Category: Newsletter 17

At the Board meeting held on April 23, 2017, the FUTI Board elected Dr. Norio Matsuki as a new Director. He succeeded Dr. Ken Furuya, former Executive Vice President of UTokyo, who had been a FUTI Director since March 2015. Norio Matsuki is an Executive Vice President at the University of Tokyo, as well as a project professor at the university’s Policy Alternatives Research Institute. Prior to his appointment as project professor, from 1997 to 2014 he was professor of chemical pharmacology at the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Science. Matsuki received his doctoral (1979), master’s (1976), and bachelor’s (1974) degrees in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Tokyo. After attaining his Ph.D., Matsuki joined the University of Tokyo’s faculty as a research associate at the Department of Chemical Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. That same year, he took a leave of absence and moved to Iowa City in Iowa, USA, to become a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Pharmacology of the University of Iowa. In 1981 he then took up a research associate position at the Department of Pharmacology of Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. Upon returning to Tokyo, Matsuki continued his research associateship at the University of Tokyo until 1989. He went on to teach as an associate professor at the Department of Chemical Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences until 1997, during which time he was awarded the 1996 Outstanding Work Award for Young Scientists by the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan. Matsuki is also a recipient of The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Award 2015. He currently serves as the chair of program committee of World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and was previously president of the Japanese Pharmacological Society and the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan. His research interests are pharmacology and neuroscience, especially macro- and microscopic analysis of brain function. Articles in this newsletter:

On April 21, 2017, Dr. Yoshinori Ohsumi, Professor Emeritus of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, gave a lecture in New York titled “Reflections since Receiving the Noble Prize”. The event was organized by Satsuki-kai America and supported by Friends of UTokyo, Inc. More than 50 participants, including alumni, high school students, researchers, and pharmaceutical professionals, attended the lecture held in the office of Paul Hastings, LLC in mid-Manhattan. Professor Ohsumi, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 2016 for his work on “Elucidation of the Mechanisms of Autophagy,” received his B.A. from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo, before receiving his doctorate from its science division (Rigakukei Kenkyuka). He subsequently enrolled at Rockefeller University in New York as a post-doctoral fellow for three years after which he returned to his alma mater as first a research assistant and then lecturer in the science division (Rigakubu) where his area of focus was the intracellular transport of vacuoles in yeast. In 1988, he was appointed associate professor at the UTokyo’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences where he started his research on autophagy (the mechanism by which cells break down and recycle cellular components) which ultimately led to his receipt of the Nobel Prize. For a detailed account of Prof. Ohsumi’s accomplishments, please refer to the Nobel Assembly’s press release, https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2016/press.html Following opening greetings by Ms. Yuriko Suzuki, Vice President of Satsuki-kai America, Dr. Ohsumi discussed his various thoughts after receiving the Nobel Prize. He began by stating his belief that “Science is the whole of knowledge accumulated by mankind. It cannot be separated from man’s desire for knowledge. Science is also a reflection of man’s role and moment in history. He went on to use his experience researching autophagy over nearly 30 years as a case study of scientific exploration and stressed the importance of basic research for science. During the Q & A session, the audience, especially young researchers, asked many questions, resulting in a lively exchange of viewpoints. Dr. Ohsumi commented, “It is important to create a society where young people challenge (existing knowledge and practices). It is society’s responsibility to create an environment which encourages and facilitates the efforts of graduate students to thrive. “ A standing ovation followed after he concluded his talk by stressing “the pleasure and importance of pursuing what one truly believes in to the very end.” Editor’s note: We have not yet received Dr. Ohsumi’s approval for the English translation at this time. Articles in this newsletter:

On May 11, 2017, Dr. Ray Iwazumi, delivered a 90-minute lecture and demonstration in New York—complete with virtuosic and insightful musical performances on violin—in a program entitled “Toward Ever Greater Expression (in Violin Performance): Innovations in the Late 19th Century.” Equipped with a large-screen PowerPoint presentation and his own prized 18th century violin made by the luthier Nicolas Lupot, considered to be the Antonio Stradivari of France, Dr. Iwazumi led the audience of some 30+ guests and friends through the evolution of violin performance aesthetics during the mid to late 19th century. Ornamental violin techniques such as vibrato and portamento (the “scoops” and “slides” between notes) advanced from the beginning of the 1800’s when the violin titans of the period, Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831), Pierre Baillot (1771-1842) and Pierre Rode (1774-1830) “laid out influential principles that were almost iron-clad through at least the first half of the 19th century,” Dr. Iwazumi explained. Dr. Iwazumi, who completed his B.M., M.M. and D.M.A. degrees at The Juilliard School, was also awarded the Richard French Prize at Juilliard where he studied with renowned violin pedagogues Dorothy DeLay and Hyo Kang. He also completed two master’s degrees awarded “with highest distinction” in violin and chamber music at the Brussels Royal Conservatory under the guidance of Igor Oistrakh, the son of the legendary Russian violin virtuoso David Oistrakh. His lecture presented an analysis and a recorded violin performance of the great Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) playing Brahms’ famed Hungarian Dance No. 5. Dr. Iwazumi also gave a performance of music by Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840), and Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) of which he played Kreisler’s celebrated Recitativo und Scherzo-Caprice, Op. 6, which the composer dedicated to his master and friend, Ysaÿe. The presentation also included musical analysis and demonstrations of scores by Rodolphe Kreutzer, Ferdinand David (1810-1873), Charles de Bériot (1802-1870), and Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881). In each of these performances, the audience witnessed the further development of expression, advancing violin techniques and complex musical ideas as Dr. Iwazumi demonstrated flawlessly. Somewhat of a musical historical postulate was achieved when Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880) established his reputation in what Dr. Iwazumi described as “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin world.” Dr. Iwazumi’s performance of Wieniawski’s “Le chant du bivouac” from the L’École Moderne, Op. 10, was filled with blistering clusters of three- and four-note violin chords and double-stops (two notes) fused with unrelenting rhythmic vitality. The performance was a tour de force. The lecture, which began at 6:30 pm, came to a rollicking conclusion of laughter and wonderment when Dr. Iwazumi was able bring sound with his violin performance to a purely visual segment, sans audio, of Ysaÿe bowing through one of his own great violin compositions. It seemed we were all witnessing a musical “handshake” taking place “live,” some 100 years apart. (Dr. Iwazumi, in fact, cataloged rare materials and manuscripts related to Ysaÿe at Juilliard, remains an editor and music research consultant, and is on the school’s faculty.) During the Q & A session, the audience continued to probe the relationship between culture, fashion, composition and performance, resulting in a lively exchange of opinions, theories and speculation about the ever-evolving art of the violin. While Dr. Iwazumi lamented the passing of the golden era when violinists composed their own music – as demonstrated by Paganini and the great violinists discussed in the lecture—he hoped to see a return to the day when a great virtuoso violinist and composer will again be one in the same. Written by George Drapeau III About the author: George Drapeau is a dedicated violinist, violist, student of Dr. Iwazumi and chairman of the St. Thomas Orchestra. http://rayiwazumi.com http://www.friendsofrayiwazumi.com Articles in this newsletter:

Friends of UTokyo, Inc. (FUTI) is excited to offer two types of scholarship programs: the Summer Leadership Program and the ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship Program. For more details regarding the programs please visit https://www.friendsofutokyo.org/grants-and-awards or https://www.friendsofutokyo.org/ito-foundation-usa-futi-scholarship. Chair of the FUTI Scholarship Committee, Dr. Shigenori Matsushita, comments about this year’s results, “I am convinced that each donor’s support encourages aspiring students to attain their goals and, as a result, helps the globalization of the UTokyo.” He believes that these efforts ultimately contribute to the improvement of global and Japanese society.” The following is a report on this year’s selection results. [FUTI Global Leadership Award] Based upon applications received by the February and April deadlines, selections for FUTI’s Global Leadership summer program Award have been determined. Ten students from U.S. universities planning to study at the University of Tokyo, and eight students from UTokyo to study at U.S. universities, both in the summer of 2017, have been selected. While the number of recipients in 2016 showed a lowering trend, we are pleased to announce a clear rebound in 2017, as shown below: 2016 Final Number of Recipients 2017 Final Number of Recipients U.S. → UTokyo 9 10 UTokyo → U.S. 6 8 This year we have seen the following trends with applications: For UTRIP (the University of Tokyo Research Internship Program) we had noted some discrepancies in 2016 between FUTI’s selections primarily based on the student’s future potential and UTRIP’s selections based to a large extent on the student’s suitability with the specific research topic. Thanks to improved exchange of information between FUTI and UTRIP during the 2017 selections, the results of the two parties have matched well this year. However, due to declines of our offer by some students or disqualifications due to incomplete application materials, we did not reach our target number of four recipients. The number of applications as well as FUTI awards for students in the U.S. for UTSIP (the University of Tokyo Summer Internship Program in Kashiwa) had been on a down trend for 2016. After extensive effort by UTSIP, there has been a considerable increase in the number and quality of applicants for 2017. FUTI is pleased to have increased the number of recipients from one in 2016 to three in 2017. For the first time this year the FUTI Scholarship Committee considered applicants for The UTokyo School of Engineering Internship Program, which started in 2016. There is one FUTI award recipient in this category this year. The number of applications from UTokyo students who desire to study at U.S. universities in Summer has increased from four in 2016 to eight students in 2017. The main reason for this is the increase in the number of applicants from UTokyo’s GLP-GEfIL (Global Education for Innovation and Leadership) program. Applications for this program, which was created two years ago, are solicited from undergraduate students from the entire UTokyo. Approximately 100 students are selected for this ambitious program each year. They are then required to take a 12-credit special course on top of the normal credits for their department. UTokyo provides partial financial support for all GLP-GEfIL participants which is funded by corporate donations, but those going to universities in the U.S. have been encouraged to apply for a FUTI award as well. Over a third of the applicants who are in the GLP-GEfIL program were selected for FUTI scholarship support. [ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship] The ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship began in 2016 with financial support from ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A. Selections for this scholarship have been finalized for the fall of 2017 with some cases pending. Degree/Year 2016 2017 2017 Host Universities 2nd Year in Ito-FUTI Award Program － 4 Columbia (2), UCB, Johns Hopkins Currently in UTokyo Undergraduate/Master’s Program 3 2 Harvard, Columbia Soon to graduate from UTokyo Undergraduate/Master’s Program 2 1 Princeton UTokyo Alumni 3 1 Tulane Doctoral Candidates at UTokyo 1 2 UCB, Georgia Tech Total 9 10 Notable trends for Ito-FUTI applications are given below: The applicants this year are of higher caliber compared to the year before as the scholarship program has become widely known throughout UTokyo. Many of the reference letters we received recommended students for their leadership; one student was even described as having “once in a decade talent” at a prestigious graduate school. We look forward to nurturing the future accomplishments of these students. A small number of students have been awarded a full or close to the requested amount, while the rest have been given partial support. It is our understanding that most applicants have access to several scholarship sources in addition to FUTI. UTokyo’s financial aid programs primarily benefits current students and prospective students. They do not cover alumni. Given this situation, FUTI’s program is welcomed by alumni for its unique inclusiveness to cover both current students and alumni. Year 2017 marks the start of the “second-year” scholarship recipients. After extensive deliberations, the Scholarship Committee has renewed the awards of all second-year applicants. The group consists of three graduate students in a master’s program (two at Columbia University and one at University of California at Berkeley) and one second year doctoral candidate (at Johns Hopkins University). Upon viewing their application materials and their periodical reports during their first year, we are pleased to note that their research and academic results show much promise. The number of recipients in the “Graduated” category declined from three in 2016 to one in 2017. While those selected for 2016 were already enrolled in a U.S. graduate school, the applicant selected for 2017 is unique. Having graduated five years ago from UTokyo as an undergraduate student, she recently decided to pursue a doctoral degree in the U.S. after a significant amount of work experience in a well-regarded international agency. Articles in this newsletter:

The ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.- FUTI scholarship program began in FY 2016, funded by a grant from the ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A. to FUTI. It primarily supports UTokyo students or alumni who plan to study one semester or longer at a U.S. university. For details, please visit https://www.friendsofutokyo.org/ito-foundation-usa-futi-scholarship In AY2016-17, nine UTokyo students and alumni were selected as award recipients. They are currently studying at U.S. universities such as Harvard, Columbia, and University of California at Berkeley. Their concentration varies widely from politics, society/organizational psychology, film production, landscape architecture and physics/astronomy to urban planning. They are enrolled in either undergraduate, master’s, or Ph.D. programs. FUTI has requested award recipients to send essays and photos about their life at the U.S. universities so that they can be posted on the “Report from the Scene” series on FUTI’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/friendsofutokyo). Since the study abroad is longer than one semester, students have the time to settle in and be deeply immersed in U.S. academic life. Their reports also show meaningful exchanges with students gathered from all over the world as well as local residents in the university area, which they find stimulating. Their reports indicate in detail what kind of experience they are having in an environment sharply different from Japan and how they are learning from it. We, at FUTI, feel it deeply gratifying to read their reports. Please visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/friendsofutokyo. If you have a Facebook account, it would be greatly appreciated if you “like”, share, or comment on the posts. We would like to share with you reports from our two students, Ms. Eri Furusawa, enrolled in the Master’s Program at the Columbia University GSAPP (Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation) and Myeongok Kim, an undergraduate in the UTokyo –Swarthmore College exchange program. For full reports please visit www.friendsofutokyo.org. ========== Reporting from Columbia University, New York, U.S. Eri Furusawa (Engineering Department, University of Tokyo, 2017), recipient of the ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship for 2016 **** Since the fall of 2017, with support from the ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A. and Friends of UTokyo (FUTI), I have been enrolled in the Master’s Program in Urban Planning at Columbia University. Currently I live in Columbia’s student dormitory near the campus. Students in the dorm are from various countries, majoring in a wide range of specialties such as Journalism, Social Work, Creative Writing and Business School. It is a pleasure to chat with them in the kitchen, about their home countries and majors, as we wait for the coffee machine to brew fresh coffee. For example, the other day I talked about the Tale of Genji to an Armenian woman majoring in Creative Writing. As part of the class requirements, students in the Department of Urban Planning go out to the street of the City of New York. As our class is undertaking a project called “A New Masterplan for Chinatown” this semester, we frequently visit Chinatown located in the south of Manhattan to conduct interviews. The history of Chinese immigrants is dramatic and impressive. They came from all over China, gradually settled in New York, earned a living for their family, and won various rights while fighting racial discrimination. I can feel in the urban space the very history of America that has been shaped by immigrants. I go running at Riverside Park along the west side of Manhattan to relax from my studies. The other day, after a heavy snow fall, I saw people skiing. New York is surrounded by skyscrapers and has an image of being a noisy city. But one of Manhattan’s attractions is that there are peaceful places like the park which is accessible within a few minutes from the school. In the United States, a new president took office last January. Every day when I see media reports, I feel that the American society is dynamically changing before my very own eyes. I treasure the present opportunity to have first-hand experience, and hope to absorb as much as possible to bring my knowledge and experience back home to Japan. Last but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Friends of UTokyo and ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A. which made it possible for me to have this exciting experience. *** Reporting from Swarthmore, PA, U.S. Myeongok Kim from University of Tokyo, recipient of the ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship for 2016 Fall semester University Wide Exchange Program (USTEP) at Swarthmore College **************** I challenged and learned a lot of new things during my exchange program at Swarthmore College. I mainly studied physics and engineering, which are not my major, since it was a valuable chance to broaden my fields of interest. I especially enjoyed astrophysics and special relativity. The lectures were engaging, and additional activities, such as a trip to UPENN to listen to a talk about LIGO, data process of stellar image, were fascinating. I also tried being a Japanese tutor. I had connections with a lot of interesting people in the Japanese learning community at Swarthmore. There were also a few troubles, but there were always people who were willing to help. I was especially astonished by the tight bond within the community at Swarthmore. I was very fortunate to belong to such warm community last semester. The program was short but strong enough to influence my life. I realized my academic interests and weaknesses and could clarify what I should study from now on. I sincerely appreciate Ito Foundation U.S.A and Friends of UTokyo, Inc. for giving me such a valuable opportunity to do an exchange program at Swarthmore College. Contributed by: Ms. Akiko Sokai (Volunteer FUTI Facebook Page Co-administrator) Articles in this newsletter:

In January of 2017, we organized a 5 day event of consecutive Tour-Workshop-Symposium in Japan, based on financial supports from the FUTI, Japan Atomic Energy Agency and the US NSF. For the flyer of this event please click here. This event was joined by 13 graduate students from Columbia, 2 from Harvard, 1 from U Oregon Eugene, 1 from Rice, 1 from UCLA, 1 from McMaster (Canada), 2 from IOP Beijing, and 1 from Zhejiang (China), from abroad. From Japan, we had about 10 graduate students from the University of Tokyo and 4 from RIKEN (originally from Indonesia). The first event was a tour to experimental facilities at JPARC, Japan’s largest accelerator facility in Tokai Mura, Ibaraki on Jan 13, to which most of the grad students joined. The dinner party photo shows grad students from the US, Canada, China and Japan getting together after the tour of neutron scattering, muon spin relaxation and particle physics facilities of JPARC, following presentations given by the former and current directors of JPARC. On Jan 14-16, we had a three day Workshop on Correlated Electron Physics and Spintronics at Tokai joined by about 60 senior scientists and 40 graduate students. On Jan 17, we organized a one-day Symposium on Mott transitions in the University of Tokyo , having distinguished lecturers, including Prof. Yoshinori Tokura of the University of Tokyo and RIKEN and Yoshiteru Maeno of Kyoto University, both of whom are considered to be the leading contenders for Nobel Prize in the area of solid state physics from Japan, and Prof. Qikun Xue who just received the so-called Chinese Nobel Prize (Frontiers Science Prize) from China on his major discovery of Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect. About 30 grad students presented posters on their research in this Symposium. Graduate student participants from the University of Tokyo included several students: Koshiishi, Sakamoto, Shibata and Takenaka, who visited TRIUMF in Vancouver and Paul Scherrer Institute in Zurich in the past to collaborate on muon experiment with the Columbia group led by Uemura, supported partly by previous funds from FUTI. The January event in Japan made an opportunity for these UTokyo students to be re-united with American and Canadian students with whom they collaborated on researches of solid state physics using high-intensity accelerator facilities in Canada and Switzerland. We very much appreciate generous and continuous support from FUTI which allowed this unique international collaboration and workshop involving graduate students from Columbia, UTokyo and several other institutions from the US, Japan, China and Canada. We are planning to extend these activities to Europe in the Fall 2017 semester, since I obtained a Visiting Professorship at Ecole Polytechnique in Paris to stay for several months and to organize a graduate lecture course gathering motivated graduate students from several French institutions around Paris. Author: Yasutomo Uemura, Professor of Physics, Columbia University Articles in this newsletter:

Go Global 2017, a fair to encourage UTokyo students to study abroad, was held at the Komaba Campus on April 15 (Sat), 2017. The objectives of the Fair are to convey to UTokyo students the importance of studying abroad and experiencing different cultures, and to motivate and help them consider overseas study opportunities in the early years of their undergraduate studies. This is the seventh year since this annual fair was introduced in 2011. There were slightly over 300 attendees this year compared to approximately 300 in 2015 and 450 last year. The plenary session program included a greeting by Vice President Shigeto Sonoda and Ms. Maiko Yoshida of Global Business Planning Department, DISCO Co., Ltd. followed by a detailed explanation of UTokyo study abroad programs by the International Affairs Department staff and “Study Overseas Briefing Session (Summer Program)” given by UTokyo students who have experienced study aboard programs. <Professor Sonoda’s Greeting> Dr. Shigeto Sonoda, Vice President, and Professor in the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies gave an opening greeting. It had more substance compared to opening greetings in recent years. Highlights of his messages are shown below. “As recently as ten years ago UTokyo was not active in encouraging students to study abroad. This is negligence on the part of the university. Some years ago, merely by translating Western studies, we were able to provide the best education in Japanese. However, as Asia has become a major power and the dynamics of the global economy has changed, our global environment has radically altered. As a result of the globalization of the economy it has become impossible for us to remain effective by working in the traditional mode. For example, I have just received a call from the University of California at Berkeley asking us to accept 15 students from the university to study at the University of Tokyo, which I was happy to accept. As globalization progresses, universities around the world compete for networking. Students, do not sit back or being complacent. I urge you to globalize yourself as soon as possible. ” <Keynote Speech, by Ms. Aiko Yoshida, Global Business Strategy Section of DISCO, Inc.: “Studying Abroad and Employment”> DISCO has become well-known as the organizer of the Boston Forum, which matches employers and Japanese students studying abroad. It has lately extended its scope to forums in eight cities in five countries, such as San Francisco and Los Angeles. More recently, DISCO has begun to offer services to non-Japanese students who desire to study in Japan. A summary of Ms. Yoshida’s speech is shown below. The Japanese economy has ceased to grow rapidly and cannot hope for vigorous growth unless you do business in the world especially in Asia. Asia is multilingual, but English is a common language there. Businesses demand in employees much more than a good command of English. They look for ① those who can consistently demonstrate a high level of ability in any environment, regardless of domestic and overseas, ② those who have a high level of vitality and stress tolerance in difficult environments which was possibly developed during their study abroad, and ③those who excel in leadership, communication (including negotiation skills), and problem solving ability. It is expected that one improves English by studying abroad so that companies/employers are not impressed by a good command of English per se. Instead they are eager to find out how a student improved his English through “Plan-Do-See” and how he is likely to utilize the experience in the problem solving at work. It is the demonstrated evidence of vitality that companies look for in students. <Individual Consultation Booth of FUTI> In addition to the plenary session, individual consultation was held at booths of 20 so participating organizations, including FUTI, at the Komaba Communication Plaza from 12:30 to 5:30. During the five-hour period, approximately 300 students visited booths. Forty-seven students visited FUTI’s desk, which was nearly equal to 50 students last year. However, the ratio between men and women was different this year. Last year, nearly half the visitors were women, but this year there were only nine, or about 20%. The underrepresentation of women was also observed about the participants of the Go Global Fair. FUTI’s booth was manned by Mr. Sato and Mr. Ito of the Division of Development. Using the FUTI annual report and materials on FUTI’s summer leadership program and Ito USA Foundation-FUTI scholarship program, they answered students’ questions. The nature of students’ interest varied; some are vaguely interested in studying abroad, while others have concrete plans of applying to universities. Note: This article was written by a FUTI staff using the information from a FUTI colleague who participated in the Fair. Articles in this newsletter: