Tsukuba Science City

Erickson HP: Structure of a fibronectin type III domain from tenascin phased by MAD analysis of the selenomethionyl protein. Gazetteer Tsukuba Science City Where is it? Sixty kilometres northeast of Tokyo and forty from the airport — just far enough to be inconvenient for both. The city has an estimated population of 180 000 and covers an area of about 27 km 2. How old is it? Although it's now 33 years since the Japanese government first decided to establish the new city, most of the buildings are much more recent. It is only 24 years since the first research institute opened (Research in Inorganic Materials), and a mere 11 years since hamburger chain McDonalds made its cultural debut. Why was it built? For two reasons, really. Tokyo was rapidly becoming overcrowded , and the government wanted to create a focal point for scientific research. By relocating 45 public institutes, covering the physical, life and environmental sciences, as well as an entire university (formerly Tokyo University of Education) to the new city, the government provided a catalyst for subsequent development. Now there are also several private research institutes and over 100 companies with research facilities in the area, including many foreign companies, such as Texas Instruments and Glaxo–Wellcome. How has the University fared? Now called Tsukuba University, it is located in landscaped surrounds on a large campus to the north of the city. In its short history, Tsukuba University has hit the headlines surprisingly frequently. One reason is the reforms — considered radical in Japan — such as encouraging collaborations with private companies, that have been instigated by the present head, Professor Leo Esaki, one of Japan's few Nobel laureates (he won the Physics prize in 1973 for the discovery of tunnelling in semiconductors). Nearly everyone has an opinion of Esaki, and not all are complimentary. Tensions were readily apparent this year when, despite his pre-eminence in Japanese society, Esaki only narrowly won re-election for a second term of office. Is the press coverage always positive? Not always. One of the University's alumni, a chemist called Masami Tsuchiya, joined the Aum Shinrikyo (Aum Supreme Truth Cult) instead of taking the usual career path into a lifetime job with a large company. There, he applied his chemical expertise to the production of sarin nerve gas. On 20 March 1995 his work was put to devastating use when Aum cult members released …