Prof. Kawata is going to attend the IYL2015 closing ceremony at Yucatan Siglo XXI Convention Center, Merida, and deliver a speech.

Date & Time: February 5th, 15:30-18:00
Location: Yucatan Siglo XXI Convention Center, Merida, Mexico
Parallel workshops
W5: Linking industry and academia, new technological advances
URL: http://www.iyl2015closing.org/#!prot/c59o

Abstracts by the speakers from 4 regions in the world are:

Satoshi Kawata

START-UPS FROM UNIVERSITIES AND LINKAGE WITH INDUSTRY IN JAPAN    I will introduce the history and the state of art of linkage between industry and academia in Japan. Most of research universities in Japan are national universities, while professors of national universities have been strictly banned from involving any private sectors until 2002. Now professors are encouraged to have collaboration with industry to even start up a business. There are a quite few programs funded by the government for promoting research collaborations, business start-ups, and investments for universities. I will introduce the activities of Photonics Center of Osaka University as an example. I also share with audience the issues in the promotion of such activities.

Sir David Payne

Photonics, the technology of light generation, detection, and manipulation, underpins much of modern life, from the optical fibre internet, to manufacturing with lasers, to medical imaging and security. It is the enabling technology that guides airliners, lights our way, and gives us the power to probe at the microscopic level and understand life itself. In Europe alone, it is a $60 billion (USD) industry employing around 400,000 people. Who are these people and what are they working on to support our way of life, our wealth and wellbeing? And what does tomorrow have to bring to new optical devices and techniques that will change our lives?

Eric Swanson

The field of optics and photonics is one of the key technologies for the 21st century and will power major scientific, economic, and quality of life impacts across many market segments including telecommunications, healthcare, energy, and manufacturing. This is particularly apparent in the field of biomedical optics. This talk will illustrate the power of optics and photonics to impact quality of life on a global scale by focusing on a case study on one of the fastest growing segments of biomedical optics, the field of Optical Coherence Tomography, and how a complex ecosphere of researchers, government funding, entrepreneurs, and small and large corporate entities powered the successful translation of an idea into a major new medical imaging modality that has advanced the state of clinical knowledge, tools, and decision making across many medical specialties from treating blinding disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer on a global scale.

Mourad Zghal

EDUCATION, OUTREACH AND INDUSTRIAL LINKS AT AFRICAN SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES AND LABORATORIES   The industry related to the optics and photonics sciences is not developed in Africa and is restricted to only very few countries. The creation of scientific societies active in the field of optics and photonics has allowed reinforcing and better advertising the work of local scientists and then encouraging linkage with industry. In this presentation, I will discuss the experience of the optical society of Tunisia and the African Laser Centre in terms of education, outreach activities as well as industrial linkage.