The 3rd Thailand – Korea Nanobiotechnology Joint Research Meeting opened this morning with Prof. Sirirurg Songsivilai, NANOTEC Executive Director presenting the Opening Remarks. According to Prof. Sirirurg the meeting provides a venue for interaction and mixing between nanobiotechnology researchers that will create the research sparks that the local research community needs. Prof. Sirirurg gestured a symbolic comparison of the gathering to that of the late Steve Jobs push for human interaction and creativity at his Pixar Animation Studio in the USA.
Prof. Sirirurg told the story of the 2 bathrooms at Steve Jobs’ Pixar Animation studio.
According to Prof. Sirirurg, Steve Jobs insisted there be only two bathrooms in the entire Pixar studios, and that these would be in the central space. And of course this is very inconvenient. No one wants to have to walk 15 minutes to go to the bathroom. And yet he insisted that this is the one place everyone has to go every day. If you do happen to visit Pixar, ask them about their ‘bathroom story.’ They all talk about the great conversation they had while washing their hands.
He went on to say that Steve Jobs wanted there to be mixing. He knew that the human friction makes the sparks, and that when you’re talking about a creative endeavor that requires people from different cultures to come together, you have to force them to mix; that our natural tendency is to stay isolated, to talk to people who are just like us, who speak our private languages, who understand our problems. But that’s a big mistake. And so his design was to force people to come together even if it was just going to be in the bathroom.
Leading the Korean team was Dr. Bong Hyun Chung, Director of BioNanotechnology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB). “The field of convergence is one of the key engines for economic growth and creation of jobs under the new government” said Prof. Chung. “When there is successful commercialization of new technology, this helps to contribute to the economy of any nation”.
Prof. Chung went on to inform that the new Korean government has assigned science and technology portfolio to be under the Ministry of Future, Creation and Science (MFCS). The new ministry will be involved in promoting investment in research and development.
The 3 days meeting from March 29-31 in Bangkok is organized by NANOTEC and KRIBB to promote research collaboration opportunities between Thailand and Korea. A total of 25 experts took turn to present technical papers and exchange dialogue on selected research projects. In addition, the program also included the Networking and Discussion session on 4 themes: Nanomedicine, NanoSafety, and NanoBiosensor. The 4th meeting in 2014 will take place in Korea hosted by KRIBB.
