Ch9: Organizational Structure and Budgets

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND BUDGETS

ISTEC, or more strictly, its technical arm, the Superconductivity Research Laboratory (SRL), has been known primarily as a center for materials research, with its work on high pinning bulk materials being prominent. Figure 9.1 shows ISTEC's strategic position within the superconducting activities of Japan. Even in Phase 1, ISTEC's role was quite broad, with ISTEC appearing in various MITI-supported activities: Superconducting Magnet Energy Storage (SMES), Super Magnet, Flywheel, Josephson Device, and Superconducting Materials Devices. ISTEC's role is likely to increase further in Phase 2.

SRL's annual budgets have been large compared to any other collaborative activity in any country. Figure 9.2 summarizes the first 9 years of funding for Phase 1. The budget appears as 3 parts: the first component is the initial donations by member companies, a total of ¥4.7 billion (about $39 million)¹ , which was used primarily to establish the facilities and instrumentation; the second component is the annual membership fees, which totaled ¥552 million (about $4.6 million) annually for 6 years, with some decline from 1994-6; the third component is government support from NEDO/MITI, which increased steadily to ¥2.366 billion (about $19.7 million) in 1996.

Fig. 9.1. ISTEC's role in Japan's superconductor activities, 1988-98.

Fig. 9.2. ISTEC budget, 1988-1996.

SRL's funding level of the last few years of Phase 1 was about $25 million per year -- a particularly impressive figure when one realizes that it does not include the salaries and benefits of the industrial scientists working at ISTEC. The total expenditure of Phase 1 was over $200 million dollars (excluding the industry salaries), allowing for currency fluctuations over the first 9 years of the project.

Figure 9.3 represents the management structure, projects, and laboratories of ISTEC and SRL. This panel has no information as to how this structure will change in Phase 2.

Fig. 9.3. Organization, projects, and laboratories of ISTEC and SRL (Phase 1, as of October 1997).

Table 9.1 lists the types of industrial companies that are members of SRL. Of the 103 member companies, 11 are foreign and only 22 are specifically identified as electronics and telecommunications firms.

Table 9.1
Supporting Members of ISTEC, by Industry
Field	Special Members		Ordinary Members		Total
	Japanese	Non- Japanese	Japanese	Non- Japanese
Electric Power	10		1		11
Electronics and Telecommunications	10		8	4	22
Electric Cable and Wires	6				6
Iron and Steel	4		1		5
Glass and Ceramics	2		1		3
Automobile	1		2		3
Heavy Machinery	3		1		4
Other Machinery			4		4
Chemical		1	3	1	5
City Gas	1		4		5
Metal and Mining	1		4		5
Construction and Engineering			13		13
Railways			2		2
Banking and Insurance			6		6
Research Organizations	2		1	5	8
Other Tertiary Industry			1		1
TOTAL	40	1	52	10

**Nationality of Non-Japanese Members of ISTEC as of April 1996**
United States	6
Italy	2
Germany	2
Korea	1

Source: ISTEC

The personnel of SRL has grown steadily from 118 in 1989 to 190 in 1996 (Table 9.2). Some interesting trends to note from this table are the decline in researchers sent from industry after a peak in 1991, with a growth in the number of students over the same period. The size of the administrative staff, which has never exceeded 20% of the total workforce, is refreshingly small by U.S. standards.

Table 9.2
SRL Personnel, 1989-96
	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993.4	1994.4	1995.4	1996.4
Personnel	118	124	133	153	150	173	177	190
Researchers	108	114	108	114	116	129	128	126
<li>Division Directors	7	7	7	8	8	9	10	10
<li>Employed Researchers	5	16	5	6	10	19	10	10
<li>Dispatched Researchers*	95	88	94	88	86	82	85	79
<li>Visiting Researchers^�	1	3	2	12	12	19	23	18
Students	0	0	10	11	17	21	23	37
Administrative Staff	10	10	15	28	17	23	26	27

* Total number of researchers dispatched from member companies is 228
� Total number of visiting researchers is 65
Source: ISTEC

The educational and international aspects of ISTEC, which have no equivalent in any SCE consortium in the United States, have been noted earlier. They are summarized in Tables 9.3 and 9.4. Visiting scientists from abroad have totaled 65, and 228 scientists have come from industry within Japan, gained experience in superconductivity, and have returned (or will return) to their own companies. No similar program of training in superconductivity exists in the United States. A number of scientists (37) have completed their PhD research and obtained doctorates while at SRL. This "on-the- job PhD" is rare in the United States.

Table 9.3
Numbers and Nationalities of Foreign Visiting Scientists at SRL (1989- 96)
Nationality	Number	Nationality	Number
U.S.A	7	Germany	9
U.K.	7	Norway	1
Italy	2	Finland	1
India	3	France	4
Australia	1	Poland	1
Netherlands	1	Russia	2
Canada	2	Korea	8
Thailand	1	China	14
Denmark	1	TOTAL	65

Source: ISTEC

Table 9.4
SRL Doctorates and Patents, 1988-95
	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	Total
Number of doctorates	0	0	1	0	4	12	15	5(2)*	37
Number of patents	35	65	36	43	40	53	43	40(19)*	355

* (): Examined; Source: ISTEC

¹To facilitate comparisons, approximate conversions are given at $1 = ¥120; however, rates in earlier years have varied.

Published: July 1998; WTEC Hyper-Librarian