NEWS

A Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)-sponsored seminar for high school students entitled "Hirameki-Tokimeki Science—Welcome to the University Laboratory-KAKENHI" was held at APU on Saturday July 19 and Sunday, July 20, 2014. Twenty students from Iwata and Oita Maizuru High Schools, and 32 students from the Oita National College of Technology joined the event.

Students explore the the inside of a computer and liquid crystal mechanisms

The Hirameki-Tokimeki Science program aims to nurture intellectual creativity in the young minds of future leaders and present research outcomes generated from Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research provided by the (JSPS). In cooperation with the JSPS, APU and the Asia Pacific Innovation Management Center (AP-IMAC), seminar leader Prof. NAKATA Yukihiko (APM) gave a lecture entitled "Japanese Manufacturing and International Management—From LCD Calculators to LCD TVs and Solar Cells". The students learned about the the history of LCDs, from calculators to televisions, through the lenses of Japanese manufacturing and international management. This was the eighth such seminar held at APU.

Students from the Oita National College of Technology

The seminar proved to be a great opportunity for the students to gain a glimpse into the inner workings of a computer and see first-hand the world's first LCD calculator, thus satisfying their intellectual curiosity and nurturing their creativity.

Students from Oita Maizuru and Iwata High Schools

At the end of the session, Prof. NAKATA presented all of the participants with a "Ph D. of the Future" certificate and encouraged them to become the torchbearers for Japan's world-renowned research and manufacturing prowess.