History & Philosophy of Science

Session 4: Contributing to the Launch of U.S. Venture Companies

2025.01.15
【Hisashi Iwase】 PerSeptive Biosystems was likely named by combining “Perfusion” and “Perspective” to create the term “PerSeptive.” The founder, Dr. Noubar Afeyan, was only 30 years old at the time. After graduating fro… 黒澤伸行

History & Philosophy of Science

Session 3: Corporate Acquisitions and Spin-Outs to Ventures

2025.01.15
【Hisashi Iwase】 On a summer evening in July 1995, my colleague, Sales Manager Mr. Y, and I were in a Boston sports bar, reflecting on the day with Samuel Adams beers in hand.“So, what… 黒澤伸行

History & Philosophy of Science

Session 2: The Biobusiness Battle in the Second Half of the 20th Century

2025.01.15
【Hisashi Iwase】 By the 1990s, Japanese research institutions considered four essential instruments indispensable for bioresearch. These “Four Essential Tools” referred to the DNA sequencer, DNA synthesizer, protein sequ 黒澤伸行

History & Philosophy of Science

Session 1: Was Japan Truly a Loser in 20th-Century Biotechnology?

2024.07.18
【Hisashi Iwase】 At the end of the 20th century, science and technology made immeasurable strides in the field of life sciences. The declaration of the completion of the Human Genome Project was hailed as a monumental ach… 黒澤伸行

Columns

The Good Old America (6)

2025.01.15
Have you ever heard of Buena Vista Social Club? This name became famous thanks to an album created in 1997, born out of a session between American musician Ry Cood… 黒澤伸行

Columns

The Good Old America (5)

2024.07.22
My first visit to North America was in 1972. During my childhood in Tokyo, I would often peer through the fences at Washington Heights (now Yoyogi Park) to glimpse the U.S. m… 黒澤伸行

Columns

The Good Old America (4)

2024.07.15
Upon landing at Nashville Airport (Tennessee) on a domestic flight from Boston, passengers quickly stood up as soon as the seatbelt sign was turned off. Adjusting my watch to Central Time, an hour behind Eastern Time, I ove… 黒澤伸行

Columns

The Good Old America (3)

2024.07.08
In the 1960s, several secondhand clothing stores along Omotesando and Aoyama sold surplus U.S. military jeans and apparel. Even as an elementary school student, I wore Levi’s and LEE jeans that my mother h… 黒澤伸行

Columns

The Good Old America (2)

2024.07.01
The second business trip to the United States started off in the worst possible way. My flight was delayed by three hours in Los Angeles, causing me to miss my connection. As a result, I had to take a series of overnight… 黒澤伸行

Columns

The Good Old America (1)

2024.07.01
The first time I traveled to the US for work was around 1984, during PITTCON. It was just before the release of the HPLC photodiode array detector. Atlantic City was a town of boardwalks and casinos. I found bre… 黒澤伸行