History of Japan–U.S./High Pressure Mineral Physics Seminars: 1976 to 2012

Under the auspices of the U.S.–Japan Cooperative Science Program between the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the first U.S.–Japan joint seminar on High Pressure Research Applications in Geophysics was held in Honolulu, Hawaii, 5–8 July 1976 and was attended by 47 scientists. Originated as bilateral U.S.–Japan seminars on high-pressure research applications in geophysics by Murli Manghnani and Syun-iti Akimoto, this series continued at 5-year intervals under those auspices from 1976 to 1996 [1981 in Hakone, Japan 1986 in Turtle Bay, Hawaii, 1991 in Ise, Japan, and 1996 in Maui, Hawaii], with venues alternating between Hawaii and Japan. In the 21st century, as a result of growing international interest in high-pressure mineral physics, the seminar series was re-envisioned with a broader focus “more international” focus than the original U.S.–Japan bilateral series. The first of the new meetings entitled “High Pressure Mineral Physics Seminars” [HPMP-6] took place in Verbania, Italy on August 26–31, 2002. More than 84 scientists from Asia, Australia, the Americas and Europe attended. HPMPS-7 took place in Matsushima, Japan on May 8–12, 2007 and was attended by 134 scientists from throughout the world. In this paper, we review this history culminating with the HPMPS-8 at Lake Tahoe, California in July 2012, which was held jointly with the Annual Meeting of COMPRES: Consortium for Materials Properties Research in Earth Sciences.