Events
3rd Japan - Malaysia Symposium on Geohazards and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Date: October 27 - 28, 2009
Venue: International Conference Hall II, Clock Tower Centennial Hall, Kyoto University, Japan, etc.
Organized by:
- JSPS / VCC Core University Program "Environmental Science" Group 8: Geotechnical & Ecological Environmental Management
- Kyoto University Global COE Program "Global Center for Education and Research on Human Security Engineering for Asian Megacities"
Co-organized by:
- Kyoto University
- Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
- University of Malaya
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- Vice-Chancellors' Council of National Universities in Malaysia
Number of attendants: 40
Report 072
Outline
"3rd Japan-Malaysia Symposium on Geohazards and Geoenvironmental Engineering" was held at International Conference Hall II, Clock Tower Centennial Hall, Kyoto University on 27-28 October, 2009. The aim of this symposium is to present and summarize the achievements in this decade by Research Group 8 "Basic Environmental Technology for Zero Discharge - Geotechnical and Ecological Environment Management", Bilateral Cooperative Research Program "Environmental Science", in the framework of the Core University Program organized by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and Vice-Chancellors' Council of National Universities in Malaysia (VCC). In addition, future perspectives and plans of educational and research collaboration on this topic between Malaysia and Japan were discussed among the participants. The topic of this symposium has been scoped by Research Project "E2: Geotechnical Engineering for Waste Reuse And Management" in this GCOE program.
Report
On the first day of the symposium (27th October), Prof. Takeshi Katsumi (Kyoto Univ.) and Prof. Dato Ibrahim Kommo (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia), Japanese and Malaysian G8 leaders, introduced the outline of the G8 achievements in the last decade. Then, Prof. Yuzuru Matsuoka (Kyoto Univ.), who acts as both the leader of this GCOE program and the coordinator of this bilateral collaborative research program, introduced the framework of the project and expressed his expectation and appreciation for G8. In addition, Prof. Katsumi, as the representative of the group, expressed sincere appreciation to Prof. Koichiro Oshima, the representative director of this program, Dean of the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto Univ., Prof. Matsuoka, and Prof. Emeritus Masashi Kamon, the former Japanese-side G8 leader, President of the Kagawa National College of Technology, for their great contributions for G8 activities. The symposium consisted of 3 lead lectures and 19 technical paper presentations on geo-disaster and geoenvironmental issues in Japan and Malaysia, such as landslide, debris flow, soil & groundwater contamination, and waste disposal. For sustainability of future collaboration, Japanese and Malaysian participants reached agreement that the following challenges and opportunities will be maintained based on the G8 network and GCOE framework: 1) Joint symposia for the future, 2) Collaborative research projects based on the identified themes, 3) Grant for actual research collaboration, 4) Student internships and joint supervision, and 5) Opportunities for exchange of post doctorate and post graduate students. On the second day (28th October), a technical visit was arranged to understand the practices in the preservation of geoenvironment in Japan. The destinations included the remediation site for illegal waste dumping using the in-situ containment technology and the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant, Kansai Electric Power Company.
