International symposium on photosynthesis to be held at Okayama University

Structure and Dynamics of Photosynthetic Systems, 22–23 October 2012

Okayama University is organizing an international symposium entitled "Structure and Dynamics of Photosynthetic Systems" from 22–23 October 2012, in Okayama. This symposium will focus on the structure, assembly, and dynamics of photosynthetic protein complexes including photosystem I, photosystem II, light-harvesting complexes, and related proteins, as well as their responses to various environmental stresses.

The basis of our knowledge on these topics has been garnered by the recent crystallographic analyses of Photosystem I and II super-complexes from cyanobacterial and chloroplast thylakoids. Importantly, this research area is now expanding beyond the basic science to a wide range of applications for innovative technologies, in particular to concepts to solve global environmental and energy problems.

The organizers have invited numerous internationally recognized scientists from all around the world as well as from Japan to discuss the current status and future perspectives of photosynthesis. We believe that this symposium will provide a fruitful occasion for scientists working in this field, in particular for young researchers, to ascertain new information, communicate directly with each other, and to feel the dynamic progress of photosynthesis research.

We cordially invite the international community of scientists to attend this international symposium and join in the exciting discussions during the invited lectures and poster session.

Date of the symposium: October 22 (Monday)-23 (Tuesday), 2012
Venue: Okayama University, the 50th Anniversary Hall, Tsushima-naka, Kita-ku, Okayama city, Okayama, Japan (access map). Both the oral and poster sessions will be held in the same building.
No registration fee is required.

Invited speakers (confirmed):
E.J. Boekema (Univ. Groningen, The Netherlands)
G. Brudvig (Yale Univ., USA)
G. Garab (Hungarian Academy of Science, Hungary)
M. Li (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)
J. Messinger (Umeå Univ., Sweden)
N. Nelson (Tel Aviv Univ., Israel)
P. Nixon (Imperial College, UK)
K.K. Niyogi (UC Berkeley, USA)
J.D. Rochaix (Univ. Geneva, Switzerland)
F.A. Wollman (CNRS, France)
L.-X. Zhang (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)
M. Ikeuchi (Univ. Tokyo, Japan）
W. Sakamoto (Okayama Univ., Japan)
J.-R. Shen (Okayama Univ., Japan)
Y. Takahashi (Okayama Univ., Japan)
A. Tanaka (Hokkaido Univ., Japan)
T. Noguchi (Nagoya Univ., Japan)
Y. Yamamoto (Okayama Univ., Japan）
H. Wada (Univ. Tokyo, Japan)

REGISTRATION
Deadline for registration, participation in the reception, and abstract submission: September 1, 2012
http://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/en/tp/cooperation/inter_sympo.html

Registration Site
・I will attend the symposium.
・I will present a poster.
The opening reception of the symposium will be held on 22 October, from 18:00-20:00 at Okayama University South Facility for Student Welfare.

The fees are as follows.
Researchers : 4,000 Japanese Yen
Students: 2,000 Japanese Yen

ABSTRACTS
We invite you to the poster session to present your results.
The abstracts of all the invited speakers and posters will be included in a Symposium Abstract booklet. Please send the abstract (size A4, one page; downloadable form) to J.-R. Shen of the organizing committee.

"Solar Energy and Photosynthesis"
On October 21 (Sunday), public lectures on "Solar Energy and Photosynthesis" will be held at Okayama University. These lectures are open to the public, and the lecturers will highlight the general aspects of photosynthesis, as well as the recent progress of photosynthesis research.

Date of the public lectures: October 21 (Sunday) , 2012, 14：00-16：30
The venue: Okayama University, the 50th Anniversary Hall, Tsushima-naka, Kita-ku, Okayama city, Okayama, Japan (access map).
Lecture 1：Prof. N. Nelson (Tel Aviv Univ., Israel) (Title to be announced)
Lecture 2：Prof. J.-R. Shen (Okayama Univ., Japan) (Title to be announced)

【Organizing committee of the Okayama University International Symposium】
　S. Yamamoto (Vice President, Okayama University)
　S. Takahashi (Dean of Faculty of Science, Okayama University)
　J.-R. Shen (Professor, Okayama University)
　Y. Takahashi (Professor, Okayama University)
　Y. Yamamoto (Professor, Okayama University)
　W. Sakamoto (Professor, Okayama University)
　M. Nishimura (Research associate, Okayama University）

Enquiries
　　　　J.-R. Shen: shen@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp
　　　　Y. Takahashi: taka@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp
　　　　Y. Yamamoto: yasusiya@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp