 25% CO2 Emission Reduction" (in Japanese), Cross-border Deal in Cleantech, organized by Green Business Organization (GBO) and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Thomson Reuters, Tokyo, December 4 (2009).
December 6, 2009: Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) 2009 Annual Meeting was held on October 28-31 in Washington, D.C. I participated in the Session on Sustainability VI: Emerging Networks and Institutions of Science and Technology for Sustainability and made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Establishing Sustainability Science as an Academic Field: Concepts, Methodologies, and Institutions," Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) 2009 Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., U.S.A., October 28-31 (2009).
Then I visited Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia on November 3 and gave a seminar at the Graduate School of the Environment. Yarime, Masaru, "Exploring Sustainability Science: Education, Research, and Innovation," GSE Seminar, Graduate School of the Environment, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia, November 3 (2009).
I moved to Griffith Business School in Brisbane to attend the Asia Pacific Academy of Business in Society (APABIS) 2009 Annual Conference held on November 5-6. I participated in Plenary Session Four: Innovation and the Emerging Sustainable Enterprise Economy in the Asia-Pacific Region as one of the panelists and made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "From Corporate to Social Business Models for Sustainability Innovation: Concepts, Institutions, and Emerging Practices of Japanese Enterprises," Asia Pacific Academy of Business in Society (APABIS) 2009 Annual Conference, Griffith Business School, Brisbane, Australia, November 5-6 (2009).
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris organized the Workshop on Transforming Innovation to Address Social Challenges on November 9-10. I participated as a discussant in Session 2: Pushing Boundaries of the Innovation Policies beyond Technology: Best Practices and made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Towards the Sustainability of Innovation to Address Social Challenges: Comments for Session 2," Workshop on Transforming Innovation to Address Social Challenges, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris, France, November 9-10 (2009).
I then moved the United States. I gave a special lecture on November 12 in Detroit, Michigan, organized by the Consulate-General of Japan in Detroit, Japan Business Society of Detroit (JBSD), Japan Auto Parts Industries Association (JAPIA), Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA), Japan America Society of Greater Detroit and Windsor, Detroit Regional Economic Partnership, and Automation Alley. Yarime, Masaru, "Corporate Strategies for the Next Generation Vehicles: The Development of Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicle Innovation Systems," Special Lecture organized by the Japan Business Society of Detroit (JBSD), Consulate General of Japan, Japan Auto Parts Industries Association (JAPIA), Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA), Japan America Society of Greater Detroit and Windsor, Detroit Regional Economic Partnership, and Automation Alley, Sheraton Detroit Novi Hotel, Novi, Michigan, U.S.A., November 12 (2009).
Japan-America Society of Tennessee, Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville, University of Memphis organized the Conference on Meeting Renewable Energy's Technology Challenge: Innovative Solutions from Japan on November 13 at the University of Memphis in Tennessee. I made the following presentations: Yarime, Masaru, "Bringing Forth Sustainability Innovation," Conference on Meeting Renewable Energy's Technology Challenge: Innovative Solutions from Japan, organized by the Japan-America Society of Tennessee, Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville, and the University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A., November 13 (2009). Yarime, Masaru, "Sustainability Science: Its Possibilities and Challenges for the Future," Special Lecture, University of Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A., November 13 (2009).
I gave another lecture on November 16 at the Georgia Institute of Technology, co-sponsored by the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta and the School of Public Policy of the Georgia Institute of Technology with cooperation from the Japan-America Society of Georgia and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Georgia. Yarime, Masaru, "Implementing Sustainability Innovation: Corporate Strategy, Public Policy, and Institutional Design," Lecture co-sponsored by the Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta and the Georgia Tech School of Public Policy with cooperation from the Japan-America Society of Georgia and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., November 16 (2009).
In Houston, Texas I gave a lecture on November 19, organized by the Consulate-General of Japan in Houston, Rice University Shell Center for Sustainability and the James A. Baker III Institute Student Forum. Yarime, Masaru, "Sustainable Development Innovations: Japan's Effort to Unite against Climate Change," Lecture organized by Shell Center for Sustainability and the James A. Baker III Institute Student Forum, Rice University, Houston, Texas, U.S.A., November 19 (2009).
Then I moved to Bangkok, Thailand, where the International Conference on Sustainability Science (ICSS) in Asia 2009 was held on November 23-25 at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). I organized Session 7 on Communication: Towards Creating Strategic Knowledge Platforms for Sustainability Innovation in Asia. Yarime, Masaru, "Introduction to Session 7 on Communication: Towards Creating Strategic Knowledge Platforms for Sustainability Innovation in Asia," International Conference on Sustainability Science (ICSS) in Asia 2009, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand, November 23-24 (2009).
October 23, 2009: The 24th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society for Science Policy and Research Management (JSSPRM) will be held on October 24 - 25 at Seijo University in Tokyo. I will participate as one of the panelists for the Symposium "Innovation for a Greener Society" to be held on Saturday, October 24. If you are interested, please join us. JSSPRM Symposium "Innovation for a Greener Society" Date: Saturday, October 24, 16:00-17:30 Venue: Room A (Lecture Room 003, B1F), Building 3, Seijo University, Tokyo Panelists: ANEGAWA Naofumi (Tokyo Electric Power Company) SADAMITSU Yuki (Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry) SHIROYAMA Hideaki (Graduate Schools for Law and Politics, University of Tokyo) YARIME Masaru (Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo) Chair: IJICHI Tomohiro (Faculty of Social Innovation, Seijo University)
I will also give a talk at Green Mondays in Minami Aoyama, Tokyo on Monday, October 26. If you are interested, please join us. Time: October 26, 2009 from 7pm to 10pm Organized By: Green Mondays Committee (GMC) #15.1 Tetsunari IIDA, Renewable Energy Policies and Initiatives in Japan (tbc) President & Representative Director, Energy Green Co., Ltd. Previous positions include: o Introduced Japan's first green power scheme, and developed Japan's first "green power certificate." #15.2 Professor Masaru Yarime, Sustainability Innovation Professor Yarime holds a Ph.D. in Economics of Technological Change (2003), MERIT-UNU/INTECH Programme on Economics and Policy Studies of Technological Change, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
October 22, 2009: The Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS), Competence Centre for Environment and Sustainability (CCES), and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) organized AGS-CCES-ETH Sustainability Workshop "From Outreach to Partnership: Defining the Role of Universities in Achieving Sustainability" on October 15 - 16 at ETH in Zurich, Switzerland. I made the following presentation at the workshop: Yarime, Masaru, "Institutionalizing Sustainability Innovation: Universities as a Platform for Stakeholder Collaboration," Presentation at the AGS-CCES-AGS Sustainability Workshop "From Outreach to Partnership: Defining the Role of Universities in Achieving Sustainability," Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland, October 15-16 (2009).
October 11, 2009: An interview with me by Mr. FUKUI Edward has been published in the latest issue of the magazine Sotokoto: "FUKUI Edward's Introduction to Cleantech Investment: Thinking about the Relationship between Innovation and the Environment" (in Japanese), Sotokoto, 11, 143 (2009).
October 9, 2009: We organized the Second Research Seminar on Malaria Nets on October 8 at the University of Tokyo. The speaker was Professor KATSUMA Yasushi, former Program Coordinator at the Tokyo Office of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). He talked about the partnership between Japanese companies, governments, and the United Nations for preventing malaria.
October 6, 2009: Fourth National Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering (NatFOE4) was held in Chennai, India on September 16-17, organized by the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE). As the only participant in this conference from a foreign country, I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Sustainability Science as an Emerging Academic Frontier: Implications for Energy Research," Presentation at the Fourth National Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering organized by the Indian National Academy of Engineering, SRI Convention Centre, Anupuram, India, September 16-17 (2009).
Then I visited Rome, Italy to participate in the Working Meeting on International Conference on Sustainability Science (ICSS) 2010 held at the Sapienza University of Rome on September 20-21. Following ICSS 2009, which was held at the University of Tokyo on February 5-7, 2009, ICSS 2010 will be hosted by the Italian Interuniversity Research Centre on Sustainability Development (CIRPS) on June 23-25. I will chair the Ph.D. Seminar on Sustainability Science in this conference. In the evening on September 21 Sustainability Science Seminar - Economic Trends and New Scenarios/Perspectives for the Markets of the New Decade was organized by H2Roma, and I participated in this seminar as one of the speakers. Yarime, Masaru, "Economic and Market Implications of Sustainability Science: A Japanese Perspective," H2Roma Sustainability Science Seminar: Economic Trends and New Perspectives for the Markets of the New Decade, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy, September 21 (2009).
On September 24-25 the Book Workshop "Passenger Road Transport in Transition?" was held at the United Nations University Maastricht Economic and social Research and training centre on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT) in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The outcome of this project will be published as a book in the Routledge Studies in Sustainability Transition. I plan to write a chapter on a transition to the introduction of electric vehicles in the future.
I also visited the United States to participate in the Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy 2009 held on October 2-3 at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. In this conference I chaired Session 6C: Knowledge Use and Exchange for Policy and Society in Japan and presented the following paper: Yarime, Masaru, "Network of Research and Policy Communities for Innovation: An Analysis of Co-Evolution of Technology and Institution," Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy 2009, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, United States, October 2-3 (2009).
September 11, 2009: The following article will be published soon in the journal Sustainability Science: Yarime, Masaru, Yoshiyuki Takeda, and Yuya Kajikawa, "Towards Institutional Analysis of Sustainability Science: A Quantitative Examination of the Patterns of Research Collaboration," Sustainability Science, forthcoming.
September 4, 2009: The Asia Pacific Academy of Business in Society (APABIS) 2009 Conference will be held on November 5-6, 2009 at the Griffith Business School in Brisbane, Australia. I will participate as a speaker in the Plenary Session Four on Innovation and the Emerging Sustainable Enterprise Economy in the Asia-Pacific Region.
August 22, 2009: I have joined the Nissan Leadership Program for Innovative Engineers (LPIE) as Tutor for the participants. This program has been supported by the Nissan Science Foundation.
July 24, 2009: The 9th Research Seminar on Peacebuilding and Business "Recycling All Goods at UNIQLO" will be held on July 28 at 15:00-17:00 at the Division of University-Corporate Relations of the University of Tokyo, co-organized with the Division of University-Corporate Relations, Human Security Program (HSP), Peacebuilding Study Group, and Graduate Program in Sustainability Science (GPSS) of the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences. Mr. NITTA Yukihiro of UNIQLO will talk about the company's activities of recycling used clothes to be sent to refugees around the world in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representation in Japan.
July 16, 2009: I have joined the European Sustainability Science Group (ESSG), a group of researchers who are actively involved in research as well as practices on sustainability science in Europe and other regions.
July 8, 2009: The following book has been published by VDM Verlag (Germany): Yarime, Masaru, From End-of-Pipe Technology to Clean Technology: Environmental Policy and Technological Change in the Chlor-Alkali Industry in Japan and Europe, Saarbrücken, Germany: VDM Verlag (2009). The intensive industrial development, while producing numerous useful products, has been increasingly interfering with the limited capacities of ecosystems. Various environmental policies have been introduced to reduce emissions. While there is a serious concern about negative impacts of tightened regulations on industry, they could actually enhance industrial competitiveness by encouraging innovation in the long run. This book sheds a fresh light on this debate by closely examining the interaction between environmental policy and technological change in the chlor-alkali industry in Japan and Europe. Weak regulations promote end-of-pipe technological solutions, which would function to prolong the life of existing, often obsolescent, production processes. Excessively stringent regulations, in contrast, while forcing clean technological options, could induce premature decisions on inferior technologies. Institutional designs for public-private collaboration will be important in fostering innovation for the best clean technologies. The analysis should be useful to corporate managers and policy makers for strategic decision makings in a transition towards a sustainable society. Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENT................................................................................................... 5 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 17 2. ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL 3. TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF THE CHLOR-ALKALI INDUSTRY ................ 99 4. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IN 5. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IN 6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION .............................................................................. 382 APPENDIX. EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION ON TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE OF THE CHEMICAL PROCESSES FOR CHLORALKALI PRODUCTION ..... 401 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 423
July 7, 2009: We will have the Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 10 on Monday, July 13 at 14:45-16:10 at Lecture Room 3 of the Environmental Building in the Kashiwa Campus of the University of Tokyo. Professor Vanessa Oltra of the University of Bordeaux, France will discuss evolutionary approaches to industrial dynamics and eco-innovations and their implications for conducting research in sustainability science. If you are interested in this issue, please join us. Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 10 "Eco-Innovation and Industrial Dynamics in an Evolutionary Perspective" Date: Monday, July 13 at 14:45-16:25 Vanessa OLTRA Abstract Biography Contact: YARIME Masaru
July 1, 2009: Professor Vanessa Oltra, Groupe de Recherche en Économie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA), University of Bordeaux IV, France has joined the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science (GPSS). She will stay at GPSS for one month and give the Special Lecture on Sustainability Science II: Evolutionary Analysis of Innovation Systems, Industrial Dynamics, and Sustainability at Lecture Room 4 on the fourth floor of the Environmental Building. The schedule of the lectures is as follows: Friday, July 3 at 14:45-16:25 and 16:30-18:10 If you are interested, please join us.
June 26, 2009: The 17th GERPISA International Colloquium was held on June 17-19 in Paris. The following paper was presented in Session 2 on New Technologies - Electric Vehicles: Dijk, Marc, and Masaru Yarime, "Emergence of Electric Engines and Co-evolution of the Car Engine Market: Post-1990 Path Creation in a Path Dependent Sector," Paper presented at the 17th GERPISA International Colloquium on Sustainable Development in the Automobile Industry: Changing Landscapes and Actors Research Programme on Sustainable Development in the Automobile Industry, Paris, France, 17-19 June (2009).
June 24, 2009: The following article has been published in the Journal of Cleaner Production: Yarime, Masaru, "Public Coordination for Escaping from Technological Lock-in: Its Possibilities and Limits in Replacing Diesel Vehicles with Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles in Tokyo," Journal of Cleaner Production, 17 (14), 1281-1288 (2009).
June 23, 2009: We will organize the Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 9 on Friday, June 26 at 16:30-18:30 at Lecture Room 3. Please join us in discussing the important issue of research and education in sustainability science. Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 9 Theory, Empirical Research, and Teaching in Sustainability Science – Challenges, Gaps, and Future Trajectories Dr. Arnim Wiek and David Iwaniec Abstract Biographical Statements David Iwaniec is a PhD student in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University, with funding from the National Science Foundation. He holds a Master’s degree in Biological Sciences with concentrations in both Mathematics and Statistics from Florida International University. His Master’s research was in the field of ecosystems ecology. His background includes research on system stability, valuation of ecosystem services, ecosystem-based management, and systems modeling. His research interests have evolved toward use-inspired sustainability research on urban stability and state change. He is passionate about furthering the development of sustainability science and contributing to the innovations associated with this developing field. Another area of interest is teaching and learning, especially product-driven working group models which allow for peer-teaching and facilitated collaboration. Contact: YARIME Masaru
June 22, 2009: DRUID Society Summer Conference 2009 on Innovation, Strategy and Knowledge was held on June 17-19 in Copenhagen. I presented the following paper in the Parallel Session 48 on Eco-Innovation: Yarime, Masaru, "Eco-Innovation through University-Industry Collaboration: Co-Evolution of Technology and Institution for the Development of Lead-Free Solders," Paper presented at the DRUID Society Summer Conference 2009, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark, June 17-19 (2009).
June 8, 2009: The following article will be published soon in the International Journal of Innovation Management: Baba, Yasunori, Masaru Yarime, and Naohiro Shichijo, "Sources of Success in Advanced Materials Innovation: The Role of 'Core Researchers' in University-Industry Collaboration in Japan," International Journal of Innovation Management, forthcoming.
June 1, 2009: Dr. Arnim Wiek, Associate Professor, School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, United States has been invited to the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science (GPSS). He will stay at GPSS for one month and give special lectures in the Practical Course on Systems Thinking and Consensus Building.
May 31, 2009: The 2009 IEEE International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISSST) was held on May 18-20 in Phoenix, Arizona in the Untied States. I presented the following paper at ISSST Track 1: Products, Systems, and Services - Green Design and Manufacturing. Yarime, Masaru, "Bringing Forth Sustainability Innovation in the Electronic Industry: The Case of Lead-Free Solders," Paper presented at the 2009 IEEE International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology, Tempe, Arizona, United States, May 18-20 (2009). I also participated in the IEEE Sustainability Ad Hoc Committee held at the same time.
After ISSST I left Phoenix for Paris to participate in the CSTP Expert Workshop on Fostering Innovation to Address Social Challenges held on May 25-26 at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). As the Discussant of Session 2, I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Comments on Barriers to Research and Innovation for Solving Social Challenges," Presentation at the CSTP Workshop on Fostering Innovation to Address Social Challenges, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, France, May 25-26 (2009).
May 5, 2009: The following article will be published soon in the Journal of Cleaner Production: Yarime, Masaru, "Public Coordination for Escaping from Technological Lock-in: Its Possibilities and Limits in Replacing Diesel Vehicles with Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles in Tokyo," Journal of Cleaner Production, forthcoming.
May 4, 2009: Todai Forum 2009 on Human Security and Business was held at the Cass Business School, City University London on April 27 and 28. At Session 3 on Governance, I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Establishing Sustainable Business Models for Human Security: From Corporate Governance to Social Innovation," Session 3 on Governance, Todai Forum 2009 on Human Security and Business, Cass Business School, City University London, London, United Kingdom, April 27-28 (2009).
April 17, 2009: We will organize a Briefing Session for Prospective Students to the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science (GPSS) on Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 13:00 at the FS Hall of the the Environmental Building in the Kashiwa campus of the University of Tokyo. If you are interested in applying for admission to GPSS, please join us.
April 1, 2009: Since April I have become a member of the editorial board of the international journal Sustainability Science (Springer).
March 28, 2009: On March 24 I made a presentation at the Council for Chemical Innovation Strategies of the Japan Chemical Innovation Institute (JCII): Yarime, Masaru, "Chemical Innovation for Sustainability" (in Japanese), Council for Chemical Innovation Strategies, Japan Chemical Innovation Institute (JCII), Tokyo, March 24 (2009).
Since March 2009 I have become a member of the Sustainability Ad Hoc Committee of IEEE.
March 22, 2009: The following paper has been published in Energy and Resources, Vol. 30, No. 2 (2009): Mino, Takashi, Motoharu Onuki, and Masaru Yarime, "Human Resource Development for the Establishment of a Sustainable Society and the Role of University" (in Japanese), Energy and Resources, 30 (2), 48-52 (2009).
March 21, 2009: The Collaborative Workshop on National Strategies for Science, Technology, and Innovation and the Role of Academic Societies and Associations was organized by the Japan Society for Science Policy and Research Management (JSSPRM) and the Japanese Society for Science and Technology Studies (JSSTS) on March 17 at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo. I made the following presentation in Session 3 "Challenges in Japanese Strategies for Science, Technology, and Innovation: Policy Process and Knowledge Use." Yarime, Masaru, "The Role of Research and Policy Communities for Innovation: Transdisciplinary Approaches for Tackling Social Issues" (in Japanese), Collaborative Workshop on National Strategies for Science, Technology, and Innovation and the Role of Academic Societies and Associations, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, March 17 (2009).
We will organize the Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 8 on Wednesday, March 25 at 10:00-11:30 at Lecture Room 3 of the Environmental Building in the Kashiwa campus of the University of Tokyo. Dr. Barry Ness of Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS) in Sweden will discuss the development of assessment tools in sustainability science with a case study of the Swedish sugar sector. If you are interested in this issue, please feel free to join us. Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 8 "Sustainability of the Swedish Sugar Sector: Assessment Tool Development and Case Study Appraisal" Date: Wednesday, March 25, 10:00-11:30 Speaker: Dr. Barry Ness, Centre for Sustainability Studies, Lund University (LUCSUS), Sweden Abstract: The assessment tool survey and categorization showed that many available approaches for assessing sustainability are incomplete when more holistic interpretations of sustainability are considered, but that development to address the deficiencies is ongoing with many of the approaches. A new approach to structure complex issues of unsustainability that fuses the DPSIR framework within Torsten Hagerstrand’s system of nested domains is also presented. The research presented in the thesis is a first step in a long pathway to a comprehensive understanding and development of sustainability science and the actualization of sustainable development. Biography: Contact: YARIME Masaru
March 14, 2009: The International Workshop on Knowledge Use and Exchange in Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy Formation under Major Government Initiatives: From an International Perspective was held in Tokyo on Wednesday, March 11. In this workshop we discussed the findings of the International Collaborative Project on Innovation Policy and the Methodologies of Policy Analysis, organized by the Economic and Social Research Institute of the Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan. I made the following presentation. Yarime, Masaru, "Research and Policy Communities in Japan: Towards an Analysis of University-Industry-Government Networks," Presentation at the International Workshop on Knowledge Use and Exchange in the Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy Formation under Major Government Initiatives: From an International Perspective, Tokyo, March 11 (2009).
We will organize the Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 7 on Wednesday, March 18. The speaker is Dr. Eniola Fabusoro, an agro-sociologist at the Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta in Nigeria. He will discuss essential values for sustainability in developing countries from the perspective of culture and modernization. Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 7 "Culture and Modernisation: Essential Values for Sustainability in Developing Societies" Date: Wednesday, March 18, 10:00-11:30 Speaker: Abstract: A Brief of Profile: Contact: YARIME Masaru
March 13, 2009: Mr. Hans Pohl of the Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden has been staying in my group since the beginning of January 2009. Mr. Hans Pohl, Department of Technology Management and Economics, Chalmers University of Technology, Goteborg, Sweden. The topic of our joint research is comparative analysis of the development of electric vehicles in Japan, Europe, and the United States. He will stay here until the end of August.
Dr. Barry Ness of Lund University, Sweden has been staying in my group from the beginning to the end of March. Dr. Barry Ness, Center for Sustainability Studies, Lund University (LUCSUS), Lund, Sweden. He gives special lectures on Sustainability Assessment and Systems Analysis, and we are discussing future collaboration for education and research activities on sustainability science.
We organized the Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 6 on February 10. The speaker was Dr. S. M. Atiqul Islam, Associate Professor of Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET). He presented the current state of water pollution, including arsenic pollution, and discussed possibilities and challenges for taking effective countermeasures. Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 6 Date: Thursday, February 10, 10:00-11:30 "The Perspectives of Water Environment in Bangladesh" Dr. S.M. Atiqul Islam, Associate Professor, Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh Broad Abstract: Safe water and sanitation are essential for the development of public health. The Government of Bangladesh has a goal to ensure that all people have access to safe water and sanitation services at an affordable cost. To achieve this goal and to ensure that development in the water supply and sanitation sector is equitable and sustainable, formulation of National Policy for Safe Water Supply and Sanitation is essential. GOB started initiative with the help of UNICEF in early 70s of past century and got success in water supply. GOB could able to cover more than 98% people with safe drinking water by supplying groundwater using simple technology hand tube-well within 20 years. This success became ruined when toxic arsenic was observed in ground water of Bangladesh almost all over the country. Groundwater contamination by arsenic is a severe problem now in Bangladesh. Presently, 59 districts and 60% land are affected by arsenic contamination. It is estimated that more than 35 million people are consuming arsenic-polluted ground water alone in Bangladesh where underground water is used mainly for drinking and cooking (Das et al., 2004). The worst affected districts are Chandpur, Bagerhat, Comilla, Meherpur, Jessore, Chapai Nawabganj, Rajshahi and Rangpur (BGS, 2000). The World Health Organization (WHO) considers drinking water to be safe at arsenic concentrations below 0.01 mg/l.? According to Bangladesh national standards, the maximum permissible limit for Arsenic is 0.05 mg/l.? In 2002, the total number of arsenic- related patients in Bangladesh was estimated at approximately 13,000 people. In Bangladesh, most attention has been given to the arsenic contamination of drinking water. Besides domestic use (drinking, cooking, washing, etc.), significant quantities of water from shallow aquifers are being used in the dry season especially for irrigating paddy and vegetables. In Bangladesh, both shallow tube-wells (STW) and deep tube-wells (DTW) are used in large numbers (approximately 2.6 million) to irrigate about 2.5 million ha of land, which contributes significantly to the country’s food grain production. Long-term use of arsenic contaminated water for irrigation purposes may result in elevated arsenic concentration in soils (Ullah, 1998; Alam and Satter, 2000; Huq et al., 2003; Ali et al., 2003; Islam et al., 2004; Islam et al., 2006; 2007). Use of arsenic contaminated irrigation water for growing crops in arsenic rich soil may lead to crop yield losses and elevated arsenic concentrations in cereals, vegetables and other agricultural products (Abedin et al., 2002; Meharg and Rahman, 2003; Hironaka? and Ahmed, 2003; Williams et al., 2003; Das et al., 2004; Islam et al., 2006). Rice is the staple food crop and production of rice is largely dependent on arsenic contaminated irrigation water, which explains the importance of arsenic issue in rice. Objective of this presentation is to provide a knowledge base on water environment of Bangladesh and associated activities that pose risk to sustainability human and eco-system as well. Dr. S.M. Atiqul Islam, Associate Professor, DUET, Dhaka, Bangladesh Contact: YARIME Masaru
February 27, 2009: The following articles have been published in the Journal of Science Policy and Research Management, Vol. 23, No. 3 (2008). Juma, Calestous, and Masaru Yarime, "The Role of Institutions of Higher Learning in Creating Innovation for Sustainability" (in Japanese), Journal of Science Policy and Research Management, 23 (3), 186-193 (2008). Yarime, Masaru, "Sustainability Innovation as a Knowledge Circulation System" (in Japanese), Journal of Science Policy and Research Management, 23 (3), 227-235 (2008).
February 26, 2009: I have been appointed as a Special Coordinating Member of the Subcommittee on International Scientific Data of the Committee on Information Science of the Science Council of Japan.
February 25, 2009: At the Forum on Sustainability Science Programs in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting 2009 held in Chicago, United States on February 12-16, I got interviewed by Medill Reports Chicago, which summarizes the discussions as follows:
February 24, 2009: On Friday, January 23, I made a presentation at the Cirus Seminar organized at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG) in Zurich, Switzerland. Yarime, Masaru, "Global Innovation Systems on Membrane Technologies," Cirus Seminar, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Dubendorf, Switzerland, January 23 (2009).
I participated in the Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS) Annual Meeting 2009 held at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich on January 26-29. At the Poster Session the following poster presentation was made: Kajikawa, Yuya, Masaru Yarime, Yoshiyuki Takeda, Katsumori Matsushima, and Hiroshi Komiyama "Academic Landscape of Sustainability Science," Poster Presentation, Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS) Annual Meeting 2009, Zurich, Switzerland, January, 26-29 (2009).
Science-Society Symposium "History and Social Studies of Science as General Education at Graduate Schools: Towards Training of Society-Oriented Researchers" was organized by the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Sokendai) on January 30-31 at Shonan Village Center in Hayama, Kanagawa. In the symposium I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Institutionalization of Interactions between Science and Society" (in Japanese), Presentation at the Science-Society Symposium "History and Social Studies of Science as General Education at Graduate Schools: Towards Training of Society-Oriented Researchers," organized by the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Shonan Village Center, Hayama, Kanagawa, January 30-31 (2009).
At the International Conference on Sustainability Science (ICSS) 2009 held at the University of Tokyo on February 5-7, I organized Session 7 on the Development of Doctoral Programs on Sustainability Science as Session Chair. In the session I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Future Challenges in Sustainability Science," Presentation at Session 7 on the Development of Doctoral Programs on Sustainability Science, International Conference on Sustainability Science (ICSS) 2009, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, February 5-7 (2009).
On February 10 the 8th seminar of the Research Group on Peacebuilding and Business "Insect-Borne Diseases and the Development of Olyset Net" was held at the University of Tokyo, co-organized with the the Division of University-Corporate Relations, Human Security Program (HSP), Peacebuilding Study Group, Graduate Program in Sustainability Science (GPSS) of the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, and the Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS). Dr. ITO Takaaki of Sumitomo Chemical was invited to talk about the development of the insecticidal Olyset net for preventing the transmission of malaria and future challenges for its adoption and diffusion in Africa. In the seminar I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Establishing Social Business Models for Sustainability" (in Japanese), Presentation at the 8th Seminar of the Research Group on Peacebuilding and Business, University of Tokyo, February 10 (2009).
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting 2009 was held in Chicago, United States on February 12-16. I organized the Symposium on Science, Technology, and Innovation for the Sustainability of Our Planet on February 13 and made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "University-Industry Collaboration for Sustainability Innovation," Presentation at the Symposium on Science, Technology, and Innovation for the Sustainability of Our Planet, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting 2009, Chicago, United States, February 13 (2009) I also participated in the Session on Sustainability Science Programs, organized by Forum on Science and Innovation for Sustainable Development. Many experts involved in programs on sustainability science at universities and research institutes mainly in the United States discussed possibilities and challenges facing sustainability science, many of which have also been raised at the International Conference on Sustainability Science 2009 held in Tokyo on February 5-7. Among the issues discussed intensely by the participants include how to integrate different disciplines and approaches to establish sustainability science as an academic field, how to institutionalize sustainability science by developing career paths tenure systems, and how to collaborate various stakeholders in society including industry. Medill News Service in Chicago covers the discussions on sustainability science at the AAAS Annual Meeting (although the report is not necessarily correct in details.)
January 19, 2009: We will organize Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 5 on Monday, January 19 at 10:00-11:00 in Lecture Room 2 on the second floor of the Environmental Building. Dr. Espen Moe will discuss political economy of the energy industry, focusing on the role of vested interests and its implications for sustainability. If you are interested in this topic, please join us. Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 5 "Energy, Industry and Politics: Some Schumpeterian Perspectives on Vested Interests and Structural Economic Change for Long-Term Growth and Development" Date: Monday, January 19, 10:00-11:00 Speaker: Dr. Espen Moe Contact: YARIME Masaru
December 20, 2008: The Fourth International Symposium on Technological Innovations in Japan - Research on the History of Technology by Engineers - was held at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo on December 10-11. I made a presentation of the following paper on sustainability innovation: Yarime, Masaru, "International Comparative Analysis of Innovation Systems for Sustainability" (in Japanese), Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Technological Innovations in Japan - Research on the History of Technology by Engineers -, 75-78 (2008).
Nissan Intensive Program on Sustainability (IPoS) 2008 was held on December 8-15 at Sajima Marina in Yokosuka, Japan. Approximately 40 graduate students coming from all over the world participated in the program and worked on various issues related to sustainability, with a particular focus on sustainable transportation systems in the future. I organized the module 5 on innovation and sustainability, responsible for a lecture and exercise. Yarime, Masaru, "Module 5: Innovation and Sustainability," Nissan Intensive Program on Sustainability (IPoS) 2008, Yokosuka, Japan, December 13 (2008).
The Annual Research Workshop of the Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS) was held on December 18 at the University of Tokyo. I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Designing Data-Driven Sustainability Innovation" (in Japanese), Presentation at the Annual Research Workshop of the Alliance for Global Sustainability, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, December 18 (2008).
October 31, 2008: The following article has been published in the Journal of Japan Society of Information and Knowledge, Vol. 18, No. 3 (2008): Yarime, Masaru, "Establishment of Global Information Commons for Innovation: Current Issues and Future Potentials" (in Japanese), Journal of Japan Society of Information and Knowledge, 18 (3), 249-259 (2008).
October 28, 2008: We will organize Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 4 on Friday, November 7 at 16:30-18:00 at Lecture Room 3 on the third floor of the Environmental Building in the Kashiwa campus of the University of Tokyo. Based on a recent report for the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in the UK, Dr. Ismael Rafols of the University of Sussex will describe trends and characteristics of nanomaterials innovation systems and discuss how to establish and implement a effective governance system for nanomaterials innovation, utilizing policy and institutional mechanisms such as precautionary regulatory appraisal and transition management. If you are interested in this topic, please feel free to join us. Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 4 "The Direction of Innovation in Nanomaterials" Ismael Rafols, Patrick van Zwanenberg, Molly Morgan and Paul Nightingale SPRU - Science & Technology Policy Research Date: Friday, November 7 This seminar is jointly organized by the Graduate Program on Sustainability Science (GPSS) and the Innovation and Institutionalization of Technology Assessment in Japan (I2TA). Abstract: A feature of both scholarly and policy debate on the governance of nanotechnologies is increasing attention to the role of human agency in the unfolding directions of technological futures. This is reflected, for example, in academic interest in how public engagement activities can be moved ‘upstream’ in the innovation process, and with official interest in whether, and how, socially legitimate and environmentally beneficial nanotechnology applications might be actively encouraged - alongside the more traditional regulatory concerns with minimising the adverse physical impacts of nanotechnology innovation. In this paper we report one pilot research into the nature of innovation systems for one type of nanotechnology, namely nanomaterials, and the scope for its purposeful direction. Based on evolutionary assumptions about technology innovation and use, we first describe and examine the links between research, policy and economic actors in the innovation system. On the basis of this mapping we sketch some of the driving forces underlying the direction of current nanomaterials innovation and we identify potential points of policy intervention within those systems. This empirical analysis is then linked to an assessment of potential regulatory mechanisms and governance strategies available to policy-makers. We describe how recent scholarship on precautionary regulatory appraisal and transition management highlights a suite of potentially useful policy mechanisms by which innovation could be purposefully directed and we describe where such mechanisms might be applied within the current nonmaterial innovation system. Note: This presentation is based on a report we prepared for the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution available at: Biography: Ismael Rafols is a research fellow at SPRU (Science and Technology Policy Research), University of Sussex (UK). He studies the emergence of new technologies, such as bionanotechnologies or synthetic biology, focusing on the (interdisciplinary) processes of translation/integration of knowledge among different epistemic cultures. He also contributes to broader studies on the mapping and the governance of nanotechnologies. Before his arrival to SPRU in 2004, Ismael had worked as a biophysicist in Tohoku Univ. (Japan) and Cornell Univ., as well as on international cooperation in Oxfam and the City Council of Barcelona. For further information, please contact YARIME Masaru.
October 17, 2008: The following book on the potentials and challenges in utilizing hydrogen in the transport sector with a particular focus on developing countries has been just published, including my chapter on the strategy of the Japanese automobile industry on hybrid and fuel cell vehicles. Its contents are now accessible through the web page of Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC):
October 16, 2008: At the Department of Human and Engineered Environmental Studies of the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences of the University of Tokyo, I supervised the following master's thesis, which was completed in September 2008: Du, Yuming, "Quantitative Analysis of Regional Data on Environmental Investment and Industry in China," Master's Thesis (Supervisor: YARIME Masaru), Department of Human and Engineered Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, September (2008).
October 15, 2008: I participated in the DIME International Conference on Innovation, Sustainability and Policy held on September 11-13 at GREThA, University Montesquieu Bordeaux IV, Bordeaux, France. This conference was organized by the EU-funded research project, Dynamics of Institutions and Markets in Europe (DIME). I made a presentation on a case study of sustainable innovation in Japan. Yarime, Masaru, "Effects of University-Industry Collaboration Networks on the Co-evolution of Technology and Institution: Innovation on Lead-Free Solders in Japan, Europe, and the United States," Paper presented at the DIME International Conference on Innovation, Sustainability and Policy, GREThA, University Montesquieu Bordeaux IV, Bordeaux, France, September 11-13, pp. 1-41 (2008). The issue of innovation and sustainability has been increasingly emphasized in many parts of the world, especially in Europe.
After the DIME conference, I visited New Delhi, India to participate in the 14th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference. At Track 1: Sustainability Science, I presented a bibliometric examination of research collaboration towards institutional analysis of sustainability science. Yarime, Masaru, Yoshiyuki Takeda, and Yuya Kajikawa, "Towards Institutional Analysis of Sustainability Science: An Examination of the Patterns of Research Collaboration," Paper presented at the 14th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference, New Delhi, India, September 21-23, pp. 1-26 (2008).
Following the conference in New Delhi, I returned to Europe as I was also invited as a speaker to the 5th BMBF Forum for Sustainability: Research for Sustainability - Driver for Innovation, Berlin, Germany, September 23-25, organized by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). At Session E1: Global Perspectives for Sustainability Science - Which Way for Europe?, I presented our research and educational activities conducted on sustainability science in Japan. Yarime, Masaru, "Exploring Sustainability Science: Opportunities and Challenges for Innovation," Invited Speech, Session E1: Global Perspectives for Sustainability Science - Which Way for Europe?, 5th BMBF Forum for Sustainability: Research for Sustainability - Driver for Innovation, Berlin, Germany, September 23-25 (2008). Recently it has become an important issue to policy makers in many countries in Europe, notably Germany, how to make an effective linkage from research on sustainability to innovation in society, and discussions have been started at different levels for establishing and implementing collaboration between policy, science, and industrial communities. At the BMBF conference, I also took part in the Film Project "Research for Sustainability".
During my stay in Berlin, I could participate in a meeting of European Sustainability Science Group (ESSG). We had very fruitful discussions with regard to the establishment of sustainability science as an academic field (concepts, methodologies, and tools), institutionalization (organizations, journals, educational systems, career paths), and networking with and outreach to stakeholders in society. Taking this opportunity, I have joined ESSG as an affiliate member.
On October 5-8 I participated in the 21th International CODATA Conference "Scientific Information for Society - From Today to the Future" held at the National Technical University of Ukraine, "Kyiv Polytechnic Institute," Kyiv, Ukraine. At this conference I organized Session G1: Structuring Data, Information, and Knowledge for Sustainability Science and Innovation and made a presentation on the role and implications of the Global Information Commons for Science Initiative (GICSI) for sustainability science and innovation. Yarime, Masaru, "Global Information Commons for Science Initiative and Its Implications for Sustainability Science and Innovation," Session G1: Structuring Data, Information, and Knowledge for Sustainability Science and Innovation, 21th International CODATA Conference "Scientific Information for Society - From Today to the Future," Kyiv, Ukraine, October 5-8 (2008).
August 6, 2008: At the STS Network Japan Summer School 2008, which was held on August 1-3 in Matsushima, Miyagi, Japan, I participated as a panelist on the Panel Session on Innovation and Science and Technology Policy and made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Diversity in Innovation Studies: Towards Dialogue between the Science and Technology Policy (STP) and STS Communities" (in Japanese), Panel Session on Innovation and Science and Technology Policy, STS Network Japan Summer School 2008, Matsushima, Miyagi, Japan, August 3 (2008).
July 20, 2008: The following article on sustainability science has been published in the Japanese journal of the Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S) Sasutena: Yarime, Masaru, "Possibilities and Challenges in Sustainability Science: IR3S, AAAS, and GPSS" (in Japanese), Sasutena, 8, 92-98 (2008).
July 15, 2008: I have just joined as a member the International Collaboration Project on Innovation Policy and Policy Analysis Methodology, Economic and Social Research Institute, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. We plan to examine process models for science, technology, and innovation policy-making and to discuss how to improve the current policy-making process, analyzing the conditions for effectively channeling the findings of the academic community of policy studies to the policy makers.
July 14, 2008: A book which discusses the possibilities and challenges for the utilization of hydrogen in the transport sector will be published soon: I have written a chapter which examines the strategies of Japanese automobile manufacturers on developing hybrid and fuel cell vehicles: Yarime, Masaru, Hideaki Shiroyama, and Yusuke Kuroki, "The Strategies of the Japanese Auto Industry in Developing Hybrid and Fuel Cell Vehicles," in Lynn K. Mytelka and Grand Boyle, eds., Making Choices about Hydrogen: Transport Issues for Developing Countries, Tokyo: United Nations University Press; and Ottawa: IDRC Press, 187-212 (2008).
July 8, 2008: There will be a seminar on sustainability from the perspective of regional innovation systems on Friday, July 11 at 16:30-18:00 at the Lecture Room 3. The speaker is Dr. Fumi Kitagawa, Assistant Professor of Lund University in Sweden. She will discuss the implications of recent studies on regional innovation systems for the issue of sustainability, using some case studies in Europe. If you are interested, you are most welcome to participate in this seminar. Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 3 "Sustainability from the Perspective of Regional Innovation Systems" Date: Friday, July 11, 2008 Speaker: Fumi Kitagawa, PhD (Urban and Regional Studies) Abstract: Short Bio: Organizer: YARIME Masaru
June 23, 2008: I participated in the 25th DRUID Celebration Conference 2008 on Entrepreneurship and Innovation held in Copenhagen on June 17-20. The following paper was presented at the conference: Yarime, Masaru, Yoshiyuki Takeda, and Yuya Kajikawa, "Patterns of Collaboration in Emerging Fields of Trans-Disciplinary Science: The Case of Sustainability Science," Paper presented at the 25th DRUID Celebration Conference 2008 on Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Organizations, Institutions, Systems and Regions, Copenhagen, Denmark, June 17-20 (2008).
May 31, 2008: We will organize a seminar on the photovoltaics innovation system in Japan on Wednesday, June 4 at 16:30-18:00 at the Lecture Room 3 on the Third Floor of the Environmental Building. The speaker is working on a comparative study between the Japanese and Dutch innovation systems on photovoltaics in Management of Technology at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and is currently a researcher at the Royal Netherlands Embassy. Everybody is welcome to participate in this seminar. Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 2 "Learning from the Japanese PV Technology Specific Innovation Systems: What are the driving forces behind the development of PV technologies in Japan?" Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2008 at 16:30-18:00 Speaker: Seminar: Introduction: Research: Profile of Researcher: Organizer: YARIME Masaru
May 27, 2008: International Workshop on Open Data and Knowledge Environments for Innovative Research and Development was held in Shanghai, China on May 24-26, 2008. This workshop was organized by the Global Alliance for Enhancing Access to and Application of Scientific Data in Developing Countries (e-SDDC), one of the Communities of Expertise (CoE) covered by the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (UN GAID). I acted as one of the Co-Chairs of Session 2: International and National Level Programs in Open Data and Knowledge Environments (ODKE). In Session 6: Training, Technology Assistance and Joint Database Development, I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Institutions for Knowledge and Information Sharing and Collaboration," Presentation at the International Workshop on Open Data and Knowledge Environments for Innovative Research and Development, Shanghai, China, May 24-26 (2008).
The Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) “Towards a Vibrant Africa: Continent of Hope and Opportunity” will be held in Yokohama, Japan on May 28-30, 2008. Within the framework of the TICAD process, Seminar on Capacity Development and Policy Needs for Environmental Management Technology Development in Africa will be organized at the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) in Pacifico-Yokohama, Yokohama on May 29. If you are interested, please participate in this seminar. United Nations University TICAD IV Side Event 14:00-15:30, 29 May 2008 Technology for environmental monitoring and management are pre-requisites for appropriate environmental governance for sustainable development. Improving local capacities to respond and meet these needs in a sustainable manner through higher educational opportunities and policies fostering development and application of such technologies are urgently needed. Rapidly changing environmental conditions under population and development pressures adds to the urgency of these needs. African educational quality in the area of environmental technology and management policy has been improved to some extent in some countries through strong supportive educational policies assisted by international exposure opportunities. This seminar will identify and examine challenges and opportunities to harness and improve this potential toward developing environmental technologies and management policy capacities in a sustained manner in Africa. Innovative research and training opportunities, Public-Private Partnership activities, supported by global knowledge, expertise and goodwill should all come together to make best use of current opportunities and synergies in making development sustainable in a vibrant Africa. 14:00-14:40 14:40-15:00 15:00-15:30
May 8, 2008: We will have the first seminar in the Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series on Friday, May 16 at 16:30-18:00 in the Lecture Room 3 on the third floor of the Environmental Building, the same room as used in the previous seminar. The speaker is Professor Jeffrey Broadbent of the University of Minnesota in the United States. Utilizing policy network analysis, it is a very interesting research on the formation of advocacy coalition networks in the field of global climate change and its influence on national policy responses. If you are interested in it, please participate in the seminar for further discussions. Kashiwa Sustainability Science Seminar Series 1 "Social Learning and National Response to Global Climate Change: Hypotheses for a New Comparative Project using Policy Network Analysis" Date: Friday, May 16 at 16:30-18:00 Speaker: Abstract: Organizer: YARIME Masaru
April 22, 2008: We organize a seminar on energy on Wednesday, April 23 at 16:30-18:00 in the Lecture Room 3 on the Third Floor of the Environmental Building. There will be presentations on research and educational activities on energy-related issues at MIT and other universities in the United States by some of the members of the student organization, G-Enesis Energy Club. We will also have a presentation on a comparative study of the Japanese and German innovation systems of photovoltaics by the two visiting students of the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden who are currently staying in my research group. Anybody is welcome to participate in this seminar. G-Enesis, Tokyo University Energy Club Energy Seminar Wednesday 23rd April, 2008, 16:30-18:00 G-Enesis Energy Club at The University of Tokyo will hold a presentation and discussion session at Kashiwa Campus. Recently, G-Enesis represented The University of Tokyo energy community at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Conference and the inaugural meeting of the Collegiate Energy Association in Boston. Representatives also had a chance to see the nature of energy research and education at MIT, Harvard and Boston Universities. The research findings of a comparative study of the Japanese and German innovation systems of photovoltaics will be presented by two visiting students of the Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. Program MIT Energy Initiative and Energy Education: 16:30-16:50 Christopher Lee, Department of International Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) was established in September 2006 in response to MIT President Susan Hockfield’s challenge for MIT to meet its “institutional responsibility” in tackling the global energy challenge. New initiatives in energy education strongly emphasize inter-disciplinary collaboration and hands-on learning experience, aiming to produce graduates who are literate in a wide range of technical, business and policy issues. Some of the successful activities of the MITEI will be discussed. Boston Energy Community: 16:50-17:10 Takanori Tomozawa, Department of Technology Management for Innovation, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo The main themes of the MIT Energy Conference, held on the 11th and 12th of April, will be outlined. Also, the role of student energy clubs in improving education and awareness in energy related issues in the United States will be discussed. Changing an Energy System: A Comparison between the Japanese and German Innovation Systems of Photovoltaics: 17:10-18:00 Kristian Jelse and Hannes Johnson, Masters Course in Engineering Physics with International Programme in Industrial Ecology, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden In the current political debate, it is increasingly accepted that renewable energy sources will play an important role in the future energy system. One of the technologies that have the potential of supplying such energy is?photovoltaics (PV), but despite 30 years of research, it has not yet penetrated the global market on a large scale. To create efficient policies to promote the diffusion of new energy technologies in the existing energy system, one cannot focus solely on the technological R&D since there are other blocking mechanisms than the price. There is an entire socio-technical system surrounding the technology that also affects its diffusion. To describe these mechanisms, one can investigate the innovation system of the technology, i.e. what actors, networks and institutions surround the technology, and what connections exist between them. This study is carried out as a masters thesis for a M.Sc. in Engineering Physics and Industrial Ecology at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden.?It uses this innovation system framework to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of Japanese PV by doing a comparison with the German case, which has previously been studied at our department. Data is gathered through literature studies and a three month stay at the?Graduate School of Frontier Sciences of the University of Tokyo in order to perform interviews with key actors. At this time, we are more than halfway through our study, and would like to show what we have learned so far before going back to Sweden. In this presentation, we will provide an outlook of Japanese PV history, how it has developed alongside governmental policies, and also highlight key differences between the Japan and Germany. The aim is to show what obstacles face new energy technologies and how to get around them.
March 12, 2008: The 10th International Workshop on Next Generation Climate Models for Advanced High Performance Computing Facilities, jointly organized with the 1st International Workshop on KAKUSHIN Program was held in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. on February 28 - March 1. I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Technology and Institution for Sustainability Science," Presentation at the 10th International Workshop on Next Generation Climate Models for Advanced High Performance Computing Facilities, jointly organized with the 1st International Workshop on KAKUSHIN Program, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A., February 28 (2008).
The Lecture Series in Sustainability Science was organized by the Master's Program in Sustainability Science at the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences of the University of Tokyo at the end of February to the beginning of March. I gave the following lecture: Yarime, Masaru, "Exploring Sustainability Science: Knowledge, Institution, and Innovation," Lecture Series in Sustainability Science, Master's Program in Sustainability Science, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, March 6 (2008).
I will organize a research seminar on the Japanese innovation system on photovoltaics (PV) on Friday, March 14. If you are interested in this topic, please feel free to join us. Research Seminar Date: Friday, March 14, 2008, 16:00-17:00 Title: Functional Analysis of the Japanese Photovoltaics (PV) Innovation System - Half-Way Presentation Speakers: Kristian Jelse and Hannes Johnson (Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden) Abstract: To create efficient policies to promote the diffusion of PV in the existing energy system, one cannot focus solely on the technological R&D since there are other blocking mechanisms than the price. There is an entire socio-technical system surrounding the technology that also affects its diffusion. To describe these mechanisms, one can investigate the "innovation system" of the technology, i.e. what actors, networks and institutions surround the technology, and what connections exist between them. This study uses the functional analysis framework to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of the Japanese PV innovation system by doing a comparison with the German case. It is carried out as a master thesis for two Swedish students of technology during spring 2008. As a part of the study, three months are spent at the University of Tokyo to gather data and perform interviews with key actors of PV in Japan. This presentation will be about who we are, the university we come from, our preliminary findings and our plans for the remaining time in Japan. Organizer: YARIME Masaru.
Special lecture will be given by Professor Calestous Juma of Harvard University on "Innovation and the Sustainability Challenge: Rethinking the Role of Higher Education Institutions" on Tuesday, March 18 at 13:00-15:00 at the Yasuda Auditorium in the Hongo Campus of the University of Tokyo. INNOVATION AND THE SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE - Rethinking the Role of Higher Education Institutions - Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. I invited him as a speaker to the session which I organized at the American Association for the Advancement for Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting held in Boston in February. Being a distinguished expert in the field of innovation and sustainability, he will discuss the role of innovation in making progress towards sustainability at the global scale and its implications for higher education institutions in the future.
February 22, 2008: The Value Creation Initiative of the Research into Artifacts, Center for Engineering (RACE) of the University of Tokyo organized the 7th Research Workshop on January 23. I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Design of Global Information Commons for Bringing forth Sustainability Innovation" (in Japanese), Presentation at the 7th Research Workshop, Value Creation Initiative, Research into Artifacts, Center for Engineering (RACE), University of Tokyo, January 23 (2008).
Educational Pre-meeting "Early Achievements and Persistent Challenges: Comparing Notes on International Experiences in Institutionalizing Education for Sustainability" was held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA, U.S.A. on January 28, 2008, as a side event of the Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS) Annual Meeting 2008. Leading experts on education for sustainability at the member universities of IR3S, along with other leading universities, including MIT, Harvard University, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Chalmers University of Technology shared their experiences and had fruitful discussions on possibilities and challenges in the future.
From February 1 to April 30 two students of the MS Course in Engineering Physics with Industrial Ecology of the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden will stay in my laboratory. With their research topic of "Mapping of the Japanese Innovation System of Solar Cells," they will examine the Japanese innovation system for the development and diffusion of solar cells, comparing the innovation systems in Europe, notably, Germany.
On February 7 and 8, the Department of Human and Engineered Environmental Studies of the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences of the University of Tokyo held the Final Meeting for Presenting Master's Theses. I worked as Academic Advisor for the following thesis: Noda, Naoyuki, "Research on Quality Control of Data on Inter-atomic Potentials" (in Japanese), Master's Thesis (Advisor: YARIME Masaru), Department of Human and Engineered Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, February 19 (2008).
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting 2008 was held in Boston, U.S. on February 14-19, 2008. At the session on the Forum for Sustainability Science Programs organized by the AAAS International Office on Saturday, February 16, I made the following presentation on International Cooperation for Sustainability Science Programs: Yarime, Masaru, "International Cooperation for Sustainability Science Programs," Presentation at the Session on Forum for Sustainability Science Programs, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting 2008, Boston, U.S.A., February 16 (2008).
I also organized the session on Global Knowledge and Information Commons for Sustainability Science and Innovation on Sunday, February 17 and invited Professor Lawrence E. Susskind of MIT, Professor Calestous Juma of Harvard University, and Dr. Irene Lorenzoni of the University of East Anglia in the U. K. as speakers. We had very stimulating discussions on the role of knowledge and information in sustainability science and their potentials for innovation. Yarime, Masaru, "Session Organizer's Remark," Presentation at the Session on Global Knowledge and Information Commons for Sustainability Science and Innovation, Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting 2008, Boston, U.S.A., February 17 (2008).
December 28, 2007: The 3rd International Symposium "Technological Innovations in Japan: Collecting Experiences and Establishing Knowledge Foundation" was held at the National Museum of Nature and Science on December 14-15, and I made the the following paper: Yarime, Masaru, "Structural Analysis of Knowledge Creation, Transmission, and Utilization in the Japanese Innovation System" (in Japanese), Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium "Technological Innovations in Japan: Collecting Experiences and Establishing Knowledge Foundation", 21-24 (2007).
The Nissan Workshop in IPoS 2007 was organized by the University of Tokyo, with support from IR3S, AGS, and the Nissan Science Foundation, at the Sajima Marina, Yokosuka on December 10-17. As one of the five modules of the workshop, I gave the following lecture and exercise: Yarime, Masaru, “Innovation and Sustainability,” Nissan Workshop in Intensive Program on Sustainability (IPoS) 2007: Cars and Transportation in 2050, Sajima Marina, Yokosuka, December 15 (2007).
At the 2007 Annual Meeting of the AGS Research Projects held at the University of Tokyo on December 20-21, I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Establishing Information Commons for Global Sustainability" (in Japanese), Presentation at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the AGS Research Projects, University of Tokyo, December 21 (2007).
December 3, 2007: The following research article has been just published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, Volume 11, No. 4: Yarime, Masaru, “Promoting Green Innovation or Prolonging the Existing Technology: Regulation on Technological Change in the Chlor-Alkali Industry in Japan and Europe,” Journal of Industrial Ecology, 11 (4), 117-139 (2007).
November 29, 2007: I gave a lecture on innovation for global sustainability at the 8th Strategic Seminar of the Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS) held at the General Library of the University of Tokyo on November 22: Yarime, Masaru, "Creation of Innovation for Global Sustainability" (in Japanese), Lecture at the 8th Strategic Seminar of the Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS), General Library, University of Tokyo, November 22 (2007).
November 13, 2007: The 22nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Society for Science Policy and Research Management was held at the Asian University in Tokyo on October 27-28. I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, “Establishment and Utilization of Global Information Commons on Science and Technology” (in Japanese), Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Society for Science Policy and Research Management, 490-493 (2007). I also chaired the Hot Issue Session on Intellectual Property Management 3.
On November 8-10 I organized the International Workshop on Designing Global Information Commons for Innovation in Frontier Sciences with the Science Council of Japan and the U.S. National Academies at the Kashiwa campus of the University of Tokyo, supported by the Japan-U.S. Cooperative Science Program of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). I made the following presentation in the opening session: Yarime, Masaru, “Introduction to the Workshop,” Presentation at the International Workshop on Designing Global Information Commons for Innovation in Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan, November 8-10 (2007). Leading experts, researchers, and practitioners working in the public as well as private sectors in Japan and the United States participated in the workshop to discuss how to establish, maintain, and utilize global information commons to create innovation in frontier sciences, including biology, materials science, and sustainability science. Diverse viewpoints were presented with regard to technical, economic, legal, and institutional aspects of global information commons. I will continue to work with the U.S. side to elaborate the issued raised in the workshop and make concrete proposals for research agenda and actions for the future.
On November 12 I participated in the Research Meeting on Social Sciences of the Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S) held at the University of Tokyo. My presentation was as follows: Yarime, Masaru, “On Knowledge in Sustainability Science” (in Japanese), Presentation at the IR3S Research Meeting on Social Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, November 12 (2007).
October 26, 2007: I participated in the Atlanta Conference on Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy 2007: Challenges and Opportunities for Innovation in the Changing Global Economy held at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta on October 19-20. I presented the following paper at the conference: Yarime, Masaru, "Towards Sectoral Systems of Information Commons for Science and Innovation," Paper presented at the Atlanta Conference on Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy 2007: Challenges and Opportunities for Innovation in the Changing Global Economy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., October 19-20 (2007). Many researchers are now actively working on science, technology, and innovation policy around Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and some of them have been involved in the report "Innovate America," which was published on December 2004. There were many participants coming from not only the United States but also from other countries in the world, and diverse fields including science and technology policy, innovation studies, and science, technology, and society, were represented in the conference. It was very impressive that much attention has been paid to the U.S., Europe, Latin America, China, and India, while Japan was rarely mentioned during the conference.
October 10, 2007: The Workshop Report of the Global Innovation Ecosystem (GIES) 2007 Conference has been published on the web page of GIES.
The Annual Meeting of the Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies 2007 was held at Shiga University in Hikone on October 7-8. I made the following presentation at the meeting: Yarime, Masaru, "Bringing forth Sustainable Innovation through Global Information Commons: Its Possibilities and Challenges" (in Japanese), Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies 2007, 318-319 (2007). At the meeting I also acted as the discussant to the following two presentations: Thomas Gonnermann (University of Koblenz-Landau) and IIDA Tetsuya (Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies), "The Political Framework for Renewable Energies in Japan and Germany - A Comparative Analysis," and YAGI Tadayuki (Yokohama National University) and MANAKI Shunsuke (Yokohama National University), "Empirical Analysis of Environmental Innovation and Regulation in Japan" (in Japanese).
The Master's Program in Sustainability Science has just started at the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences of the University of Tokyo. As one of the core courses of the program, I started to teach "Innovation and Sustainability."
October 2, 2007: I participated in the 2007 Summer Workshop of the Japan Society of Energy and Resources held at the National Institute for Environmental Studies on September 3 and made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Bringing forth Innovation for Global Sustainability" (in Japanese), Presentation at the 2007 Summer Workshop on Innovation of the Japan Society of Energy and Resources, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, September 3 (2007).
The Research Institute for Sustainability Science (RISS) of Osaka University organized the Workshop on the Structurization of Knowledge on September 7. I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "On the Structurization of Knowledge: A Perspective from Innovation Studies" (in Japanese), Presentation at the Workshop on the Structurization of Knowledge, Research Institute for Sustainability Science (RISS), Osaka University, Osaka, September 7 (2007).
I participated in the International Conference on the Science of Design: Exploring the Essence of Creation and Understanding held in Kyoto on September 26-28 and made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Towards Sectoral Systems of Information Commons for Science and Innovation," Presentation at the International Conference on the Science of Design: Exploring the Essence of Creation and Understanding, Kyoto, September 26-28 (2007).
I will organize the International Workshop on Designing Global Information Commons for Innovation in Frontier Sciences with the U.S. National Academies to be held at the Kashiwa campus of the University of Tokyo on November 8-10, supported by the Japan-U.S. Cooperative Science Program of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Leading experts, researchers, and practitioners working in the public as well as private sectors in Japan and the United States will be invited to discuss how to share knowledge and information to create innovation in frontier sciences, including biology, materials science, and sustainability science, from technical, economic, and institutional perspectives.
August 3, 2007: In relation to the Global Innovation Ecosystem 2007 Conference held in June, the following paper has been published in the journal Optronics: Jibu, Mari, Masaru Yarime, Yuko Harayama, and GIES Secretariat (Kayano Fukuda, Takanori Miyake, and Takashi Nakagawa), "Establishing the Global Innovation Ecosystem" (in Japanese), Optronics, 26 (308), 134-138 (2007).
From July 29 to August 2, the Summer School of Data Science and Design Science on Materials was held at the Kashiwa campus of the University of Tokyo. It was organized by the University of Tokyo and NSF International Materials Institute of the United States, with support from the Combinatorial Sciences and Materials Informatics Collaboratory (CoSMIC), CODATA, The Stanley Foundation, and Microsoft. More than 40 people, including lecturers, graduate students, and post docs, from Japan, the United States, China, South Korea, Switzerland, India, Ukraine, France, and Jamaica participated in the summer school and had intensive discussions on data science in materials design. In the Open Public Forum on Data Science and Design Science held on August 2, I chaired Session 1: Open Lectures on Materials Frontiers.
July 23, 2007: I participated in the 4th International Conference of the International Society for Industrial Ecology held at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada on June 17-20. I made the following poster presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Possibilities and Challenges in Establishing Sustainability Informatics: Creation of Data and Information Commons," Poster presented at the 4th International Conference of the International Society for Industrial Ecology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, June 17-20 (2007). Many presentations in this conference were related to life cycle assessment (LCA) and material flow analysis (MFA). There was also a research which approached to the issue of industrial symbiosis from the perspective of transaction cost economics, which I find very interesting.
On July 9, I participated in the 22nd Symposium on "Social Innovation and Business Chance: Toward the Establishment of a Sustainable Society" at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), organized by the Japan Society for Science Policy and Research Management. I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Introduction to the Panel Discussion: Innovation for a Sustainable Society and New Business Model" (in Japanese), Presentation at the 22nd Symposium on "Social Innovation and Business Chance: Toward the Establishment of a Sustainable Society," organized by the Japan Society for Science Policy and Research Management, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, July 9 (2007). In my presentation I emphasized that it will be of critical importance to maintain a certain degree of compatibility between promoting social innovation from a macroscopic standpoint of the system theory and establishing and implementing business models, which concern the behavior of organizations and individuals at micro levels.
I took part in the Second Japan-China Round-Table Meeting on Science and Technology for Sustainability held in Toyako, Hokkaido on July 11. The meeting was initiated by Professor LU Yongxiang (President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences), Professor ARIMA Akito (Chairman of the Japan Science Foundation), and Professor YOSHIKAWA Hiroyuki (President of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology). In the meeting I made the following presentation: Yarime, Masaru, "Comments on Session 4: Industrial Economy (Environmental Economics, Sustainable Production, and Innovation)," Presentation at the Second Japan-China Round-Table Meeting on Science and Technology for Sustainability, Toyako, Hokkaido, July 11 (2007). It was very impressive that the Chinese participants emphasized that China is now trying seriously to cope with the rapidly growing energy demands by developing new energy sources as well as introducing and utilizing energy saving technologies.
The 2007 First National IR3S Workshop was held at the University of Tokyo on July 18, with the representatives of the universities and research institutes participating in the Integrated Research System on Sustainability Science (IR3S). I made the following presentation with regard to the purpose, methodologies, and expected results of the structurization of sustainability science: Yarime, Masaru, "Structurization of Sustainability Science" (in Japanese), Presentation at the 2007 First National IR3S Workshop, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, July 18 (2007). In structurizing the knowledge of sustainability science we need to deal with three aspects: structurization of knowledge contents, structurization of knowledge production, and structurization of knowledge utilization. It will be important to conceptualize and model the three aspects of knowledge structurization and to implement them for social learning and management.
July 5, 2007: Global Innovation Ecosystem (GIES) 2007 Conference was held in Tokyo on June 29 and 30. In the workshop on the second day at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) I organized Session 1: How Can We Establish and Utilize Information and Knowledge Infrastructure for Collaboration and Innovation? as Chair and invited Dr. W. Edward Steinmueller (Professor of Information and Communication Policy, SPRU, University of Sussex, U. K.), Dr. Rishab Aiyer Ghosh (Senior Researcher, UNU-MERIT, The Netherlands), Mr. Ellis Rubinstein (President, The New York Academy of Sciences, U.S.), and Dr. TAKEDA Hideaki (Professor, National Institute of Informatics and the University of Tokyo, Japan) as discussion leaders. Yarime, Masaru, "Summary of Session 1: How Can We Establish and Utilize Information and Knowledge Infrastructure for Collaboration and Innovation?" Presentation at the Global Innovation Ecosystem 2007 Workshop, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Tokyo, June 30 (2007). While the intensity and variety of scientific data, information and knowledge required for innovation is increasing rapidly, we observe intensification of intellectual property rights regimes and privatization of scientific data, information and knowledge. We have discussed that it is very important to keep an appropriate balance between open and private spheres of information and knowledge. "Information commons" is emerging in diverse fields, ranging from genetic codes in molecular biology to open source software in ICT and to public health in "Scientists without Borders." It is necessary to identify and examine critically the characteristics of information commons in different areas and sectors, with a view to establishing sectoral systems of information commons.
The following article has been published in Seisansei Shinbun, a newspaper by the Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development: Yarime, Masaru, "Challenges in Creating Innovation for Global Sustainability" (in Japanese), Seisansei Shinbun, 2203 (July 5), 6 (2007).
June 7, 2007: I have joined the Executive Editors of the Forum: Science and Innovation for Sustainable Development. The web site was originally developed by researchers at the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University and is currently maintained by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). It has a growing database on various activities related to Sustainability Science, including researchers, documents, and events and conferences, which could be effectively utilized for education, research, and policy making.
June 5, 2007: I made a presentation on Global Information Commons for Science Initiative (GICSI) at the First DS Research Meeting held at the National Science Museum on May 21, jointly organized by the International Science Data Division of the Science Council of Japan (SCJ) and the CODATA Division of the Japan Society of Information and Knowledge (JSIK).
Global Innovation Ecosystem (GIES) 2007 Conference will be held in Tokyo on June 29-30, as a sequel to GIES 2006 Conference held in Kyoto in September 2006. I will take the chair in Session 1: Information and Knowledge Infrastructure for Collaboration and Innovation to be held at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) on June 30.
May 25 , 2007: On April 27 I made the following keynote speech at the Spring Research Meeting of the International Association of Project and Program Management (IAP2M): Yarime, Masaru, "Creation of Sustainability Innovation: Design of Global Information Commons" (in Japanese), Keynote Speech, Spring Research Meeting of the International Association of Project and Program Management (IAP2M), Tokyo, April 27 (2007).
On May 4 I participated in the Meeting on "Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Alternatives in the Transport and Energy Sectors: Issues for Developing Countries," organized by UNU-MERIT as a side event of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD-15) at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York. This meeting is based on the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Project of UNU-MERIT for examining the possibilities and challenges in introducing fuel cells to the transportation and energy sectors in developing countries. In this project I contributed a paper on the strategies of the Japanese Auto Industry in developing hybrid and fuel cell vehicles.
On May 7-10 I participated in the Meeting on Strategies for Open and Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Latin America: Focus on Health and Environmental Information for Sustainable Development," organized by CODATA in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In this meeting we discussed how to secure open and permanent access to scientific data and information related to health and environmental protection for sustainable development, while the data intensity of scientific research shows a rapid increase. I took the chair of the Session 4: e-SDDC Action Lines of the Launch Meeting of the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UN GAID) Community of Expertise: Education Global Alliance for Enhancing Access to and Application of Scientific Data in Developing Countries (e-SDDC).
On May 17-19 I participated in the 5th European Meeting on Applied Evolutionary Economics (EMAEE), held in Manchester, Untied Kingdom. In Session 2.1: Science Dynamics I presented the following paper: Yarime, Masaru, "Toward Disciplinary Systems of Information Commons for Science," Paper presented at the 5th European Meeting on Applied Evolutionary Economics (EMAEE), Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom, May 17-19 (2007). As Professor Richard Nelson, a prominent researcher in the field of innovation studies, participated in this session, I could receive many useful comments on my paper and encouragement from him.
The following book was published in May: In this book I wrote the following two chapters: Yarime, Masaru, and Yasunori Baba, "A New Form of University-Industry Collaboration for Coping with Global Environmental Issues: A Comparative Analysis of Technological Change and Institutional Formation in Japan, Europe, and the United States" (in Japanese), 129-162. Baba, Yasunori, and Masaru Yarime, "A Contribution to Innovation through Close University-Industry Collaboration: An Analysis of Human Resource Development in Firms" (in Japanese), 65-95.
March 30, 2007: The URL of my homepage has changed.
Since July 2006, I have participated in the Nissan Leadership Program for Innovative Engineers (LPIE), supported by the Nissan Science Foundation. Team AI (Academia & Industry), which include me as a member, has picked up the issue of sustainability in Asia and worked on a proposal for sustainable shrimp farming in Vietnam as an exemplar of a system for achieving both food safety and environmental protection. The proposals of three teams were presented to the evaluation committee which consists of seven experts on March 17, and our team could receive the Nissan Sustainability Award. We are currently in the process of discussing with various stakeholders in Japan and Vietnam for future activities.
I participated in the Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS) Annual Meeting 2007, held in Barcelona, Spain on March 19-21, and presented "Securing Food Safety and Environmental Protection: A Proposal for Sustainable Shrimp Farming in Vietnam." Many comments were made on my presentation, indicating a significant interest in this issue. Among the questions I received are those about technical details of sustainable shrimp farming, the extent to which our proposal could contribute to sustainability, the contents and functions of "information commons," and the appropriateness of the concept of "extended consumer responsibility."
The following book has been published: I have contributed the following paper to Chapter 7 of this book: Masaru Yarime, "Innovation on Clean Technology through Environmental Policy: Emergence of the Ion Exchange Membrane Process in the Japanese Chlor-Alkali Industry," 174-199.
March 8, 2007: I participated in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting held in San Francisco on February 15-19. As the overall theme of this year's annual meeting was "Science and Technology for Sustainable Well-Being," many sessions were organized on issues related to sustainability. At the Forum for Sustainability Science Programs Roundtable there were approximately 40 to 50 participants, mainly coming from the universities which answered to the survey conducted by AAAS at the web page of the Forum: Science and Innovation for Sustainable Development with regard to academic and/or educational programs on sustainability science at universities. Among the issues discussed at the Roundtable were the difficulties of integrating natural sciences and social sciences, how to organize educational curricula, whether it is possible to maintain academic rigor, how to implement public-private partnership, which would be common to most of the academic programs. I introduced to the participants the activities of IR3S, an inter-organizational program involving universities and research institutes in Japan. I explained that a new journal, Sustainability Science, was launched and that educational programs were initiated in the participating universities.
February 11, 2007: On January 29-30 I participated in the Conference on Designing Cyberinfrastructure for Collaboration and Innovation, organized by the U.S. National Science Foundation, at the U.S. National Academies in Washington, D.C. With the rapid increase in the data intensity of scientific and technological research and the wide development of open-source software, the creation, maintenance, and utilization of cyberinfrastructure has become of critical importance in promoting innovation. At the conference, a particular emphasis was placed on the patent system and standardization. I could discuss and exchange ideas with many participants for our international conference "Designing Information Commons for Sustainability Science and Innovation," to be held at the Kashiwa campus on November 8-10, 2007.
December 29, 2006: I participated in the Nissan Workshop in Intensive Program on Sustainability (IPoS): Cars and Transportation in 2050, organized by the University of Tokyo and Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), with support from Nissan Science Foundation, Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS), and Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S). In this seminar I gave a lecture on "Innovation and Sustainability."
December 29, 2006: On December 18 I participated in a meeting with Minister for Science and Technology on science and technology policy at the Cabinet Office, together with other young researchers at universities, public research institutes, and private companies. The issues discussed in the meeting include education of researchers, budget allocation, and support staff. I made a brief presentation about the role of global data and information commons for bringing forth innovation.
November 29, 2006: On November 24 I participated as the chairman of the second part in the International Symposium on Sustainability in an Unequal World, organized by the Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S) and the Japan Society for International Development (JASID), at the University of Tokyo. The research conducted by the group including Professor Dasgupta has taken a very important step for proposing a quantitative indicator of the degree of sustainability.
October 29, 2006: I made the following oral presentation at the 20th International CODATA Conference: Scientific Data and Knowledge within the Information Society held in Beijing on October 23-25, 2006: Yarime, Masaru, "Information Commons for Global Sustainability: A Note on Empirical Research," Presentation at the 20th International CODATA Conference: Scientific Data and Knowledge within the Information Society, Beijing, China, October 23-25 (2006).
September 14, 2006: I have made a link to my Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Maastricht, The Netherlands.
On September 8-9 I participated in the International Conference on Science and Technology for Sustainability 2006: Global Innovation Ecosystem held at Kyoto International Conference Hall. as the Rapporteur for Session 1 on Identifying National Innovation Systems: Diversity or Common Challenge.
September 13, 2006: I have set up my new homepage!
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