International Symposium Held: “Structure and Dynamics of Photosynthetic Systems”

October 24, 2012

On October 22-23 Okayama University held an international symposium called "Structure and Dynamics of Photosynthetic Systems" at the 50th Anniversary Hall, hoping to further its photosynthetic systems research which has realized world-class achievements for over sixty years since our founding.
Academic lectures were given by twenty researchers from Japan and elsewhere working at the very forefront of their field, presenting the latest research achievements in areas such as the structures of photosynthetic systems and hydrolytic mechanisms. Junior researchers also made poster presentations. The participating researchers and students listened intently to the presentations and actively asked questions about them.
A public seminar called "Solar Energy and Photosynthesis" was held on October 21, just before the symposium. Professor Nathan Nelson (Tel Aviv University, Israel), a global authority on research into photosynthesis, and Professor Jian-Ren Shen (Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University), whose research was selected as one of the ten scientific "Breakthroughs of the Year 2011" by the US journal Science, both explained the mechanisms of photosynthesis and artificial use of it in a way ordinary members of the public could understand.
This was our first international symposium / public seminar on photosynthesis. Okayama University aims to become an international research center for photosynthesis studies.


Photo: Researchers from Japan and elsewhere announced their latest achievements at the symposium


Photo: Professor Nelson (center) and Professor Shen (right) answering questions at the seminar