"JSPS External Review Report" was issued.(PDF File 1.22MB)

University- Industry Cooperative Research Committees(a) OverviewAs noted above, these committees, each focusing on a specific and importantR&D subject, are organized at the request of academia or industry. A total of174 committees have been establishe d to date, with 57 currently inoperation. The most recently established were the Committee onCommunications Switching Power Supply Systems for Coming Era (No. 173;July 2001) and the Committee on Molecular Nanotechnology (No. 174;October 2001).Committees primarily focus on research briefings and discussion, but arealso vigorously involved in a wide range of other activities, including holdingseminars and symposia for Japanese and foreign researchers, conductingjoint research, and publishing research results. In the case of researchbriefings and discussion, themes are selected based on industrial needs,with considerations approached from diverse angles.Because committees bring together leaders in their respective fields, theyare used by young researchers in companies, etc., in particular as a valuabletraining ground. There have been cases where young company researcherswho have become acquainted with university researchers through suchcommittees have gone on to acquire a doctorate from research resultsachieved under their supervision. In this way, the committees alsocontribute to human resource development.Operating expenses are in principle covered by membership fees used to payfor committee activities.The JSPS subsidize part of the costs for international symposia organizedby committees.(b) Success storiesThe set of measurement techniques known as the Method of the JapanSociety for Promotion of Scientific Research are one case where theknowledge has been acquired to form the basis for developing and refiningnew technology. One specific example is Ultrasonic Flaw Detection Method,152