On day 4 of JSSF we had an awesome opportunity to tour research and development departments of some of the largest Japanese technological and scientific companies. I personally took part in a tour of the pharmaceutical company Nippon Shinyaku Co., LTD. We were given a brief introduction to many aspects of drug development. It was amazing to find out that development of one single pharmaceutical product can take up to 17 years.

The tour included a visit to one of the company’s many laboratories, where we could see a real application of one of the processes that we’ve learned about in Chemistry 11. Liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy allow researchers to determine a concentration of a certain substance and therefore enable them to evaluate different metabolic processes happening in a biological organism. The other interesting aspect to learn about was the increasing use of information technology and computer science in pharmaceutical development. Special software allows pharmacists to model various processes that happen on a molecular level. This tour gave a better understanding of the complexity and various obstacles of this industry.

– Andrey P.

 

Today I had the distinct pleasure to go on the NISSHA Printing Co. tour. I was able to see the various products that the company prints on all mediums, ranging from washing machine covers to the plastic screens on the Wii U. Mr. Suzuki, the CEO and president of this company, delivered a short presentation about the connections between science and business, as well as the application of our knowledge into the real world. This was my highlight of the day because it truly showed that large-scale companies are interested in our futures and our ideas, in order to create a greener and cleaner world. It has been an amazing trip thus far and I am hoping our last day will be one to remember!

– Zain K.