On June 22, the Canon Foundation held its 9th “Pursuit of Ideals” & “Science and Technology that Achieve a Good Future” at the STATION CONFERENCE TOKYO facility in Chiyoda City, Tokyo. This event was simultaneously held online as well, resulting in a very high turnout.

This symposium consisted of three reports on findings in the “Pursuit of Ideals” Research Grant Program, research for which concluded this March, as well as eight progress reports in both the “Pursuit of Ideals” and “Science and Technology that Achieve a Good Future” Research Grant Programs and three interim reports in the “Science and Technology that Achieve a Good Future” Research Grant Program. The diverse, fascinating research content was enthusiastically reported by fourteen researchers, making the symposium a highly-stimulating event.

In addition to offline attendees, members of the Screening Committee proactively took part in the proceedings online as well, offering questions from sharp points of view and advice based on their deep insight. The ensuing discussions were very lively.

After the presentation by the researchers concluded, Chief of the Screening Committee Shinichiro Ogaki offered his general comments on the symposium and expressed his expectations for the future, saying: “Wonderful research that connected basic science and application of findings from a broad perspective in diverse fields was presented for both the ‘Pursuit of Ideals’ and ‘Science and Technology that Achieve a Good Future’ programs. Going forward, please establish linkage among your findings by taking advantage of the grant systems offered by the Canon Foundation to connect your research to that by researchers in other fields of specialization.”

To close the symposium, Canon Foundation Chairman Hiroyuki Yoshikawa expressed his expectations, saying: “At present, our discipline (of science and technology) has a very tight academic framework. Yet, science must be flexible. A good future is not something that can be achieved with a single academic field. We must examine issues from various directions and uncover new issues without being bound by the confines of our current discipline. In my view, being able to engage in unrestricted research with unrestricted locations secured for that purpose constitutes true progress in science. From that point of view, I found the reports that you made at this symposium to be fascinating. I greatly look forward to the future as well.”