It may fairly be said that the IJFS has been founded by the passionate actions of Toshiyuki TOYODA (1920-2009), late Prof. Emeritus of Nagoya University.
Here, the brief history of the IJSF is presented.
In September 1953, Prof. Edoardo Amaldi (1908-1989) came Japan as a representative of Italian physicists to participate in the International Conference on Theoretical Physics held in Kyoto, held four years after Prof. Hideki Yukawa (1907-1981) was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics. Prof. Yukawa had been greatly concerned with the activities of Italian physicists, particularly in the field of cosmic ray research during the war and the post-war periods. When Prof. Toyoda called Prof. Yukawa at Columbia University in the spring of 1952, he stressed the great significance of the contribution of Italian physicists to modern particle physics under very difficult conditions (in every sense) just after the War. Yukawa highly respected Prof. Amaldi, who remained in Italy, encouraging young Italian physicists with his marvelous leadership. So, Prof. Toyoda decided to visit Italy on his way back from MIT in the spring of 1953.
In Rome he met Prof. Amaldi and Prof. Bruno Ferretti and was greatly inspired with the heritage of Galileo Galilei. During his stay at CERN from 1957 to 1958, Prof. Ferretti was the Head of the Theoretical Division, to which he belonged.
Prof. Toyoda had learned that Prof. Amaldi played the most substantial role in the founding CERN, of which Prof. Amaldi was the first Secretary-General.
In 1966, for the purpose of introducing s modern science to Italian readers, Prof. Toyoda published an article La Ricerca Scientifica in in the Italian Journal "Civiltà delle Macchine" XIV pp/61-68 with Dr. Domenico Ghio, the Director of the Italian Institute of Culture at Kudan in Tokyo.
In 1973, the Embassy of Italy in Tokyo opened the science section and Dr. Guglielmo Castro was appointed the first Scientific Attaché. Reading the aforementioned article by Toyoda with Dr. Ghio "La Ricerca Scientifica in Giappone", Dr. Castro called upon Toyoda's office, urging him to organize a group of Japanese physicists for promoting scientific cooperation between Italy and Japan. In the same year Prof. Amaldi and Prof. Giorgio Salvini came to Japan.
Prof. Amaldi's address on "Post-war Development of Italian Science" and the following dialogue with Toyoda were transmitted all over Japan through the NHK TV network.
In order to welcome Prof. Salvini, a small meeting was held at the Italian Institute of Culture in Tokyo. Prof. Toyoda, Dr. Castro and Prof. Shuji Fukui at Nagoya University discussed intensively on the urgent issue of how to organize groups in Italy and in Japan for the promotion of scientific cooperation between the two countries.
In Toyoda's memory, the meeting mentioned above was really the embryo of the Italy-Japan Science Forum.
In 1975 the Agreement on Exchanges of Scientists between the CNR (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, National Research Council) and the JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) was concluded.The first step of the scientific collaboration between the two countries had been taken of the in a governmental framework. Then, it became urgent and of utmost importance for Japanese scientists to substantiate research collaboration and also to make efforts for sustaining mutually positive interests as well as warm friendship between Italian and Japanese scientists.
Encouraged by Professors Hideki Yukawa and Sin-itiro Tomonaga and supported by Dr. Guglielmo Castro, this Forum was founded.
On January 30th, 1978, the inauguration of the IJSF was held at the Italian restaurant "Roma Sabatini" at Shibuya,Tokyo. Ambassdor Vincenzo Tornetta and the principal staff of the Embassy and twenty-eight Japanese scientists attended. Professors Sin-itiro Tomonaga, San-ichiro Mizushima, Kiyoo Wadachi and Kodi Husimi joined this event.
On April 4th, 1979 the 2nd Forum was held at the University Alumni Association in Tokyo. It was proposed that we should hold a joint symposium on fundamental physics. The proposal was greeted with enthusiasm by Prof. Amaldi and his colleagues.
The Italy-Japan Symposium on Fundamental Physics was held at the Italian Institute of Culture at Kudan, Tokyo from January 27th to 30th, 1981. The Symposium was promoted by the Embassy of Italy in Tokyo and the Italian Institute of Culture in Tokyo.The IJSF was supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian Ministry of Public Education, the National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Italy (INFN). the National Research Council of Italy (CNR), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and the Olivetti Corporation of Japan.Fifteen Italian leading physicists participated.We owed it to Ambassador Boris Biancheri that a great number of participants from Italy were able to come to Japan.The Symposium was successful and 63 Japanese participants were delighted to exchange their scientific views with Italian colleagues. The details of stimulating discussions at the symposium were published in the Proceedings in 1981.
Meanwhile, Prof. Ryuichi Kato of Medical School at Keio University and Prof. Eizo Nakano of Marine Biology at Nagoya University had left the IJSF, because they had founded their own societies with the Italian counterparts.
On the occasion of some International Conferences* held in Japan, the IJSF asked the Italian participants to discuss the future collaboration between Italy and Japan.
From the outset of the IJSF, the staff were all physicists whose research fields were nuclear and elementary particle physics. So the activities of the IJSF were much biased. This situation is not changed.
Ever since the beginning the IJSF, the successive Ambassadors and Scientific Attachés of the Embassy of Italy have warmly and strongly supported the IJSF continuously.
In thirty-four years, many prominent scientists of the IJSF have passed away.
To keep in mind the famous motto of the Galilean pupils and also of the IJSF, Prof. Toyoda at all times intentionally quotes "PROVANDO E RIPROVANDO".
Links
PAGE TOP