ブックタイトル東北大学　アニュアルレビュー2015(英語版)

概要

東北大学　アニュアルレビュー2015(英語版)

FacultyFeaturesMami TanakaProfessor of EngineeringProfessor of Biomedical EngineeringPath to EngineeringIronically, Tanaka’s first ambition was to be a doctor.She was often ill as a child and was greatly inspiredby the doctors who had treated her in hospital. But inhigh school, she discovered a flaw in her plan.“I hatedchemistry,”she says with a laugh.“I found physics somuch more interesting, so I started thinking again aboutengineering. I still wanted to help people. But instead oftreating them, I thought I could make something for theminstead.”To the dismay of her high school teachers - who didnot think engineering was an appropriate field for women- Tanaka chose a career in mechanical engineering. Shespent the next two decades at Tohoku University developingartificial sensors capable of measuring pressure,as well as more complex sensations such as pain, temperatureand spatial orientation. More recently, Tanakaalso developed a sensor that can objectively detectprostate diseases, from bone-hard cancerous tumors tosofter hypertrophic tissue.ALicE and the Science AngelsHiroo SatoProfessor of History of Japanese ThoughtDean of the Faculty of Arts and LettersDean of the Graduate School of Arts and Lettersworks - widely adopted for scholarship of the humanities.“The humanities field is overwhelmingly influencedby Western methods of thought, and is unconsciouslyregulated by it,”says Sato.“Japanese researchers playaccording to the rules set by Western academia, but unfortunatelyremain mere players.”At a time when the world is increasingly in need ofculturally diverse critical thinkers to help tackle crucial issuessuch as conflict resolution and sustainability, Sato hasproposed creating a new universal framework for study.This is the motivation behind launching an internationaljoint graduate program in Japanese Studies. Andfrom 2018, the Graduate School of Arts and Letters willaccept 10 students a year, with a balance of local and internationalstudents. The program will be an interdisciplinaryfield of humanities rather than a branch of area studies,inclusive of social sciences and visual culture courses.“By creating a unique form of scholarship forged inthe cultural climate of Japan, we hope to synergize studymethods while providing multiple frames of reference,”says Sato. This, he adds, will enable Western scholars toreflect on current methods of thought, and ultimately contributeto the evolution of studies in the humanities.Away from the lab, Tanaka is active in programmesMami Tanaka grew up in Mihata-cho in Yamagata. Herhouse backed up against a large ironworks, and shewalked past another one every morning on her way toschool.“I would stand out front and watch the iron beingsmelted and welded. It was beautiful and interesting.”Not exactly high entertainment for most children,but for young Tanaka, it was a daily fascination.“I likedseeing things being made. Every day the workers wouldchase me away and tell me to go home. But I would ignorethem.”And so began a love affair with metalwork and engineeringthat would ? some 30 years later ? lead Tanakato a highly successful career in the research labs of TohokuUniversity.that support women in science. Together with othermembers of the Science Angels, she gives lectures, plansscience events and serves as a role model for younggirls. The main message? That science is for everyone.Indeed numbers do show that more women in Japanare choosing science and engineering fields. WhenTanaka was a student at Tohoku University, a mere 3%of her fellow engineering students were women. In 2015,women made up more than 12% of the department.“The number is still low but it will continue to riseas the image of engineering changes,”Tanaka says.“Theold image was that you work long hours in a dirty factory.But now, engineers work on computers, they analyse,they design, they do research. Women can contributeand achieve a lot in this field!”With more women now in science, Tanaka’s nextgoal is to make it easier for them to stay. In 2013, shefounded the Association of Leading Women Researchersin Engineering. ALicE offers women the chance to haveboth a career and a family by providing funds for temporaryresearch staff, as well as nursery care and babysittergrants.Tanaka herself had benefited from such a systemwhen she had her son nine years ago.“Women should beWhen Hiroo Sato entered Tohoku University as a 19-yearoldin 1972, the university was still in a state of unrest fromthe student movement of the late 1960s. A few years earlierstudents had occupied the General Education building, withmany concerned about how the university should be run, aswell as the Japan-US Security Treaty.It was against this cultural backdrop that Sato andhis peers formed a reading group, and were introduced tothe People’s History movement. Its proponents questionedboth Marxism and the modernization theory. Instead, theysought to make ordinary people the subjects of their ownhistory, not just the objects of political authority.This exposure triggered Sato’s interest in the historyof Japanese thought ? a field to which he has sincecontributed extensively. He has written on topics of globalrelevance including life and death, state and religion, andsacred sites. So far, his work has been translated intoKorean, Chinese, English and Spanish.A Universal FrameworkSato’s passion for literature has kept him readingand researching across a range of disciplines. He haspainstakingly reviewed historical texts to create a largeThe Hasekura LeagueThis past October, an international Japanese Studiesnetwork - the Hasekura League - was established at akick-off symposium in Florence. Comprising the GraduateSchool of Arts and Letters, and 15 European universities,the league takes its name from a samurai retainer sentfrom Sendai in 1615 on a diplomatic mission to see thepope. A pioneer of his time, Hasekura initiated culturalexchange during the days of Japan’s seclusion policy.The sensor converts mechanical pressure into an electrical response that,once processed, correlates to a certain grade of roughness.able to continue their work if they want to,”she says.“Thegoal is not to be perfect. I don’t aim to be a perfect workingwoman, or a perfect researcher or a perfect mom. I’mjust a person doing my best at work and at home. And I’mhappy.”narrative of Japanese intellectual history.Challenging some of the prevailing theories ofJapanese historians, Sato has noted their limited windowof reference. On the other hand, he has questioned thehomogenizing assumptions of traditional Western frame-Four hundred years later, Japanese culture, particularlysubculture, is on an upward trend with Europeanyouths. Whatever their initial interest in Japan, it is hopedthis new wave of culturists will contribute to discoveriesabout the human experience.Tohoku University ANNUAL REVIEW 2015page: 08Tohoku University ANNUAL REVIEW 2015page: 09