Welcome Message|The 74th Annual Meeting of The Japanese Society of Microscopy at Kurume on Northern Kyushu Island, Japan

Dear Fellow Microscopists, Colleagues, and Friends!

On the Organization of The 74th Annual Meeting of The Japanese Society of Microscopy

Tatsuo Ushiki, President of The Japanese Society of Microscopy

Kei-ichiro Nakamura, Chair of the 74th Annual Meeting

It is a great honor and pleasure to extend to you a warm invitation to join the 74th annual meeting for the Japanese Society of Microscopy (JSM2018) on May 29-31, 2018 at the Kurume City Plaza in Kurume. All members of Organizing Committee welcome you, both members and non-members of the society from domestic and overseas, to join us at the meeting in Kurume City, Fukuoka, Japan.

This will be the first JSM meeting being held in Kurume. Kurume City is located in The southern part of Fukuoka Prefecture just next to Fukuoka City. Although it is very close (only 17 min by Kyushu Shinkansen or 30min by Nishitetsu Express train from Fukuoka City), the landscape and atmosphere are totally different from those of Fukuoka City; there are charming surroundings with open and broad Chikugo Plain, the Chikugo River, the largest river in Kyushu Island running through the town, and the Mino Mountain Range.

The main topic of JSM2018 is “the Technological Singularity in the Microscopic Analysis and Imaging”, in which we would like to stress the tremendous effects of recent AI (artificial intelligence) development based on the large-scale data processing and deep-learning. The idea of AI has originally appeared in the field of image analysis. Because the development of both hardware and software electronics is far faster than we have expected, we cannot neglect those massive data obtained by drastically growing computer assisted image analysis at present. The Singularity might be coming soon.

JSM is the annual meeting for well-experienced leading scientists, young researchers as well as industrial staffs who are concerned or interested in various fields of microscopy. Thus the meeting is a place of opportunity for gathering, engaging in face to face discussion, and struggling for fusion and integration of new insights for the further advancements in such fields as multi-scale, multi-dimension, and multi-modal analyses of microscopy. We hope JSM2018 will also provide you a place for obtaining novel tips and new links towards the coming age of the Singularity.

The end of May is one of the best seasons around the year to enjoy Kurume and also Kyushu island. Kurume City is famous for its local dishes (so-called “class B gourmet”) and the Kurume City Plaza is newly built public facility in the city center, where we hope to provide spaces you can enjoy scientific communications, and also foods and the warm hospitality of the people.