Chair's Message

We cordially invite you to the 17th International Symposium of the Research Institute for Electronic Science (RIES), Hokkaido University, to be held in Sapporo on December 13–14, 2016.

RIES has been organizing this annual international symposium since 1999, and each symposium is symbolized by a single "Kanji" (Chinese character). We have selected "柔" [Ju] as the symbolic Kanji for this year’s symposium. "柔" generally denotes "softness", "gentleness", "flexibility", and "mildness". It is also associated with "action", "movement", and "dynamics". There is a saying that softness controls hardness (柔よく剛を制す), which represents a basic philosophy of Judo (柔道). This philosophy may also help uncover solutions to various global-scale problems facing humanity today and, with such a vision and its relation to "柔" in mind, we will discuss a variety of topics from the perspective of different disciplines, including Photonics and Optical Sciences, Life Sciences, Materials and Molecular Sciences, and Mathematical and System Sciences.

This year’s symposium will be held jointly with the 1st International Symposium of Dynamic Alliance for Open Innovation Bridging Human, Environment and Materials (Five-Star Alliance). The Five-Star Alliance has been renewed this year by introducing dynamic strategies, and "柔" fits well with its extended vision. This year’s symposium is also partially supported through Foundation Advanced Technology Institute (ATI).

We will have poster awards for young researchers, and the active participation by students and postdocs is welcome. Finally, we hope that this symposium stimulates interdisciplinary discussion and leads to fruitful collaborations in the near future.