The university develops scientific directions
that are interesting and promising to the faculty members.
The university provides the students with necessary knowledge
and skills.
However, as the first international Computer Science and Engineering School in Japan, the University of Aizu has higher goals:
The university is developing a new synthetic style of
thinking and scientific research that combines the
characteristics of Western and Japanese mentalities.
The university is creating a new type of education and a
new type of student. This is not only due to the international
environment, but also due to the concept of top-down education,
based on involving students in research activities at the
earliest stages of education.
Our faculty comes from 16 countries (or areas) including Japan, U.S.A., Russia, China, Korea, Germany, Poland, Brazil, France, Canada, Turkey, India, Tunisia, Taiwan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The faculty has now spent more than four years in the university's international environment and has come to understand how great the influence of cultural stereotypes and the traditions of scientific schools are on the style and results of research.
We realize how these stereotypes differ and how useful the combination of various approaches to the same work can be.
Foreign faculty members now feel that the Japanese culture and traditions have increased their understanding, while their presence has influenced the Japanese faculty members and students as well.
The University of Aizu is still brand-new. It is exceedingly well constructed and equipped. All conditions to work out this ``multi-cultural reality'' are present.
This fourth issue of Annual Review already contains papers on the combined research of faculty members from different countries. We hope that in the future the number of such publications will increase, particularly after the beginning of Master's and Ph.D. programs in the university.
The Annual Review intends to show the contributions of the Laboratories and Centers of the University. The Annual Review 1996 includes technical papers (published/accepted) and academic activities from April 1, 1996 to March 31, 1997. More detailed information on the faculty members is published in the brochure ``The University of Aizu: People Advancing Knowledge for Humanity.
To request a copy of the Annual Review 1996, contact Prof. Chen by e-mail at qmchen@u-aizu.ac.jp or by fax at (81)(0)242-37-2531.
A complete version of this Annual Review 1996 is also available on our World Wide Web site at the URL: ``http://www.u-aizu.ac.jp/Annual Review of the University of Aizu, 1996''.
The Annual Review 1996 was edited by Prof. Q. M. Chen at the Office for Planning and Management with the cooperation of all Laboratories and Centers of the university. Also, we would like to list the members of the Public Relations and Publications Committee 1997: Profs. Q. M. Chen, A. Fujitsu, K. Gotoh, T. Orr, M. Osano, A. Taubin, and T. Watanabe.
In addition, President T. L. Kunii was the initiator of this Annual Review and gave much of his own time and effort to make this publication possible and to improve its quality.
Public Relations and Publications Committee
University of Aizu