Over the past two decades experimental and theoretical tools have reached an unsurpassed level of sophistication in describing the dynamics of simple molecular systems. Crucial to this have been the breathtaking developments in laser spectroscopic techniques, in particular since the advent of ultrashort pulse lasers, and in the development of new theoretical concepts combined with the impressive increase in computational capacity. More recently, the effort has passed from diagnosing reactions to controlling them, opening very promising prospects for a large class of applications in Chemistry, Physics and Material Science. The emphasis is now shifting to systems of ever greater complexity such as condensed phases and biological systems. Indeed, most biological functions and chemical reactions in Nature take place in the condensed phases or in heterogeneous media. The same holds for preparative chemistry in Industry. The study of condensed phase dynamics has witnessed a tremendous development over the past few years due to the variety of situations encountered and problems to be solved. These call for expertise in the fields of Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
The purpose of this conference is to foster development of an international network of young (and not so young!) experimentalists and theoreticians working in the exciting area of condensed phase quantum dynamics. The program of this meeting emphasized various aspects of quantum dynamics in many body systems, as probed by conventional and ultrafast laser techniques. The topics that will be covered during the meeting include photoinduced dynamics in:
Thirteen invited talks were presented to an audience about 50 persons. We hoped that this format would allow intense discussions and a fruitful exchange of ideas. A poster session was also held to discuss the topics more closely and to exchange information.
From bacteria to human, life of all aerobic organisms is supported mainly by energy derived from oxidation of foods. For example, over 90 % of dioxygen taken up through the human lungs is consumed in aerobic respiration. Electrons liberated from respiratory substrates are used to reduce dioxygen, the ultimate electron acceptor, to water. Simultaneously, protons are pumped out by a mechanism coupled with intramolecular electron transfer, thus establishing a transmembrane electrochemical gradient of protons. The heme-copper binuclear center that offers an efficient reaction field for dioxygen reduction, has been found in a superfamily of respiratory terminal oxidases and is characterized by its unique coordination structure. In 1995 the X-ray crystallographic structures of cytochrome c oxidases from bovine and P. denitrificans have been determined with an atomic resolution. They provide us a molecular basis to elucidate the electron-transfer-coupled proton pump, one of the main themes in biological energy transduction. Taking this special occasion, this conference was held.
The conference began with a plenary lecture by Dr. M. Saraste followed by 4 oral and a poster sessions. Seventeen invited talks and eleven posters were presented. The oral sessions were divided into four topics: (1) Structure, (2) Molecular Biology, (3) Dynamics and Mechanics, and (4) Reaction Field, of Terminal Oxidases. At the beginning of each session, the chair briefly explained the state of the art and the problems to be solved of each topic. The poster session began with two minutes briefing by individual presenter.
Productive and stimulating discussions about the topics were made. The poster session, started at 7:30 pm, continued till as late as 11:00 pm. Several new plans for international joint research were proposed. As a whole, this conference was scientifically fruitful and in this sense it was successful thanks to the distinguished participants and the supports from IMS.
The first clear evidence of the existence of the metal electrons in the molecular crystals was obtained by the X-ray observation of the giant Kohn anomaly about 25 years ago. Since then extremely large progress has been achieved in the physics and chemistry of molecular conducting systems. Especially, the discovery of the organic superconductor in 1979-1980 encouraged greatly the development of new molecular metal systems. The structure-chemical concept of the molecular design of the two-dimensional systems with stable metallic states was developed in the middle of 1980s. The appearance of various two-dimensional p metals and superconductors enabled the sophisticated experimental studies on the low-temperature magneto-transport properties of the organic conducting systems, which revealed the molecular metals to be "clean systems" with well-defined Fermi surfaces.
The main aim of this Okazaki Conference was to review the important conducting systems developed in the last decade and to find new clue for future progress. The main topics of the conference are (1) the development of new BEDT-TTF conductors and superconductors and the new physics of the two-dimensional organic conducting systems, (2) new conducting metal dithiolene complexes with extended p electron systems, (3) organic metals with magnetic anions and molecular metals with p-d mixing bands, (4) trials toward the development of organic ferromagnetic conductors, (5) syntheses and characterization of new organic conductors.
The conference consisted of 40 oral and 63 poster presentations, and was attended by 153 scientists. The scale of the 58th Okazaki Conference was exceptionally large. The very fruitful discussions were made to get the future prospects of molecule-based conductors.
Self-assembled multilayer structures on surfaces based on inorganic compounds comprise one of the upsurging fields in materials chemistry. Comprehension of 2D or 3D molecular assemblies on surfaces and of controlled self-organization of multilayers will provide us with a new paradigm for future advances in material science. The aim of this conference is to discuss the synthesis and structural control of multilayer materials based on the inorganic compounds, molecular assembled solids linked by molecular building blocks, and characterization and electrochemical/photochemical functions of new structures. The conference consists of four major topics: (1) syntheses and characterization of multilayer materials on surfaces, (2) structural control of self-assembled multilayer materials based on inorganic layered solids, or molecular building blocks, (3) molecular architecture of supramolecular inorganic-organic co-assemblies, (4) electrochemical/photochemical functions of multilayer materials. The conference involves twenty-six oral presentations and also fifty-four posters, and was attended by 120 scientists. The conference offered the opportunity for a full and informal discussion of recent achievements and problems, and exchanges of ideas among the scientists in different fields such as solid-state chemistry, surface chemistry, electrochemistry, and inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry. The molecular design through self assembly, fundamental surface characterization, and properties and function of inorganic monolayer and multilayers were extensively discussed.
back to CONTENTS of Annual Review 1997