School of Economics and Management

Professor Akihiko Tomono, School of Economics and Management

There is tremendous value in the history, traditions, and culture that have roots in regions. When people visit regions in search of such features, it can create a positive economic effect for the region.

In my academic research, I select a specific field every year and visit it with my students. There, we conduct questionnaires. We use the travel cost method to assess the historical, traditional, and cultural values of assets specific to the region. We also measure the economic ripple effects by performing analyses in cooperation with industries based on the expenditures of tourists to the area,

Graduate School of Engineering

Professor Syogo Ito

For such a goal, a highly durable perovskites solar cell was completed. (That is what I am holding in my hands in the picture.)

I am also doing research and development into hydrogen fuel cells with ultra-durable catalyzers and platinum-free catalyzers, in order to use that energy. (A hydrogen cabinet is pictured on the right side of the picture. Pictured on the left side is an air tank.) We will keep on creating amazing developments.

Graduate School of Engineering

Associate Professor Naohisa Takagaki

The violent winds, high tides, and heavy rainfall from typhoons cause major damage to society. In that regard, my graduate school is developing a highly accurate forecasting model of typhoons using an ultra-large mock ocean experimental tank called a “typhoon simulation tank”, the only one of its kind in Japan.

Moreover, being able to modify typhoons, much like suppressing global warming, will create a society with fewer disasters, so we are also investigating that potential.

We are also utilizing engineering to develop ocean energy technologies.

Graduate School of Disaster Resilience and Governance

Associate Professor Hiroshi Taniguchi

Meteorology and climatology are fields in the natural sciences that are closely connected to the everyday lives of humans. I learn about these fields and conduct research so that the knowledge I gain can be applied to future disaster prevention and disaster resilience. For example, methods such as analysis of observation data and re-analysis data, numerical simulations, and theoretical calculations are used for clarifying the mechanisms of past, present, and future phenomena. The forecastability of such phenomena and the relevant knowledge can be used for creating hazard maps or other applications.

Graduate School of Landscape Design and Management

Associate Professor Yoshihiro Sawada

I research the relationship between nature and humans, such as how people use land and what they get from using the land, in order to investigate future preservation and application with an understanding of
the physical composition of the secondary nature of mountain villages and forests, such as the grasslands of the ridges of terraced paddy fields and the wetlands of rice paddies, waterways, and ponds.

Also, I conduct experiments on soil transplantation of ridges between rice fields in order to establish a method for creating fields while preserving biodiversity.

Graduate School of Engineering

Associate Professor Kensuke Kanda

I am developing elements for effectively utilizing minute energy that can be found in the vibrations, wind, and rain in our daily lives.

The goal is to use power source elements in IoT sensors and the like in order to realize autonomous systems that contain no batteries and are environmentally friendly.

With an outlook on future sensor integration, I am developing MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) using semiconductor manufacturing processes.

Graduate School of Landscape Design and Management

Lecturer Takuya Kenmochi

I am doing research on how psychological health, physical health, and social health of people are affected by growing plants and spending time in an environment surrounded by plants.

I did research on the effects that green spaces created in medical and welfare facilities have on users, employees, and regional citizens, and on their roles during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attention has been directed at how interactions with green spaces and plants during the COVID-19 pandemic have affected human health, and I will be investigating how to utilize green spaces, including for preventing health problems.

Graduate School of Regional Resource Management

Lecturer Taiyo Yagasaki

Have you heard the word “resilience” before? The word “resilience” refers to the disposition of a system’s ability to recover from a disturbance, and it is used in various fields.

I am doing research on how regional systems can respond to and recover from disasters and on the relevant mechanisms and conditions.

I conduct research and surveys daily with the aim to create towns that are resilient to disasters and where citizens can continue living for a long time. GOALS