Isao Sugino, director of the Research and Development Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) in Japan, will give a keynote presentation at the plenary session of the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition/National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (OFC/NFOEC), to be held March 4-8, 2012, in Los Angeles. Sugino will present his topic, “Disaster Recovery and the R&D Policy in Japan’s Telecommunication Networks,” on March 6. In the presentation, he will reflect on the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami’s impact on the telecommunications networks in Japan. (See: Optics, Electronics Makers Assess Quake Damage) He will also address the strategies used to restore the networks, and will focus on future plans and R&D policy for the country to consider in the future when developing a dependable network infrastructure. “Within the framework of disaster recovery, the unique experiences and strategies that are under way in Japan will provide OFC/NFOEC attendees with exclusive insights into network recovery, restoration and rebuilding,” said conference co-chair Scott Hamilton of MIT Lincoln Labs. “Isao’s firsthand experience and role with Japan’s MIC will offer a fresh perspective into the future of telecommunications and the importance of providing protection to such a vital industry.” Sugino has more than 20 years of experience in Japan’s government administration related to ICT and telecommunications. He was appointed to his current position at the MIC in August 2011. Sugino will be joined by plenary session keynote speakers Milo Medin, Google’s vice president of access networks, and Greg Papadopoulos, New Enterprise Associates venture partner and former Sun Microsystems chief technical officer. For more information, visit: www.osa.org