Message from Director of J-PARC Center

 
   Message for 2017, From Naohito Saito, Director of the J-PARC Center Greetings Upon Issuing the First J-PARC NEWS of the New Year

Message from the Project Director   I think last year was a year of growth for J-PARC. It has been more than three years since the Hadron incident, and I believe safe operation of the facility is finally getting on track. Going forward, I want to continue our efforts to realize high-quality research, based on a humble awareness of safety by each person involved in facility operations.

    We have also created the slogan "Mindful of Others" to promote watching out for the safety of others, not just oneself. In Japanese, the slogan means "being mindful of your surroundings." If you see unsafe behavior, do not hesitate. Say something, and urge the person to consider how the work can be done safely. At a glance, this may seem like meddling, but as an activity which raises the safety consciousness of both the person urging caution and the person being cautioned, this approach is highly regarded, by the experts who conduct safety auditing, as a campaign to be encouraged even more. In this way, we intend to further pursue safety, including users and contractors.

    Looking to research results, last year we issued a total of 12 press releases. Results achieved through experiments using J-PARC spanned a wide range of areas, including a first step toward elucidation of CP symmetry through the T2K (Tokai to Kamioka) neutrino oscillation experiment, a new ordered state of high-pressure ice, the internal behavior of lithium batteries during charging and discharging, and successful observation of the abnormal behavior of proteins connected with the onset of Parkinson's disease.

    To share results like these with people in the local community, we invited Professor Takaaki Kajita, collaborator in the T2K experiment and a Nobel laureate, to Tokai Village, and held a talk including a mingling session with elementary and junior high school students. This was such a tremendous success that the venue overflowed. A facility open house was also held for the first time in four years, and this provided opportunities for people from the local community to see the steadily growing J-PARC.

    For my greeting for this year, I would like to pledge that we will continue our step-by-step efforts to produce even greater results with our users, and share them with both the local community and the world.


  January 4, 2017
Naohito Saito, Director, J-PARC Center