WHEN: January 26th (Friday), 2007 5:30pm – 7:30pm
LOCATION: Skyline Hotel, Penthouse Ballroom
725 10th Ave at 49th St., New York, NY

On January 26th, the JSPS San Francisco Office held the “6th Gathering of JSPS Japanese Fellows” in New York. Its purpose was to promote trans-disciplinary exchange among Japanese researchers working in the US and to deepen a sense of colleagueship while facilitating network building among them. Although it was such a cold day, 28 Japanese researchers brought together from all over the U.S. Some were fellows under JSPS’s “Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research Abroad” and “Research Fellowships for Young Scientists” programs, and others were invited Japanese scientists doing research in the US.

The meeting began with remarks by San Francisco Office director Dr. Seishi Takeda. After a toast, time was given to allow the participants to engage in free conversation. The participants were then asked to each introduce themselves and their research work. Though short, these brief introductions attracted the participants’ interests and the participants focused attentively. This added impetus to the conversation, on such subjects as where and what they had researched and their experiences living in the US and other countries, stimulated much of the networking. After their introductions, they continued to relax and chat with each other about their lives and research activities over food and drinks.

Some of the participants noted that this gathering party gave them the precious chance to meet researchers like them in different fields. Others said that they could make friends not only in the same universities but also in the different universities and exchange a variety of information among them.

We are sure that this gathering party was very useful and valuable to the participants and was successful as a whole.