By David McNeill

Tokyo

A thousand miles from Tokyo in the subtropical prefecture of Okinawa, Japan's newest university is taking shape.

The publicly financed Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, on the southwesternmost island of the Japanese archipelago, is Japan's latest riposte to charges that universities in the world's third-largest economy are failing to internationalize and falling behind competitors in Asia­; it is an attempt to build an entirely new graduate institute that will attract the brightest minds from around the world.

Instruction will be in English, and the faculty will be 50-percent non-Japanese. Behind the plan is another perhaps equally important agenda: Bringing a potential academic big hitter to Okinawa, one of the country's weakest and most remote local economies.

The task of getting the institute up and running has fallen on the shoulders of the acclaimed particle physicist Jonathan Dorfan. The director emeritus of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (now renamed SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) has been appointed to be the institution's first president, following a yearlong search by the government.

Mr. Dorfan, 62, will move this summer with his family to Okinawa, the remote prefecture's main island and begin the job of building a world-class graduate school in fields including neuroscience, developmental biology, and marine science and ecology, scheduled to open its doors in 2012.

His first struggles on the campus, which is under construction, could be financial: Given a green light by Japan's previous government, the institute is among many public projects to come into the sights of the current Democrat administration for possible cuts as Japan struggles to trim the largest public debt in the industrial world.

In a phone interview with The Chronicle, Mr. Dorfan says he expects support from Japan's parliament, the Diet, despite the political challenges, and that he can build an institution that benefits international research along with the people of Okinawa.

Q: It's a big step, coming to such a remote venue, to an institute with no history. What attracted you?

A: I was attracted by the boldness of the venture. It provides an opportunity, within an international context, to promote groundbreaking interdisciplinary science and education.

Q: Many people see this as an attempt by Japan to beef up its science and technology profile. Is that your understanding?

A: I see it as a venture Japan would like to include in the suite of already outstanding universities in this country, one which will be a top research university and which, frankly, will benefit Okinawa. They want to support interdisciplinary research in the biosciences, physical sciences, and life sciences. The borders of that research will be very loose here, which will maximize the institute's potential.

Q: What are your plans?

A: My primary job is to open this university in 2012, bring in an efficient faculty and the first 20 students. It's also intrinsic to get a balance of 50-percent Japanese and non-Japanese. Blending people with different styles and backgrounds means we should get something better than the sum of the parts.

The aims of the university are to benefit the self-sustaining nature of the island; to have a world-class graduate university—there will be no undergraduates—and of course to carry out world-class research. My job is to bring this to fruition, to have our first class in the fall of 2011.

Q: There are a growing number of these all-English science universities across the world. Some view them as a threat to the supremacy of American academic institutions.

A: I see it as a positive thing; one of the attractions to me was the international nature of this institution. Promoting international education and research has been a priority for me throughout my career. I don't see it as a threat. It will benefit global education and research.

Q: What do you think you'll need to succeed?

A: We've been given an opportunity to invest in brilliant minds, in a situation where a significant amount of funding for researchers will be internal, so they won't have to compete for external sourcing. The quality of the faculty and students is going to be extremely important.

Q: Are you worried about financial support?

A: The concept for this university was unanimously supported in the Diet. The concept of having an international university with an equal mix of Japanese and non-Japanese researchers is very well supported. The budget, like in any country, will have to deal with the realities of world economics that we live in. But there is no question of the support.

Q: You don't see Okinawa's remoteness as an obstacle?

A: It's a very beautiful island, and they're created a very attractive campus. They have to create an international community that blends in, and that is one of the challenges. I believe it is doable.