UTSA hosts visit by Eikei Suzuki, governor of Mie Prefecture in Japan
(Aug. 28, 2014) -- Eikei Suzuki, governor of the Mie Prefecture in Japan, visited UTSA this morning as part of a two-day visit to San Antonio. He attended a reception in the Main Building Regents' Room hosted by UTSA officials and toured the Advanced Visualization Laboratory and Kleberg Advanced Microscopy Center on the Main Campus.
Mauli Agrawal, UTSA vice president for research, welcomed Suzuki to the campus and escorted him to the Advanced Visualization Laboratory. The laboratory is managed by Professor Yusheng Feng in the Center for Simulation, Visualization and Real Time Prediction.
The laboratory allows researchers to see large datasets in a graphic format. It is anchored by a 14.5-foot wide by six-foot tall visualization wall created using two dozen widescreen monitors driven by a high-performance computing cluster. The laboratory's distinguishing feature is a high-definition haptic device integrated with the wall and a 3-D television to allow researchers to touch and feel the digital models they create in their research.
Suzuki then toured the Kleberg Advanced Microscopy Center, led by Professor Miguel Jose-Yacaman, Lutcher Brown Distinguished Chair of Physics. The center houses one of the world's most powerful microscopes, which can magnify a strand of hair 20 million times. With this instrument, researchers are studing nanoscience and are working to develop new treatments to combat a variety of human diseases.
Suzuki's visit to San Antonio comes at the invitation of former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, with whom he met in Japan in 2013. During the San Antonio visit, Mayor Ivy Taylor and Commissioner Kevin Wolff will sign a letter of intent with the Japanese governor for exchange and collaboration in diverse areas of economic development.
Suzuki received his degree in economics from the University of Tokyo in 1998 and that year began serving in Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. He was elected governor of Mie Prefecture in April 2011, becoming Japan's youngest governor. His wife, Miho Takeda, is a former synchronized swimmer and Olympic medalist (Athens games).
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