6/17/04

Bob Lowry, 334/844-9999

JAPANESE PUBLIC TELEVISION NHK HOSTED FOR AU INTERVIEWS

AUBURN -- William R. Boulton, professor of management in Auburn University's College of Business, hosted Japan's NHK Television on Tuesday and Wednesday for an update of one of NHK's course offerings.

Boulton, the Olan Mills Professor of Management, assisted Professor Kosei Furukawa as he updated his Management of Innovation class for NHK's University of the Air.

NHK -- the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation -- is the equivalent of the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.

Furukawa first visited Boulton in 2000 to film the first version of the Management of Innovation course. He returned this week to update the course offering, which is part of a university degree program delivered by NHK in Japan.

On his previous visit, Furukawa said he was impressed with the amount he learned during his visit to Auburn, after having previously visited Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. On this trip, Furukawa chose to visit Boulton before returning to Harvard and MIT.

"It is nice that we were considered the most important stop on this trip," said Boulton. "It is nice to be compared with Harvard and MIT in areas like the management of innovation and technology. The new course, highlighting Auburn University, will run for the coming four years in Japan."

During his two-day visit to AU, Furukawa also interviewed John Cochran, head of the Department of Aerospace Engineering, and David Cicci, professor in aerospace engineering, to discuss student projects.

Furukawa discovered Auburn students had won first place in a "heavyweight" airplane lifting contest. He also learned about the AU Student Space Association's involvement in AuburnSat 1 development, the high-altitude balloon program, and AU's possible involvement in the manned "mission to mars" project.

Furukawa completed his interviews with Dan Bennett, dean of the College of Architecture, Design and Construction, and Clark Lundell, head of the Department of Industrial Design. He looked at their electric motorcycle, space research processing, and solar house projects.

The six person NHK team will head to Harvard and MIT to complete research on the new course.

jun04:AU-nhk

CONTACT:Boulton, 334/844-6529.