Leveraging Innovations Across The Pacific

“Leveraging Innovations Across The Pacific”
SILICON VALLEY’S JAPANESE UNIVERSITIES
Thursday, September 28, 2006
6:00 p.m. Reception 6:45 p.m. Program

Panel:

Moderator:
Yoichiro (Yokum) Taku
Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, PC

Over the last year, there has been a growing trend of Japanese universities establishing offices in Silicon Valley. As a result, in order to continue to bring you examples of the combination of the “best of both worlds” with the US and Japan, we have asked the heads of three of those universities to share their vision and the inventions and research by these universities that may give your business or research efforts competitive advantage by collaborating with them.

There are many inventions and entrepreneurs emerging from these universities that the public is unaware of. For example, optical fiber technology came from Tohoku University; Akio Morita, Founder of SONY came from Osaka University; Kazuo Inamori, Founder & Chairman Emeritus of Kyocera came from Kagoshima University, etc.

Come and find out what other inventions and research are in the pipeline. They may be of interest to your corporations for alliances and collaboration. VC’s might also find projects that warrant funding.

Please RSVP by September 26, 2006.

PANEL BIOGRAPHY: (in alphabetical order by last name)

Yuji Ide
Yuji Ide is Director of Kagoshima University’s Silicon Valley Office and also CEO of Pixera Corporation which develops, builds, and markets digital cameras for the professional users of Biomedical/Scientific Imaging, Industrial Imaging, Security/Surveillance/CCTV, and Video Conferencing. Pixera is privately funded by corporate partners and leading US and international venture capital funds. He is a leading innovator in visual communications who has authored over 100 patents in the field of digital cameras, video cameras and many other imaging technologies.

He also serves as President of Asia Pacific Medical Innovation Forum whose membership is expected to grow up to 1,000 next year. He holds a BS from Kagoshima University.

Yoshikatsu Murooka
Yoshikatsu Murooka, PhD is Executive Director of Osaka University, San Francisco Center for Education and Research. He also holds two positions at Osaka University’ graduate schools. Dr. Murooka published more than 180 original papers and 50 reviews and books in his fields and their application. Dr. Murooka was editor in-chief for the Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering from 2001-2004.

Dr. Murooka received his Master’s and PhD in biotechnology from Osaka University. He was a visiting fellow and scientist at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. He serves on the board of Japan’s Society for Biotechnology, and acts as an international advisor for the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) and New York Academy of Science.

Toshihiko Nishimura
Toshihiko Nishimura, MD/PhD, is Deputy Director of Tohoku University US Office and also CEO of Center for the Advancement of Health and Bioscience whose mission is contributing for human health based on human centered medicine. He has been dedicating his entire career to bioscience, academically and commercially.

Dr. Nishimura graduated from Tohoku University Medical Center, and became a cardiovascular surgeon. He has been researching micro vascular system and humanized mice at Stanford Medical Center since 1998. He is a professor at Tohoku University and visiting professor at Keio University Medical Center and Kagoshima University. He serves on the board of CIEA, NPO, Japan and CAHB, NPO, USA.

Yoichiro Taku
Yoichiro (“Yokum”) Taku is a corporate and securities partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, representing technology and growth companies at all stages through private financings, strategic transactions, public offerings and mergers and acquisitions. He also represents investment banks in public offerings and investors in venture capital financings. Yokum has been involved in over 25 public offerings and over 100 private financings and acquisitions.

Yokum also heads Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s Japan practice. He advises U.S. companies on their transactions in Japan, and Japanese companies on their transactions in the United States. Yokum worked at the Tokyo law firm of Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu in 1994 and 1995. He received a B.A. in political science from the University of Minnesota and a J.D. from the University of Chicago.

• Posted September 23, 2006
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