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Recent years have seen world tensions ease as conflicts between East and West have disappeared. The world is now seeking a new order and these changing times make us yet more conscious of the difficulties we face, such as the differences between advanced and developing countries, the ever increasing destruction of nature, and global environmental problems caused by fluoride and carbon dioxide pollution. There are great hopes that Japan, with her strong economic and technological base, will be able to make a significant contribution to the sustainable development of the world in the future.
Nevertheless, Japan harself currently faces difficulties in maintaining her industrial capability. Problems such as an increasing aged population, and a reduction in popularity of manufacturing as a career caused by changing attitudes among young workers, are all contributing factors. Technological innovation has the potential to help overcome these difficulties and Mechanical Engineering, the keystone of Industrial Science and Technology, must adapt to new situations through the combination of advanced technology and engineering skills with original science.
Since 1937, the Mechanical Engineering Laboratory (MEL) has contributed to industrial development through basic research at the forefront of technology. The main fields of activity of the laboratory have been Materials Science & Technology, Bioengineering, Information & Systems Science, Advanced Machine Technology, Energy Technology, Manufacturing Technology, and Robotics. We now also have significant involvement in national projects such as Micromachine Technology,World Energy Network.
An important part of the responsibility of the laboratory to society is dissemination of the knowledge and experience gained through our research. This responsibility is met in a variety of ways including active cooperation with Japanese Industry and Universities, and collaboration with scientists from overseas under various international agreements and Government research programs.
The pages that follow contain an introduction to our laboratory. I hope that this information proves to be interesting and informative, and serves to illustrate the role of MEL in toady's world.
