Graduate School of Disaster Resilience and Governance

Associate Professor Masahiro Sawada

All parts of Japan are being affected by natural disasters that are becoming increasingly severe and frequent. In the case of major damage, it is necessary not only to rebuild the lives of those affected and restore various facilities, but also to promote regional reconstruction. However, it is difficult to proceed independently in today\\\'s declining population society. We are conducting research on how we can receive support and sympathize with the victims while advancing this process, going back and forth between the field and theory.

Graduate School of Disaster Resilience and Governance

Professor Gou Urakawa

When a disaster strikes, disaster victims face a long road to recovery. We are accumulating lessons learned through research activities at disaster sites and conducting practical research on data-driven, leave-no-one behind support for disaster victims that can contribute to the early recovery of disaster-stricken areas.

Graduate School of Disaster Resilience and Governance

Associate Professor Shohei Beniya

We are researching crisis management methods to help local governments, businesses, care providers, and communities overcome crises such as disasters and infectious disease pandemics.
Because disasters and crises occur in unexpected ways, a formal manual is not useful. In order to develop people and organizations that can respond flexibly, we are also working on the development of various training and exercise methods.
Last year, we also created an experimental disaster prevention test site for international students.

School of Human Science and Environment

Associate Professor Yuichiro Oku

Local weather and climate are changing due to global warming. Global warming is now causing new meteorological phenomena to occur. Adaptation to climate change is required to bring about a sustainable society. We use numerical simulations to reproduce, predict, and analyze various spatiotemporal-scale phenomena such as typhoons, heavy rains, and heat waves, and investigate the effects of climate change on local weather and climate from the perspective of our daily lives.

Graduate School of Science

Professor Koichi Kusabe

Currently, it is possible for computers to reproduce physical phenomena at a atomic scale and at an accuracy that yields data extremely close to experimental results.

I am conducting research on this computational materials science, from its fundamental principles to its application.

I believe that these results can be used for designing and proposing new materials and electronic devices that can create technological innovations and contribute to the formation of industrial infrastructure.

There are multiple undertakings of co-development with experimental sciences that aim for countermeasures against warming, such as research into the design of reaction conditions of hydrogen-related materials in particular.

Graduate School of Disaster Resilience and Governance

Professor Michiko Baba

I am conducting research into a method in which land use aims to enrich the lives of people while reducing flood damage. The method involves comprehensive and mutual use of physical and organizational countermeasures, city planning, and social systems regarding land use.

Also, part of my research concerns the roles that various entities involved have in reducing damage and protecting the lives and living environments of people.

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.