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Interview−165−Synthesiology - English edition Vol.2 No.2 (2009) not become part of our social values.The conventional way of writing a research thesis is to describe the facts, and to draw conclusions from the facts to confirm the logical consistency. One can say, “that’s all”, although there is actually more to it than that. Yet, we have been writing papers because we believe that there is value in accumulating new facts in our respective fields and polishing logical completeness, without considering what if any linkage there is with social values. Daily research, however, is much more vivid and is affected strongly by social demands and government policies, but we cannot write about such things. (Ohno)That’s right. Perhaps we see only a few lines of such backgrounds of research in the introduction part of papers.(Ono)Yes, indeed. The introduction of a paper is interesting to read, but it does not determine the quality of the paper. Even if the authors have the passion and desire to meet the demands of society, if they put that down in writing, they will be met with the comment: “That’s not an academic thesis.” Through Synthesiology, we wish to present a combination of the researchers’ intelligence and intentions.Full Research and Synthesiology (Ono)AIST has been publishing an academic journal entitled Synthesiology since 2008. Considering the relationship between scientific research and society, when a scientifically significant discovery or invention is made, it draws the attention of society, and large amounts of research funds may be allotted to its research. Yet in general, it is rare that the discovery or invention makes it into society as a so-called “product.” There is a period where steady effort and patience are required, when the researcher must realize his goals one step at a time, even after popular initial interests dies down. This is the “nightmare period” for the researcher, when popular interest fades and the research funding becomes thinner. I believe the mission of a public research institution like AIST is to meet these types of challenges during the nightmare period to ensure the utilization of the research results by society.Today, the value of basic research and, at the same time, the importance of applied research are increasing. We are becoming aware that the issues of global environment, energy, health, food, and other social issues cannot be solved only by engaging in our narrow fields of basic research. Unless we boost what we call “applied research,” science will Synthesiology Editorial BoardYoshi Ohno: Leader of Optical Sensor Group, Optical Technology Division, National Institute of Standards and TechnologyAkira Ono: Senior Editor, Synthesiology; Vice President, AISTMitsuru Tanaka: Editor, Synthesiology; Research Coordinator, AISTWhen Dr. Yoshi Ohno, who engages in the research of photometry standards at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the United States, visited AIST in December, 2008, Ono and Tanaka, editors of the Synthesiology Editorial Board, took this opportunity to interview him. We were able to hear the ambitious plans of the United States Government to execute its energy-saving policy in the field of illumination, as well as the great enthusiasm among the standards researchers in meeting the requirements. It was also interesting to see several common points between Dr. Ohno’s research at NIST and the Full Research conducted at AIST.Energy-saving policy and standard research for solid-state lighting in the United States[Translation from Synthesiology, Vol.2, No.2, p.170-175 (2009)]

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