Yesterday, Mr. Stefan Noreen, previous Ambassador of Sweden and now Senior Advisor in Office of the President of The University of Tokyo, visited Tohoku University.
This is based on the purpose of our university to become officially linked to Karolinska Institute and other research institues in Sweden.
I had an opportunity to have lunch with Mr. Noreen with our Vice President Prof. Sadayoshi Ito and Prof. Ryuta Kawashima, a brain scientist who is famous for "Brain Training" DS program.

I introduced that our Tohoku University has long history in brain science, and also did mention about the 100th anniversary of acceptance of women students in our university in 1913.
We also talked about globalization in universities, which must be the key to change Japanese educational systems.
Our Tohoku University has a policy of "opening the door", originally to undergraduate candidates who did not graduated "high schools" in those days.
Now the door should be more widely open abroad to accept a larger amount of students from foreign countries.

Tohoku University Science Angels 2013

This year 63 female graduate students have been appointed under the name of President as Science Angels in Tohoku University.
They are messengers, like Angels bring words of God to people, to introduce joy and fun of science to the public, especially of younger generations.
They thus serve as role models for high school girls to get into science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
For example, Science Angels give seminars in high schools and advice on career paths in STEM fields.
They also volunteer in local scientific events for children by demonstrating experiments like extracting DNA from banana or showing the cloud chamber.
This unique system of Science Angels has started 8 years ago, as a part of the gender equality project to promote and encourage women scientists because women researchers are minority especially in the STEM fields.
There are already 160 ex-Science Angels who are now active in various field in Japan and other countries as postdocs, junior faculties, workers in private companies, etc.

Also this year our university will celebrate 100th anniversary of the first women students in Japan.
In 1913, three students, i.e., Chika Kuroda, Ume Tange, and Raku Makita, entered Faculty of Science.
Chika and Ume majored chemistry, and Raku studies mathematics.
It is very interesting that the first university students in Japan were all in STEM fields.

Today, I met Prof. Kotaro Kuroda, who is a son of the step child of Chika Kuroda.
He graduated Faculty of Engineering in Kyushu University.
It is amazing to know that I have connected with Chika Kuroda in the real world.

Webpage:
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tohoku University
Origins of Female University Students

Messages as President of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan

Probably, it is my destiny that I have become President of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan that is consisted with 15 thousand of members from this year.
Things have been more hectic nowadays, but I would like to restart my blog in English version because I have something that I would like to share with people around the world.

Here are the messages I have distributed via the mailing list:
Messages from the 18th President (2013/1)
Conveying and discovering the fascination of science (2013/4)

Visiting Genova and attending IBRO meeting in Firenze

From 7/12 to 7/20 I visited Italy. It was not my first time to visiting Italy, but first time in Genova and Frenze. Really excited! I flew via Milano and visited my friend Dr. Davide Di Pietri at Italian Institute of Technology in Genova, and it was really cutting edge and gorgeous! After that I took a train to Firenze, seeing beaches and beautiful sunflower fields. About 3 hours.

Then I attended International Brain Organization (IBRO) meeting in Firenze. Again my first time there. It was just the 50th anniversary of IBRO. I presented a poster for our work showing importance of adolescent neurogenesis, and organize Japan Special Event together with Dr. Hiroshi Okamoto@RIKEN BSI. I introduced what was like in Sendai at 311 earthquake and how it is like at the moment.

The meeting looks more international than any other international meeting in neuroscience. I have heard that Japan was the number 3 in the number of participants following Italy, of course, and the US. I saw many people, especially female with veil, from Islamic countries.

At the social dinner of IBRO, which was held at very gorgeous manor house, I fortunately sat at the main table, together with Torsten Wiesel, a Nobel Prize Laureate, and other Italian Neuroscience authorities. That is why I could not take pictures of the dinner; I thought it is impolite before those people. It was a kind offer from Dr. Marina Bentivoglio, a professor at University of Veona and was the past IBRO Secretary General. I was sitting just to the next to Dr. Marty Saggese,  Executive Director of Society for Neuroscience, who told me he read my blog! It was a small world.

A word from Marina Bentivoglio, past IBRO Secretary-General
IBRO Day4

I also enjoyed Ufitti, Palazzo Vecchio, and beautiful and cozy streets with the atmosphere of mid Europe.

People I met during my visiting Liege, Crete, and Munich

After the 311 earthquake I cancelled my trip to Paris and London, so this was the first one in foreign countries. Everybody asked me "How are you doing? Are you OK? How is your lab? Are there anything you need?" during my visit and in the conference in Crete. So I added a couple of slides to my presentation file to show "my lab just after the earthquake" and "current situation". I felt like an embassy agent to explain things to foreign people.

Here are some pictures I took during my visit.
Aurelie and staff in Administrative Office@GIGA in Liege

Laurent, Brigitte, and lab members in his lab

Before the Cajal Club Dinner in Crete w/Arturo, Bob, and Bin (taken by John)

@German Beer Garden in Munich w/Magdalena, Benedict, and her lab members

Two months after 311 disaster: what shall I do for us?

Two months have passed since 311 earthquake occurred. The downtown Sendai looks almost OK with many new comer students gathered after the longer spring vacation. In department stores and shops, there were various "Sales for recovery from 311", and the number customs are the same as in Tanabata Festival and New Year Special Sale.

Broken facilities in the lab have now been in the process of restoration. I have ordered new bookshelves to replace the destroyed ones. Fortunately, I was able to discard tons of documents, files, booklets, etc. Most of them are just kept to occupy a huge space. Now I have got an excuse: "If I cannot find the items that I threw away, it is God's will."

I have become more serious to think about my priority. Twelve years has passed after I started my lab in Sendai, and it is a good timing for me to think the a decade or two in future.

Current situation in Sendai

Two weeks have passed since this M9.0 earthquake. There still continue small earthquakes, but it seems they are gradually settled down. The lifelines in the downtown of Sendai have become better now; electricity and water supply are available, but gas service is not. People are suffering from the shortage of gasoline, and we need to make a line and wait several hours. The situation at Fukushima nuclear plants continuously needs be watched, but fortunately, we are 95 km far from them.

WHO Information: Japan Nuclear Concern 

Our Tohoku University School of Medicine has already been at the stage of restoration. Since there are lots of damaged facilities, we are now asking for the donation.
Information for donation

Our lab has almost been cleaned, but we need to wait to oder new facilities and equipments because the delivering service is not in the normal condition. Some of my students are now in other laboratories outside Sendai to learn new techniques or just to join. I hope this would be the sunny side of this disaster for them.

I was supposed to organize a meeting in Matsushima, one of the most beautiful sceneries in Japan, near Sendai. Due to those tsunamis, the town was almost destroyed. So, we have changed the venue to Kobe, the city that has completely revived after the big earthquake in 1995. The website will announce about detail soon.
Neurogenesis 2011 in Kobe

I really appreciate kind offering within and outside Japan for accepting students and/or escaping from Sendai that I have got during these two weeks, and I also hope kind understanding that the current life in the campus of Tohoku University is not at the stage of crisis.