Message（16）Short Comment for APC
In the second day of the 8th Asian Photochemistry Conference (APC) I had a surprise! Prof. K. George Thomas, the chairman of this APC, asked me to remain in the last session with my wife. We were called to come up to the stage where Prof. Ken Ghiggino, the president of Asian and Oceania Photochemistry Association (APA), kindly covered my shoulder with a wonderful Indian shawl. I was so happy, as this Indian custom means that I am very much acknowledged by many participants. Incidentally I remembered old days when APC and APA were settled. The following was my short address after the event.
APC was first organized in Hong Kong in 1996 whose chairman was Prof. Hiroyuki Hiraoka of Hog Kong University of Science and Technology. This meeting shifted to Daejeon, Korea in 1999, and came to India in 2002. The 3rd APC was held in a hotel located in the seaside of Mumbai and the chairman was Prof. Jai Pal Mittal who has always been and is here today. That APC was successfully organized, during which APA was started. In Asia scientific, political, and economic situations are not common to many countries, so that setting APA was not easy compared to Photochemistry Associations in Europe and America. This difficulty was solved practically by the representative councilors from India and Taiwan. Dr. Mittal and Nobel Laureate Prof. Yuan-Tseh Lee led the discussion and devoted their great efforts to convince all the councilors that APA could be settled only as an integration of regional photochemistry societies, not of countries. Indeed the discussion and diplomatic ability of Por. Mittal were excellent. Then I was selected as the first president of APA and worked for APA for long times. This is the reason why I was wearing the cape.
After this successful meeting, APC was organized in Taiwan in 2005, in Beijing in 2008, in Wellington in New Zealand in 2010, in Osaka in 2012, and now has come back to India. Indian photochemists should be proud to organize the second APC ahead of the other societies. This time APC is organized in south India, Trivandrum Kerala. This place, God’s own country, is indeed wonderful and great efforts by Prof. K. George Thomas, Prof. Suresh Das, Prof. K. R. Copidas, and local committee members should be very much appreciated by all APA members. I must point out that the important roles of Indian Scientist are recognized and expected in Asia and I would like to express my sincere thanks to Prof. Thomas, Prof. Das, and their colleagues to hold such excellent meetings.
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