“Advanced” value shift

　

The word “advanced,” in many cases, conjures up an image of a single entity protruding in front of the others. The pioneering and unique researchers whose names will go down in the history of Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST), have produced many achievements in precisely this way of standing out from the rest.

The challenges that face our society today are extremely complex, and it is no longer possible to combat them by specializing in a single discipline, in other words by advancing at a single point only. I believe that the power to resolve complex social challenges lies in the leading edge ? advancement? emerging from organic “aspects” in which there are opportunities for each individual research to be always conscious of, be stimulated by and connect freely with other fields, while being outstanding outcome developed from solid basic research.

Leading up to the establishment of RCAST, organizations were broken up and recreated many times. In the end, the RCAST that we know today was born, not as a mere extension of the past, but with the aim of “pioneering new fields of advanced science and technology for human beings and society”.

It is now 30 years since the establishment of RCAST. Even if it may be said to have become ordinary compared to the past, we have inherited the DNA of RCAST in that we “do not look back at the past, but keep our sights firmly on the present and the future” and continue the challenge of advancement that comes from a shift in our own values, rather than the established concept of advancement.

We will continue to strengthen and expand the various “aspects” of RCAST, such as new research focused on the future, research environments and systems, human resource development and industry-academia collaboration, etc. We are committed to giving ever more impetus to diverse and flexible ideas and forums, and creating “advancement” that will resolve social challenges and enrich our future. We will do our best to share the source of that passion with many people at home and abroad.

 

Ryohei KANZAKI,
Director