FUTI FB Series: Reports from 2012-16 FUTI Award Recipients
In the summer of 2018, FUTI’s Facebook Team created the series “Reports from FUTI Scholarship Students (2012-16)”. Of the approximately 100 former FUTI scholarship recipients, nearly 30 responded, of which 22 gave permission to have their stories and photos posted on FB. Many of them reported that the experiences enabled by the FUTI scholarship were eye-opening and significantly influenced their career/life planning. Facebook analytics show that these posts reached 200 – 1400 viewers. Many of the “likes” were from former FUTI scholarship recipients, creating an opportunity for them to respond to fellow recipients’ posts. Many recipients have also expressed interest in establishing a “FUTI alumni” group. The submitted stories were nearly equally divided between students from USA and Japan. A large majority of them are pursuing a PhD program in US or European universities including Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, Oxford and UTokyo, while about 20% are working in private sector industries ranging from investment banking, IT, automotive and advertisement. Admittedly, the number of scholarship recipients who sent us their essays is not statistically significant. However, their posts provide us with a glimpse of their views and current experiences. The sentiments that appeared frequently include the following: “Experience under FUTI scholarship helped me to re-direct (re-shape) my career.” “English language courses are valuable especially for those students who had not had time to improve their English proficiency because of their extracurricular engagements and community services.” “I am inspired by posts from FUTI alumni about their various activities. I hope the series will be repeated.” “I would welcome gatherings of former FUTI students in major cities.” A few excerpts from posts (in) are below. We strongly urge you to visit www.facebook.com/friendsofutokyo for full reports: Mr. Shigeru ChibaFUTI Scholarship: English language training course at UC Berkeley (2014)Currently 6th year student at UTokyo Medical School In 2014, when I received a FUTI scholarship to study at a summer session of the University of California, Berkeley, I was a sophomore before going into the School of Medicine. I remember that I wrote a report after the summer session, saying “I want to be a top-notch doctor who can treat people of all kinds across the national border.” This thought (desire?) is still alive in my mind. The diversity of human existence that touched me in the United States during the summer of 2014 is always swirling in my mind and keeps me motivated. Motivated by my experience in UC Berkeley, this past year, trying to challenge myself, I applied for a clinical practice at the University of Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital. (Please read my report HERE.) During the practice, I noticed differences in tests and drugs provided in Japanese and Australian health care systems which reflect respective patients’ race and diseases. However, at the same time, I became keenly aware of the commonly shared belief that “the medical practitioners should do their best for the benefit of their patients in any country.” Ms. Eri FurusawaFUTI Scholarship: ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship Program (2016-18)UTokyo Engineering, 2016: Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation/Urban Program, 2018 With the ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship I was able to immerse myself in the study of Urban Planning in one of the most vibrant and exciting cities in the world. At the graduation ceremony this May, I was humbled to receive the American Institute of Certified Planners Outstanding Student Award, a prize granted to one student in the graduating class of the Urban Planning master’s program for outstanding performance. After graduation, I have been working in the Urban Design and Zoning Division at the New York City Department of City Planning. This position enables me to marry my architecture education from the University of Tokyo and my planning expertise from Columbia, and I will strive to absorb everything I can in order to contribute to Japanese cities in the future. Mr. David BurkeFUTI Scholarship: FUTI Global Leadership Award for UTRIP (2016)Indiana University, 2017Currently enrolled in PhD Program, Chemistry, Northwestern University I found the UTRIP program at Mitsuhiko Shionoya’s bioinorganic chemistry laboratory to be a highly rewarding and beneficial experience that shaped my future research interests and career plans. I’m currently enrolled in the Chemistry PhD Program at the International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, conducting research under the supervision of Professor William Dichtel. Our work is focused on designing new membrane technologies capable of performing environmentally relevant chemical separations such as water purification and desalination. After the completion of the FB series, we have received several messages from “FUTI alumni” about the FB series, suggesting their interest in creating a “FUTI alumni” community. I am inspired to read FB posts about the activities of FUTI award recipients, spreading from the East Coast to the West Coast. It is impressive that FUTI has managed to select many students who are not only highly talented but ambitious. I am interested in organizing a FUTI alumni group or gathering. They would help us develop a sense of community, going beyond simply reading and admiring fellow FUTI alumni’s fantastic accomplishments. I look forward to further FB series for and about FUTI alumni. In reading FUTI’s FB series, I was amazed to find that many fellow scholarship recipients are active in a wide variety of fields, from academia, research, and art to medicine. Their stories have greatly inspired me. It would be difficult to image their career paths, had they stayed in the UTokyo without going abroad. When I took a summer school course in a US university several years ago, I was not clearly aware how the experience could impact my life. I hope that there will develop a closer interaction among “FUTI alumni” as well as a more extensive interaction between them and UTokyo students. Articles in this newsletter:
Prof. Teruo Fujii lectures on “Technology to Explore the Ocean—toward attaining sustainable development in the era of revolutionary digital advancements”
Written by Prof. Y. Ikeuchi OnSeptember 28, 2018, Prof. Teruo Fujii, Executive Director and Vice President of theUniversity of Tokyo (Professor of Institute of Industrial Science, UTokyo), gave a lecture titled, “Technology to Explorethe Ocean—toward attaining sustainable development (of ocean resources) in theera of digital advancements” at the Tiger Pacific Capital office near GrandCentral Station in New York City. Before the lecture, Dr. Fujii briefly discussed recent developments at the UTokyo, including: the university’s annual ranking in the Times Higher Education. Ranking has risen this year from 46th to 42nd; the Division of External Relations was created, merging the Alumni Affairs section (which is in charge of alumni relations) and External Relations (in charge of fundraising);and creation of the Online Community TFT (Todai for Tomorrow) for UTokyo alumni and supporters. The professor’s lecture began with a video showing the situation in the bottom of the deep sea. With the light shining from the deep-sea craft (深海艇), nearly everything looked the same color. Obviously, this world without any sunlight was very different from what is seen on land. He explained that even with such colorlessness in the deep ocean, there are a wide variety of organisms that live off chemicals found within the scalding liquid rising out of the hydrothermal vents of the seafloor. Stressing the importance of exploring this frontier, Dr.Fujii commented that there are a wide variety of mineral and energy sources on the seafloor that can be useful for the sustainable development of resources for mankind. However, he also explained it is extremely difficult to conduct a survey of the ocean, because it is deep, wide, highly pressurized, and pitch black—all contributing to the complications/difficulties of deep-sea exploration. Prof. Fujii explained that the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), a robot on the cutting-edge of technology, has been developed for deep sea exploration. Japan has been developing superior robots of this type that are world-class. Professor Fujii knows this well—as a student, he worked on the development of an AUV called Twin Berger with Prof. Tamaki Ura. The audience also learned about the development of sensors loaded onto the AUV. Since there is a limit as to how much weight can be loaded onto a robot, researchers aim at developing sensors that are as light and sensitive as possible. Prof. Fujii narrated his first-hand experience in developing a miniature high-performance sensor using micro-fluid device technology which allows the submerged robot to automatically make on-the-spot analysis of the pH, metal ion, DNA, and biomolecules. Finally, he discussed a sensor-network called OMNI which is used to explore the ocean with the global coverage of 306 million square meters. This sensor floats on the ocean surface and reports on the conditions of the sea. Designed as an open-platform, it can be produced at a low-cost of under $200 per device. It is hoped that the general public would be able to float these inexpensive sensors creating a high density network to cover a vast area. After the lecture, participants askedProf. Fujii many questions. They spanned a wide variety of topics leading to alively discussion, not only about the ocean but also on climate change and thefuture of the University of Tokyo. Articles in this newsletter:
Prof. Shohei Koide of NYU Lagone Medical Center: “Development of next-generation cancer treatment and the role of protein design” (New York)
On November 16, Prof. Shohei Koide of New York University School of Medicine and NYU Lagone Health (BA,1986; PhD,1991, School of Agriculture, UTokyo,) gave a talk titled, “Development of next-generation cancer treatment and the role of protein design” as part of the FUTI lecture series. Despite concerns for attendance due to the heavy snowfall the day before, more than 25 people from a wide range of age and profession attended this timely topic directly related to this year’s Nobel Prizes in Medicine or Physiology and in Chemistry. Prof. Koide first discussed the checkpoint inhibitors and biologics which were the subjects of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology. He explained how the checkpoint inhibitors, which offer a treatment approach markedly different from conventional anti-cancer drugs, are radically changing cancer treatment. He also commented on several related issues: how the effective application of this new treatment method is at present limited to only certain types of cancer and patients; currently issues exist surrounding the determination of pricing of non-conventional treatments; Phage Display, the object of the 2018 Nobel Prize in chemistry, can be used to create and evolve new proteins and antibodies; how this and related technologies have transformed the development of antibodies and other biologics therapeutics. In the second half, Prof. Koide discussed the efforts of NYU Lagone Medical Center in bridging basic research and translational applications in this highly competitive field, where huge pharmaceutical companies invest in research and development. Responding to audience questions,he also shared how he came to conduct research in this exciting field in United States. During the lecture and Q & A session, participants asked questions reflecting their various backgrounds, resulting in a lively exchange of viewpoints. Following the lecture, several participants have shared their impressions with the program organizers: Obviously the lecture itself was exciting but being a graduate student/young researcher working at a US university, I was inspired by the lives of Dr. Koide and his wife who, after arriving from Japan to the US in their early thirties, jointly initiated a completely original area of research (such as monobody) and become the world authorities in the field. I acutely felt the desire to embark on a truly original research which no one can do, taking advantage of the opportunities available in the U.S. As I am working on a wide range of basic research and experiments in clinical application involving antibody/monobody, I found the lecture highly inspiring. I am also keen on doing research that leads to practical treatments as Prof. Koide does. Also, in relation to my career as a graduate student, I learned a great deal from the story of Dr. Koide who runs a laboratory in the field. I strongly felt that Dr. Koide and his wife are pursuing this cutting-edge research for the good of mankind. I would like to thank him for taking the time to share their story with us so that we could vicariously experience the “romance” of their struggle/experience over a few decades. I look forward to seeing the clinical applications to be generated from these antibody/monobody “libraries.” I had the impression that the US academic system is better able to provide young talented researchers with unique research opportunities, whereas it is difficult to identify promising young talents and research themes in the existing academic environment in Japan. I was stuck by the realization that this difference between the US and Japan might exist not only in the academic system but also in business. Author: Takegami Articles in this newsletter:
The 11th Yamakawa Kenjiro Memorial Lecture
Professor Steven Smith(Department of Political Science Yale University) May 8, 2018May 9, 2018 The 11th Yamakawa Kenjiro Memorial Lecture at the University of Tokyo was delivered by Professor Steven Smith and consisted of two talks: one at Komaba Campus on 8th May and the other at Hongo Campus on 9th. Professor Steven Smith, our guest lecturer, is Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science and Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago and has taught at Yale since 1984. At Yale, he has served as the Director of Graduate Studies in Political Science, the Director of the Special Program in the Humanities, Acting Chair of Judaic Studies, and as the Master of Branford College. He is one of the leading experts in political theory and has specialized in classical and modern political philosophy; in particular, the problem of religion and politics and theories of representative government. He has published numerous books, including Hegel’s Critique of Liberalism(1989), and has received several awards such as, the Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize and the Lex Hixon ’63 Award for Teaching Excellence in the Political Science. The lecture held at Komaba Campus on 8th May was titled “Political Philosophy and the Dark Arts”. Around 20 participants from the University of Tokyo and other universities attended the talk, which was hosted by the University of Tokyo Humanities Center (HMC) and the University of Tokyo Center of Philosophy (UTCP)). Following the introductory remarks by Professor Takahiro Nakajima (Professor of Interdisciplinary Culture, the Institute for Advance Studies on Asia), Professor Smith started his talk by pointing out that the creation of political order is rarely achieved through peaceful agreement and consensus as claimed by the social contract tradition. Instead, it is more often a result of violence, conquest, and force. He explained that the Dark Arts such as policing, intelligence gathering, homeland security, and espionage have become indispensable to maintain the stability of modern states. He pointed out that these Dark Arts often accompany despicable activities like invasion of privacy and torturing defendants according to the social circumstances. After the explanation of the concept of Dark Arts and its societal impacts, Professor Smith addressed the question of how to think of the Dark Arts and whether conducting of such Arts are socially justifiable, and if it is justifiable, in which social context could such Arts be justified. He stressed that the political education was essential not only for those who are in politics but also for individual members of the society in order to judge these political issues surrounding the execution of the Dark Arts. He concluded that the citizens are responsible for cultivating the ability of political judgement which is not restricted to the demand of keeping the consistency, but rather to be sensitive and to know how to adapt oneself to changing situations (the praise of inconsistency as is cited from Kolakovski). In order to do so, Professor Smith emphasized the importance of political responsibility of the everyday citizens: that they are the subject to claim for the ownership of the political sphere and in making political judgment by asking “what do I do?” in given circumstances. The 45-minute talk was followed by a particularly lively discussion thanks to the undergraduate students, who had voluntarily organized study sessions beforehand and came to the meeting well prepared and eager to participate. “Machiavelli’s Utopianism” was the title of Hongo Campus on 9th May. The meeting was co-sponsored by the Institute of Business Law and Comparative Law and Politics (IBC) of the Graduate Schools of Law and Politics as their 254th Comparative Law and Politics Seminar. 11 participants, mostly graduate students and political science faculty members, attended the talk. After the opening remarks by Professor Yoshie Kawade (Professor of Political Theory, School of Politics), Professor Smith explained that the image of Machiavelli as a supreme realist was fabricated by later scholars such as the German historian, Friedrich Meinecke. The Prince, Machiavelli’s best-known work, appears on the surface as an advisory book on princely behaviors and rules pertaining to statecraft. Professor Smith, however, shed a different light on the book, arguing that Machiavelli expressed his longing for a savior – an exceptional leader who personified virtu,strength and charisma – to rescue and redeem Italy from its degradation. An hour lecture was followed by an animated discussion. After the lecture, Professor Smith agreed to continue the discussion with graduate students and junior scholars at a more relaxed and informal setting (“office hours”), which provided an invaluable opportunity for them to discuss broader issues of their interest Both lectures turned out to be as a great success. Apart from exposing members of the UTokyo community to insightful perspectives in political philosophy, the meetings provided an invaluable opportunity for UTokyo faculty and students to reinforce and expand ties between Professor Smith. The Yamakawa Kenjiro Memorial Lectures are made possible by the financial support of the Friends of UTokyo, Inc. (FUTI) and cooperation from the McMillan Center, Yale University. *Dr.Yamakawa Kenjiro was Yale University’s first Japanese student who graduated with a Bachelor of Physics in 1875. After his graduation, he led an accomplished career as a renowned physicist and professor at the University of Tokyo. Later, he served as the President of the Imperial University of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kyushu and devoted himself to the development of higher education in modern Japan. The Yamakawa Kenjiro Memorial Lectures have been delivered by Yale faculty members in Tokyo since 2013. Authors: Yamakawa Kenjiro Memorial Lecture staff Articles in this newsletter:
FUTI Annual Board and Advisory Committee Joint Meeting, September 29 (Saturday), New York
Board members present: Masaaki Yamada (chair), Teruo Fujii, Yuichiro Kuwama, Shigenori Matsushita, Nobuko Sakurai Advisory Committee (AC) members present: Tai Hasegawa, Kenzi Karasaki (via telecommunication), Takatoshi Ito, Hisashi Kobayashi, Takashi Komoto, Geeta Mehta, Iwao Ojima, Yasuo Okamoto, Yuriko Suzuki, Junji Takegami, K.Y. Tung Other present: Masako Osako (acting secretary) FUTI’s Annual Board and Advisory Committee joint meeting was held at the UTokyo New York office in New York, commencing at 12pm on September 29, 2018. After welcome greetings, Mr. M. Yamada (chair) introduced Mr. T. Fujii, Executive Director and Vice President of the University of Tokyo and three new members of the Advisory Committee, T. Ito, J. Takegami, and T. Hasegawa (President of Stanford-Silicon Valley Akamon-kai). Ms. Osako, acting Secretary, presented the minutes of the Annual Board meetings held on October 1, 2017 and April 16, 2018. The minutes were unanimously approved by the Board. UTokyo Today Mr. Fujii provided updates on various topics relating to UTokyo, including the following: (1) projects commemorating the university’s 140th anniversary (e.g., major renovation/expansion of the Hongo campus library), (2) initiatives resulting from the designation of “National Universities of Excellence (国立指定大学), 3) the creation of the Division of External Relations (社会連携本部) headed by Mr. Fujii, and (4) the just announced UTokyo’s 42th position (up from the 46th last year) in the Times University Ranking. In respect to (2), Mr. Fujii stressed the university management’s philosophy/stance, “From Un-ei （運営, Administration） to Keiei （経営, Management）” which is designed to leverage on the advantages generated by the National University of Excellence designation. Financial Statements for FY2017-18 and related matters Mr. Kuwama, Treasurer, reported the highlights of financial results for FY2017-18. Revenues Total Revenues amounted to $313K in FY2017/18 [in comparison with $199K [in FY 2016/2017] and $292K [in FY 2015/2016]. Total Revenues for FY 2017-18 include: Contribution from Ito Foundation USA in the amount of $216K [up from $110k in FY2016-17] Shintech trust distribution of $36K [which is nearly equal to $35K in 2016-17] $61K from general public [up from $54k in FY2016-17] Scholarships and grants Scholarships/grants were given in the following categories: Total $270K FUTI summer global leadership scholarship in the amount of $60K FUTI grants to two universities in the total amount of $19.5K Scholarship under the Ito USA -FUTI program in the amount of $190K Other Matters: Operating reserve amount at $248K is satisfactory. Current “Operating reserve” ($248K) to “annual budget “($296K ) ratio of 84% is within the recommended ratio range of 50% to 100%. Mr. Kuwama reported that for FY 2017/2018 donations from general public totaled $61k which was in line with the result of previous five FYs (2013-2017) that ranged from $54k to $93.8k with the average of $64.6K. The $93.8K (FY2014-2015) was attained due to a few large donations. He noted that UTokyo alumni donation to FUTI has been essentially flat over the past several years. Mr. Kuwama commented that in respect to the IRS’ 33.3% rule, FUTI’s percentage of 34.9% in FY2017-18 was above the 33.3% level。 Scholarship Programs Mr. S. Matsushita, chair of the Scholarship Committee, provided updates on scholarship related matters. FUTI provided 18 Global Leadership Awards and 12 Ito USA-FUTI scholarship awards in 2018 (which included one Ikuei scholarship). With the help of Amy Vaida, FUTI is undertaking a major revision of the online scholarship application and selection programs. Scholarship Committee will meet on Saturday, March 16, 2019 for application reviews. Additionally, Mr. Matsushita proposed (1) possible simplification of the award students’ reporting system (currently, FUTI requires from students a mandatory report and provides an option for voluntary Facebook posting) and (2) a “mentor program” (provisional name) involving FUTI Board/AC/Scholarship members (as mentors) and FUTI award students as mentees. Research/Training Grants Mr. M. Yamada provided updates on FUTI’s grant programs including an overview of the 2017-2018 recipients, the Columbia-UTokyo program and the Yale-UTokyo exchange of scholars under Yamakawa Kenjiro Memorial Lecture series. Report by the AC Committee Mr. H. Kobayashi, chair of the AC Committee, introduced two new members and one new ex-officio member who joined the FUTI Board/AC meeting for the first time. As mentioned previously, they are: T. Ito, J. Takegami and T.Hasegawa, respectively. Mr. Kobayashi discussed various contributions AC members have made during the 2017-18, including supporting UTokyo’s Taiken programs (in DC and New York) and advising UTokyo students who visited New York, Berkeley, etc. The Board unanimously approved the following appointments: President/Director of University Relations Masaaki Yamada Vice-President/Treasurer Yuichiro Kuwama Secretary (Acting) Masako Osako Directors Koichi Hamada, Sumiko Ito, Shigenori Matsushita, Nobuko Sakurai, President Emeriti Hisashi Kobayashi, Junji Masuda Advisory Committee Chair Hisashi Kobayashi Advisory Committee Members Tai Hasegawa, Shunichiro Kishioka, Takeshi Komoto, Takatoshi Ito, Geeta Mehta, Iwao Ojima, Yasuo Okamoto, Ko-Yung Tung, Kenzi Karasaki, Yuriko Suzuki, Junji Takegami Scholarship Committee Chair Shigenori Matsushita Scholarship Committee Members Hisashi Kobayashi, Iwao Ojima, Masako Osako, Nobuko Sakurai, Masaaki Yamada Jimukyoku cho (Managing Director of Operations)Masako Osako Articles in this newsletter:
The FUTI Board Appoints Dr. Teruo Fujii as a New Member
At the Board meeting held on April 16, 2018, the FUTI Board elected Dr. Teruo Fujii, Executive Director and Vice President of the University of Tokyo, as a new Director. He is also the head of the Division of External Relations at the university. He succeeded Dr. Norio Matsuki, former Executive Vice President of UTokyo, who had been a FUTI Director since April 2017. Prof. Teruo Fujii received his Ph.D. degree in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering from the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) in 1993. After working at the RIKEN Institute, he was appointed as Associate Professor in 1999 at the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS), University of Tokyo, and promoted to Full Professor in 2007. Currently he is Executive Director and Vice President of UTokyo in charge of External Relations. He also serves as President of the Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society (CBMS), which is the governing body of the MicroTAS conference, the most important scientific meeting in the field of Microfluidics. Note: The bio has been provided by Prof. Fujii’s office. Articles in this newsletter:
FUTI Appoints Dr. Ito, Columbia University Professor, Mr. Takegami, Managing Partner at TIGER PACIFIC CAPITAL LP, and Dr. Hasegawa, President of the Stanford-Silicon Valley Akamon-kai, as new Member of the Advisory Committee
At the Board meeting held on April 16, 2018, the FUTI Board appointed Dr. Takatoshi Ito, Professor at Columbia University, Mr. Junji Takegami, managing partner at TIGER PACIFIC CAPITAL LP, and Dr. Tai Hasegawa, President of the Silicon Valley Akamon-kai, as Member of the Advisory Committee. Prof. Hisashi Kobayashi, Chair of the Advisory Committee remarks “We are much delighted and thankful that Prof. Takatoshi Ito, Mr. Junji Takegami and Dr. Tai Hasegawa have kindly accepted our request to serve as new advisory members. Professor Ito, a renowned economist, has helped FUTI by speaking already twice in our lecture series. We will count on his advice, if the scholarship committee receives applications for the FUTI scholarship from students who major in economics and other social science disciplines. Mr. Takegami , in addition to be a regular donor, has graciously allowed us to hold our meetings in his company’s huge conference room, located near the Grand Central Station. Dr. Hasegawa has built an active Akamonkai with over 200 UTokyo alumni in the Silicon Valley and Stanford Univ. region. Together with Dr. Karasaki, the President of Akamonkai in the San Francisco and Bay area, Dr. Hasegawa’s participation will help us further increase our visibility in the West Coast.” The bios of the new Advisory Committee members are shown below as they are provided to FUTI. Takatoshi Ito Professor of International and Public Affairs, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University; Director, Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds; Associate Director of Research, Center on Japanese Economy and Business, Columbia Business School Takatoshi Ito, Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University, has taught extensively both in the United States and Japan since finishing his Ph.D. in economics at Harvard University in 1979. He taught at the University of Minnesota (1979-1988), Hitotsubashi University (1988-2002), and the University of Tokyo (2004-2014) before assuming his current position in 2015. He held visiting professor positions at Harvard University, Stanford University, Columbia Business School, and the University of Malaya. He has held distinguished academic and research appointments such as President of the Japanese Economic Association in 2004; Fellow of the Econometric Society since 1992; and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research since 1985. Ito served as Senior Advisor in the Research Department at the International Monetary Fund and as Deputy Vice Minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Finance of Japan, and was a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy. He is the author of many books, including The Japanese Economy, and more than 60 refereed journal papers. He frequently contributes op-ed columns to the Financial Times. In June 2011, the Government of Japan awarded him with the Medal with Purple Ribbon in for his excellent academic achievement. Dr. Tai Hasegawa is the president of the Henry Taube Institute, a non-profit organization founded in Palo Alto in honor of his mentor (1983 Nobel laureate). Hasegawa-san obtained his BS, MS and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the U. of Tokyo, and did his research at the Institute of Physical Science, the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, until joining the Chemistry Department of Stanford University. He got a tenured research professorship at the Institute of Molecular Medical Sciences, former Biochemistry division of the Linus Pauling Institute (Dr. Pauling is the only person so far to win two unshared Nobel Prizes, 1954 and 1962) before establishing the Henry Taube Institute. He likes to play various instruments including the violin, the viola, and the piano, and is an active member of Palo Alto Philharmonic and Choral Cosmo. He is the president of the Stanford Silicon Valley Akamon-kai, an alumni group of the U. of Tokyo for Stanford and Silicon Valley area members. He is also the president of the Silicon Valley Japan Association. Junji Takegami is one of the co-founders of TIGER PACIFIC CAPITAL LP, a New York based long/short equity hedge fund where he is responsible for its research efforts in Japan. Prior to founding TPC, he was a Managing Director at Tiger Asia Management, another New York based long/short equity hedge fund, where he joined in 2005. Prior to Tiger Asia, he worked at the Industrial Bank of Japan (currently merged into Mizuho Financial Group) in the Project Finance and Corporate Finance areas. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and BA in Economics from the University of Tokyo. Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, he spent five years of his youth in London. Articles in this newsletter:
Recent Developments and Future of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-A Path Recommended for Science and Technology Research in Japan
Author, Professor Sadaoki Furui, is Professor Emeritus of the Tokyo Institute Technology and President of Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (TTIC). This article summarizes his presentation given in New York City on June 22, 2018. For details please visit https://www.todaitomonokai.org/イベント/?event_id1=6880 1. Recent Advancements in AI (artificial intelligence) technology Artificial intelligence (AI) is a fundamental series of technology where devices such as computers strive to artificially replicate the intelligence of humans. The basic neural network being used in recent AI is a simple format proposed around 1960 which had since undergone continued research by a small number of researchers but with little progress. Around 2006, Deep Learning came into fruition and rapidly became the go-to technology as it boasted a much more effective learning method utilizing the greatly expanded network hierarchy of the Deep Neural Network (DNN), supported by faster computers, faster internet speeds, gathering of big data, and the improvement of environment construction. Ever since a computer won in a game of Go against a professional Go player in 2016, there have been a series of winnings for Deep Learning enabled AI against master Go and Shogi players in 2016 and 2017, garnering wide public attention of its capability. As a result, there is now research outside of AI itself on societal matters such as the effects of the rapidly growing AI industry on employment, ethics and morality, human rights, or even risks from a security perspective. It is said that we are currently in a third AI era, following the second one in the 1980’s and the first one in the 1950’s and 60’s. 2. The Use of Deep Neural Network (DNN) Computers in the past required the input of programs and data through human intervention in order to process information like speech, images, video, languages, and Shogi or Go games. On the other hand, in DNN learning, as long as the input and goal output are given, network parameters including feature extraction are automatically optimized. In a matter of speaking, AI can now automatically comprehend the content and make appropriate judgments. Speech recognition, image comprehension, automatic-translation, information search, robots, autonomous driving, and medical diagnosis are all within the realm of AI and advancements are made in the use of the various mechanisms of DNN. Companies like Google utilize search result data by collecting user data from around the world; accumulating information on languages, speech, images, and video; connecting all this data together; and all the while constantly improving the various AI. Additionally, many research institutions use DNN for analyzing large volumes of documents, collecting and analyzing medical and genetic data, helping to further their research in disease prevention, diagnosis, early detection, treatment, and drug development. DNN is also increasingly being used in areas such as marketing and investment. 3.Progress of AI and Human Society 3.1 Technical Problems of AI Since it is difficult to conduct theoretical analysis of current Deep Learning, AI has a technical problem of relying heavily on experience and trial and error in executing analysis. DNN is characterized as a so-called black box. Therefore, it cannot explain why a certain output was obtained for the given input. For this reason, it is difficult to identify causes in the event of an error, and it is hard to predict how AI would behave when and if the “target” deviates from the data used for learning. We do not know yet why the current DNN works so well. In order to fill this gap in knowledge, recently, research has begun to come up with an explanation as to why and how a certain output result has been generated. The field is anxiously awaiting results. Even though the AI system has limitations such as a difficulty in providing an explanation, its superior performance allows for an increasing number of AI systems being released which surpass human abilities and intelligence. The AI system is able to copy its experience to many other AI systems. That is, AI systems are able to share and consolidate experiences. For example, it is possible to consolidate what 1000 AI machines/systems have learned into one system. By repeating such a process, AI can dramatically increase its learning speed. In order for AI to make an advancement, a large amount of learning data is indispensable. If the target world is clearly defined like Shogi or Go, it is possible for AI to create a new approach (data). Generally speaking, acquisition of a huge amount of data for learning is the key to significant progress of AI. The (AI) system cannot use data for learning unless it is given a desired output (an answer or “supervised data”). At present, a human provides such “supervised data”. However, human intervention is rather costly so there is a need to eliminate the process. While human beings can learn and recognize at the same time, currently AI cannot do so. It is important to develop a learning method for AI that can operate without being given supervised data. Human beings have an in-born capacity to develop wisdom, common sense, “a bird eye’s view” and to apply them to various situations. They constantly use “hierarchical knowledge” such as causal relationship, inclusion relation, contextual understanding and the like. An important research challenge going forward is to make these capabilities available for AI. 3.2 Future Impact of AI on Society and Academia With the development of AI in the future, computers will be able to form judgment based on data and knowledge better than a human due to the further improvement of the former’s performance. The convenience of life will improve in various situations. Based on enormous personal information, AI systems that match personal characters and preference will be created. In addition to corporations and IT companies that specialize in AI, small and medium-sized enterprises, farmers and others will start using AI to increase productivity. Many tasks currently handled by attorneys, doctors, white collar workers, etc. will be handled by AI. Over time, AI may outperform human researchers engaged in inventions and
Awards Announced for the 2018 FUTI Global Leadership and ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A. Scholarship Programs
Friends of UTokyo, Inc. (FUTI) offers two types of scholarship programs: The Global 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/. The 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, directly and indirectly, the globalization of UTokyo. We have high expectations for our award students.” 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] This year FUTI will award FUTI Global Leadership Awards to 12 students from U.S. universities planning to study at the University of Tokyo, and 6 students from UTokyo to study at U.S. universities, both in the summer of 2018. 2016 Final Number of Recipients 2017 Final Number of Recipients 2018 Final Number of Recipients U.S. → UTokyo 9 10 12 UTokyo → U.S. 6 8 6 This year we have seen the following trends with applications: The number of UTokyo students applying to FUTI programs remains static, whereas U.S. students interested in studying at UTokyo continue to increase. A couple of interpretations are possible about the UTokyo students. The reason for the sluggish application trends may be that UTokyo’s study abroad program has substantially improved so that students no longer need support from outside sources, such as FUTI. If that is the case, the trend can be interpreted as positive. Another reason may be a calendar mismatch between summer school programs at U.S. universities and UTokyo. Many of the former start in July, while at UTokyo the spring term’s final exam period ends at the close of July. In this circumstance, UTokyo students aspiring to study at US summer schools may suffer from certain inconveniences, such as making an arrangement with the professor about missing/re-arranging the final exam timing. Two main reasons are conceivable for the increase of U.S. students’ applications to FUTI programs, which is a positive trend for the globalization of UTokyo. Students look for support from FUTI when they are not able to obtain sufficient financial aids from their programs. The University of California (UC) system is strengthening the UC Education Abroad Program (UCEAP). As a result, an increasing number of UC students signed up for the summer internship programs in science and engineering at UTokyo. In collaboration with Harvard University, UTokyo has recently established the International Research Center for Neurointelligence (IRCN). The program will host a number of Harvard interns at UTokyo this year and several UTokyo students at Harvard next year. [ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship] The ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship began in 2016 with financial support from the ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A. The number of scholarship students from 2016 to 2018 is shown below. Current Program/Year in FUTI Program 2016 2017 2018 2018 Host Universities 2nd Year in Ito-FUTI Award Program － 4 3 UC Berkeley (UCB), Tulane, Princeton UTokyo Bachelor’s/Master’s Program 3 2 2 U of Washington, UCB (Soon to graduate from) UTokyo Undergraduate or Master’s Program 2 1 2 Princeton, MIT Alumni 3 1 1 Yale UTokyo PhD Program 1 2 2 SUNY-Stony Brook, U of Penn IF Ikuei Scholarship － － 1 UCB US student － － 1 UTokyo Total 9 10 12 We have identified the following trends. #1. From the pool of high-caliber applicants, we have so far selected 12 students for awards. Before the final decision, they were interviewed by members of the FUTI Scholarship Committee who found them all as having a clear sense of purpose in life and many speaking fluent English. They appear to be highly promising. #2. It was made clear to us that applicants were applying to more than one scholarship program to choose the offer most suited to their plans. This may be an indication that in Japan, financial aid for studying abroad has become more plentiful. Three of our award recipients also receive support from a program called “Tobitate! Let’s go abroad representing Japan.” This program is managed by Nihon Gakusei Shien Kiko, a semi-governmental agency, which pools donation from for-profit corporations and provide financial support to students desiring to study abroad. #3. As shown in the second to last row in the table, we established a new category of scholarship programs, “IF Ikuei Scholarship.” IF stands for “Ito Foundation USA and FUTI.” The selection criteria of this program focus strongly on the clarity of purpose in life and leadership potential evidenced in the application as well as the recommendation. The applicant’s academic performance and English proficiency are not considered in the evaluation as long as sufficient aptitude is demonstrated for undertaking the proposed study. This program is open to UTokyo and non-UTokyo applicants, but this year we have selected a UTokyo student as he was most qualified in the application pool. Whether or not this new program and selection criteria have merit in view of the program goals is yet to be proven through the test of time. Going forward, we are keen on finding answers to questions such as: “Does the student learn much from a study abroad?” and “Is our judgment of his/her character correct?” #4. The last row of the chart represents an Ito-FUTI award given to a U.S. student for the first time. The student, an undergraduate at Princeton, has been selected on the basis of our expectation for his contribution to the Japanese research community. He believes that while the diversity of researchers is essential for cutting edge research, non-Japanese students/researchers can contribute to increase diversity and strengthen the global professional network. The student plans to study Japanese further and enroll himself in a graduate school in science at UTokyo. We will continue to evaluate carefully the role of non-Japanese students/researchers in the globalization of the UTokyo campus. Articles in this newsletter:
“Report from the Scene" by ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship Recipients
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 AY2017-18, 10 UTokyo students and alumni were selected as award recipients. They are currently studying at U.S. universities such as Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and Georgia Institute of Technology. Their concentration varies widely from politics, society/organizational psychology, film production, landscape architecture and aerospace engineering. 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). The award students’ reports 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. This year, as Ms. Akiko Sokai is taking a leave of absence, Ms. Yasuko Tanaka (Economics, 2006) has undertaken the project of arranging the reports as a volunteer for us. We sincerely thank Ms. Tanaka for her support. 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 three students, Ms. Minami Goto, reporting from the Columbia University Film Department, Ms. Mihiro Nomura, discussing Harvard University experience, and Mr. Kazuhide Okamoto, enrolled in the PHD program of aerospace engineering at George Institute of Technology. For full reports please visit the recipient reports page on our website. Minami Goto University of Tokyo, Art History, 2015 Film/Creative Producing, Master’s Program, Columbia University. ＊＊＊＊ I am Minami Goto and a student at Columbia University’s graduate school of film. I came to the U.S. in the summer of 2015 and started graduate school in New York. Three years have passed in the blink of an eye. In my current and last year at Columbia, I am learning a great deal about the business of movie production. I am integrating what I have learned in class for the past three years into actual film production. This is truly a transition from a film student to a professional film maker. Last fall, I co-produced a short film in New York. My activity included fundraising for the production with an American film director. In January of this year, I managed to direct a short film which was shot in my hometown, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. Please see the attached picture which was taken when I paid a courtesy call to the mayor of the city. I was able to complete shooting of the film, “Breakers” last month whose plan won the 2017 Avec Digital Award. It is scheduled to be screened in Tokyo in June. http://www.shortshorts.org/2018/topics/news/ja/2836) If any of you are in Tokyo in June, please join us. I have learned a great deal about filmmaking while working closely with professional filmmakers in the US and Japan and observed the different practices within the two countries. While it was fun at times, it was also challenging. For extra credit, I am joining a study tour of the Cannes International Film Festival in May, led by a Columbia professor. The festival features the screening of top notch films attended by prominent industry professionals from all over the world. It is a huge event where marketers, press, and film professionals converge. I hope to see, feel, and absorb many things there first hand. Last but not least, I am able to focus on studying and film producing in New York and elsewhere, because of the generous support from the Ito Foundation USA and FUTI. I feel enormously grateful. After graduating from Columbia, I wish to work as hard as I can so that I can contribute to FUTI and help future colleagues to study abroad. Mihiro Nomura University of Tokyo, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, 2017 Princeton University, Master’s Program, Civil and Environmental Engineering ＊＊＊＊ My name is Mihiro Nomura. In the spring of 2017, I graduated from the University of Tokyo, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences. And last fall, I started a master’s program at Princeton University in the Department of Environmental Engineering. Among the courses I have recently taken at Princeton, I found “Environmental Chemistry” to be especially interesting. In this course we analyzed various environmental issues and studied scientific perspectives to help us understand them. As the course’s last project, I undertook the modelling of the Toyosu pollution problem and quantitatively evaluated its risks on human health. I found it meaningful to apply the newly acquired knowledge to the Toyosu pollution issue. The experience gave me self-confidence. Inside and outside the university I participated actively in various events. Among them was a Christmas service at a small church in Princeton which was highly memorable. At the end of the service, participants from some 20 countries sang “Silent Night” in their respective mother tongues. I felt a sense of global solidarity transcending national borders. Recently I have been feeling uneasy about trends countering globalization such as Brexit and the election of President Trump, but with the chorus in some 20 languages filling the space with peace, hope and cooperation, I felt a warm feeling welling up in my heart. In the coming year, I will continue to do my best to study diligently and to grow as a person. In closing, I would like to thank the Ito Foundation USA and FUTI for giving me such a valuable opportunity to study at Princeton. Kazuhide Okamoto University of Tokyo, Master’s program, Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2014 George Institute of Technology, Ph.D.