103rd Chair: Dr. Hiroki Akasaka
(Institute of Science Tokyo)
It is my pleasure to serve as the 103rd Chair of the Materials and Processing (M&P) Division of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME). With the support of Prof. Yasuhiro Yamazaki (Chiba Univ.), Vice-Chair, Prof. Yoshihiko Arao (Waseda Univ.), Secretary, members of the steering committee, members of the public relations and technical committees, and the JSME staff for M&P, I would like to have a smooth running of the division this year and continue the development of the M&P division.
My first assignment to this division was 13 years ago in 2012, as a member of the 8th Technical Committee. I was 35 years old and a so-called “young scientist”, but I have been a member of this division for 13 years. At that time, the senior committee members were able to smoothly manage each committee and run the activities of this division, which I found amazing. I could barely keep up with the discussions, so I never dreamed that I would be asked to be a division chair. Even now, I cannot manage the division well as smartly as the previous division chair, and I will make every effort to ensure the smooth running of the division.
This year we will be holding the international conferences. We held the very successful first ICM&P conference held in Okinawa in 2022 under the social environment still affected by the Corona infection. Following this first conference, the 2nd International Conference on Mechanical Materials and Materials Processing 2025 (ICM&P2025) will be held from November 3rd (Monday) to 6th (Friday), at the Hilton HOTELS & RESORTS, Guam, USA. Guam is less than four hours away by direct flight, and even in November, when it is cold in Japan, you can enjoy swimming in the ocean as if it were summer. We are also preparing to hold a banquet at this year's conference in order to prevent infectious diseases. We sincerely look forward to the participation of all members of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers as well as people from all over the world who are involved in mechanical materials and materials processing.
When I took up the position of division chair, I have decided to ask some young researchers and members of industry to join on the committee of this division. This is because the number of young researchers and industry members involved in the management of the division has been decreasing in recent years. First, I asked new and young researchers to serve as committee members because I would like to encourage young researchers to participate in division’s activities and to create a fine network of researchers in this field that transcends generations. On the other hand, the participation of newcomers to the division committee is expected to bring new ideas and create a new generation of technical fields of mechanical materials and their processing. For this reason, I have welcomed new members to the committee this year, so the committee members have changed. I had also asked the company's researchers to participate as committee members. Originally, the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME), as a large engineering society, has the role of connecting industry and academia, but in recent years, the majority of the committee members of the M&P division have been from academia. In addition, the number of talks from the industrial side in the Material Processing Technical Conference, or etc. has been decreasing. In order to improve this situation and to make the Society a place for building cooperation between industry and academia, I and some members had asked company researchers to join the committee. I would like to incorporate the opinions of these industrial committee members and aim to make changes so that the M&P division can contribute to bridging between academia and industry. I hope that the synergistic effect by the senior and the new committee members will further activate the M&P division.
Finally, the M&P division covers the materials and processing, which are the foundation of industry. Thus, there are areas of overlap with other divisions, and we have co-hosted seminars and other events with other divisions. Such interdisciplinary fields require multiple academic knowledge are necessary, and new academic fields are often emerge from the different perspectives brought by multiple fields. On the other hand, these new fields of study are often not taught by universities and other educational institutions. I believe that conferences and lectures by the societies are the place to get the knowledge such new and interdisciplinary fields. I have studied in the interdisciplinary area related to materials, and have studied in each of the three fields of electrical engineering, chemistry, and mechanical engineering, and it is not unusual for me to return home excited to get new knowledge with “Excitement”, especially at the Material Processing Technical Conference, where talks are given in new areas. I will continue to hold conferences and seminars that can provide such “Excitement” (Wakuwaku in Japanese) to the members, and we will continue to manage the M&P division so that they can enjoy such “Excitement”. I would be happy if I could successfully fulfil my responsibilities as the division chair for the past year, and if I could be of any help to the revitalization of the M&P division.