Puneet Varma (Editor)

Tohoku University

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Type
  
Public (National)

Administrative staff
  
5,756

Acceptance rate
  
41% (2015)

Color
  
Purple

President
  
Susumu Satomi

Established
  
June 22, 1907

Undergraduates
  
11,094

Total enrollment
  
18,460 (1 May 2015)

Phone
  
+81 22-717-7800

Tohoku University

Motto
  
実学尊重の精神 (Practice-Oriented Research and Education)

Endowment
  
US$1.3 billion (JP¥120,138 billion)

Address
  
2 Chome-1-1 Katahira, Aoba Ward, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture 980-8577, Japan

Undergraduate tuition and fees
  
535,800 JPY (2011), International tuition: 535,800 JPY (2011)

Notable alumni
  
Lu Xun, Koichi Tanaka, Ryuta Kawashima, Shizuo Kakutani, Sumio Iijima

Similar
  
University of Tokyo, Osaka University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Nagoya University, Kyoto University

Profiles

Experience tohoku university


Tohoku University (東北大学 (東北帝國大學 prior to 1945), Tōhoku daigaku), abbreviated to Tohokudai (東北大, Tōhokudai), located in Sendai, Miyagi in the Tōhoku Region, Japan, is a Japanese national university. It is the third oldest Imperial University in Japan and among the National Seven Universities. It is considered one of the most prestigious universities in Japan, and one of the top fifty universities in the world.

Contents

In 2009, Tohoku University had ten colleges within the university, including fifteen departments with graduate students, with a total enrollment of 17,949 students. The university's three core values are "Research First (研究第一主義)," "Open-Door (門戸開放)," and "Practice-Oriented Research and Education (実学尊重)."

Tohoku university dormitory introduction


International degree programs taught in English

In 2009, Tohoku University was one of 13 universities selected by the Japanese government to lead the internationalisation of higher education in Japan. This venture, known as the Global 30 Project, takes the form of new international degree courses taught wholly in English, at both undergraduate and graduate level. At Tohoku University, this initiative is known as the Future Global Leadership Program (FGL).

Undergraduate Courses

Degrees taught in English at the undergraduate level include the International Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Course (IMAC-U), the Applied Marine Biology Course (AMB), and the Advanced Molecular Chemistry Course (AMC).

Graduate Courses

Courses taught in English at the graduate level include the International Program in Economics and Management (IPEM), the International Graduate School of Accounting Policy (IGSAP), the International Graduate Program for Advanced Science (IGPAS), the Network Medicine Course, the Basic Medicine Course, the Interface Oral Health Science Course, the International Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Course (IMAC-G), the International Materials Science and Engineering Course (IMSE), the International Doctoral Program in Engineering, Information Sciences and Environmental Studies, the International Graduate Program in Language Sciences, the International Course of Life Sciences, the Information Technology and Science Course, the International Program for Environmental Sustainability Science (IPESS), and the International Post-Graduate Program in Human Security.

History

The origin of the university was Meirin-yokendo (明倫養賢堂, Meirin yōkendō), which was founded as a medical school in Sendai in 1736. It was reorganized a few times. Later it became Sendai Medical College (仙台医学専門学校, Sendai igaku senmon gakkō); this was the forerunner of the medical department of the university.

On June 22, 1907, the university was established under the name Tohoku Imperial University (東北帝國大學, Tōhoku teikoku daigaku) by the Meiji government as the third Imperial University of Japan, following the Tokyo Imperial University (1877) and the Kyoto Imperial University (1897). From its start, it has advocated "Open-door" policies—it was the first university in Japan to accept female students (in 1913) and foreign students.

In September 1907, it set up the faculty of Agriculture in Sapporo; the Sapporo Agricultural College (札幌農學校, Sapporo nō gakkō).

It set up the Science Department in 1911, and the Medical Department (formerly the Sendai Medical College) in 1915. In 1918 it ceded the Faculty of Agriculture to Hokkaido Imperial University. It subsequently launched Faculties of Engineering in 1919, and Law and Literature in 1922.

In 1947 the university assumed its current name, Tohoku University, acquired a new Faculty of Agriculture. In 1949, the Faculty of Law and Literature was split to form new faculties of Law, Literature, and Economics. A Faculty of Education was added in 1949, Dentistry in 1965, and Pharmacy in 1972. Tohoku has been a national university corporation since April 2004.

11 March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

Subsequent to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the university was declared closed until further notice, but with a tentative re-opening date of the end of the following April.

The Aobayama, Katahira, Amamiya, and Kawauchi campuses are all at least 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) from the ocean, towards the mountains, and therefore suffered no damage resulting from the tsunami. No deaths or serious injuries within the faculty and student body were reported on campus grounds. However, earthquake damage lead to the closure of 27 buildings and caused millions of dollars of damage to equipment. Classes have resumed normally since early May 2011 and plans for restoring, reinforcing or replacing damaged buildings are underway.

The radiology department has been actively measuring radiation levels throughout the city of Sendai since the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant meltdown, which is about 100 kilometers south. So far no alarming levels of radiation have been detected.

Address

2-1-1, Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577 JAPAN

Campuses

Principal five campuses are in the Sendai City, Japan;

  • Katahira (片平, Katahira)
  • Administration Unit. and Principal institutes
  • Kawauchi (川内, Kawauchi)
  • North-Kawauchi; The freshmen and sophomore of all undergraduates South-Kawauchi; Law, Education, Economics, Letters
  • Seiryo (星陵, Seiryō)
  • Medicine, Dentistry
  • Aobayama (青葉山, Aobayama)
  • Science, Engineering, Pharmacy
  • Amamiya (雨宮, Amamiya)
  • Agriculture

    Amamiya campus and some institutes are planned to transfer from the present place to the future New-Aobayama campus [2].

    Organization

    The University's Research Center for Prediction of Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions is represented on the national Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction.

    Research Institutes

  • Research Institute of Electrical Communication (電気通信研究所, 通研, Denki Tsūshin Kenkyūsjo, Tsūken)
  • Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (加齢医学研究所, Karei Igaku Kenkyūjo)
  • Institute of Fluid Science (流体科学研究所, Ryūtai Kagaku Kenkyūsyo)
  • Institute for Materials Research,IMR (金属材料研究所, 金研, Kinzoku Zairyō Kenkyūsjo, Kinken)
  • National Collaborative Research Institute
  • Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (多元物質科学研究所, Tagen Busshitsu Kagaku Kenkyūjo)
  • International Research Institute of Disaster Science (災害科学国際研究所, Saigai Kagaku Kokusai Kenkyūjo)
  • The 21st Century Center Of Excellence Programs

    The 21st COE Program

    Academic Rankings

    Tohoku University is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. It can be seen in the several rankings such as shown below.

    General Rankings

    The university has been ranked 6th in 2009 and 7th in 2010 in the ranking "Truly Strong Universities" by Toyo Keizai. In another ranking, Japanese prep school Kawaijuku ranked Tohoku as the 5th best university in Japan.

    According to 2011 QS World University Rankings the university rose to 70th having dropped out of the top 100 in 2010 to 102nd, and having been 97th in the 2009 THE-QS World University Rankings (in 2010 Times Higher Education World University Rankings and QS World University Rankings parted ways to produce separate rankings).

    It was also ranked 49th worldwide according to the Global University Ranking in 2009.

    Research Performance

    Tohoku is one of the top research institutions in Japan. According to Thomson Reuters, Tohoku is the 4th best research university in Japan. Its research excellence is especially distinctive in Materials Science (1st in Japan, 3rd in the world), Physics (2nd in Japan, 10th in the world), Pharmacology & Toxicology (3rd in Japan, 64th in the world) and Chemistry (6th in Japan, 20th in the world).

    Weekly Diamond also reported that Tohoku has the 11th highest research standard in Japan in terms of research funding per researchers in COE Program. In the same article, it's also ranked 9th in terms of the quality of education by GP funds per student.

    In addition, Nikkei Shimbun on 2004/2/16 surveyed about the research standards in Engineering studies based on Thomson Reuters, Grants in Aid for Scientific Research and questionnaires to heads of 93 leading Japanese Research Centers, and Tohoku was placed 3rd (research planning ability 9th//informative ability of research outcome 2nd/ability of business-academia collaboration 2nd) in this ranking.

    According to the Qs World university rankings on 2012/9 surveyed about the general standards in Engineering&Technology field, Tohoku university was placed 56th (world), 5th(national).

    As Tohoku University has been emphasizing on 'practical' research, Tohoku got the top place at the number of patents accepted (324) during 2009 among Japanese Universities.

    Graduate school Rankings

    Tohoku Law School is one of the most famous Law schools in Japan, as it was ranked 9th in the passing rate of Japanese Bar Examination in 2010.

    Eduniversal ranked Tohoku Business school as 6th in the rankings of "Excellent Business Schools nationally strong and/or with continental links " in Japan.

    Alumni Rankings

    According to the Weekly Economist's 2010 rankings, graduates from Tohoku have the 21st best employment rate in 400 major companies in Japan.

    Mines ParisTech : Professional Ranking World Universities ranks Tohoku University as 13th in the world in 2011 in terms of the number of alumni listed among CEOs in the 500 largest worldwide companies.

    Popularity and Selectivity

    Tohoku is one of the most selective universities in Japan. Its entrance difficulty is usually considered as one of the top in Japan.

    Notable alumni

  • Koji Azuma, educator (Economics 2005)
  • Masayoshi Esashi (江刺 正喜), an engineer. He is the global authority of Microelectromechanical systems.
  • Toshifumi Futamase (二間瀬 敏史), astrophysicist
  • Ben Goto (五島 勉), a writer
  • Kotaro Honda (本多 光太郎), material scientist, famous due to KS steel
  • Reizan Ido (井土 霊山), a journalist, writer, poet, and liberal activist. He was involved in Freedom and People's Rights Movement
  • Sumio Iijima (飯島 澄男), discovered Carbon nanotube
  • Akihisa Inoue (井上 明久), a material scientist, who invented bulk metallic glasses
  • Fumihiko Imamura, NHK natural disaster expert after 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
  • Yoshiaki Ito (伊藤 嘉明), a virologist and molecular oncologist who discovered the Polyomavirus Middle T-Antigen and the RUNX transcription factor family.
  • Muhammad Ilyas, Chairman and Professor, University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore - Pakistan
  • Shizuo Kakutani (角谷 静夫), mathematician and creator of the Kakutani fixed-point theorem
  • Yasumasa Kanada (金田 康正), a mathematician most known for his numerous world records over the past two decades for calculating digits of π.
  • Nobuhiko Kawamoto (川本 信彦), was the CEO of Honda Motor until 1995.
  • Ryuta Kawashima (川島 隆太), neuroscientist, currently resident professor, the supervisor of Nintendo DS gamesofts; "Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!" and "Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old is Your Brain?"
  • Morio Kita (北 杜夫), a novelist
  • Lu Xun (魯迅), one of the most famous writers in China
  • Fujio Masuoka (舛岡 富士雄), developer of Flash Memory
  • Katsuhiko Nishimori (西森 克彦), a researcher of Oxytocin
  • Jun-Ichi Nishizawa (西澤 潤一), engineer known for his invention of optical communication systems (including optical fiber, laser diode etc.), PIN diode and SIT/SITh.
  • Kazumasa Oda (小田 和正), one of the most famous musicians in Japan.
  • Tsutomu Ōhashi (大橋 力), a Japanese artist and scientist
  • Emiko Okuyama (奥山 恵美子), politician and mayor of Sendai city
  • Hideaki Sena (瀬名 秀明), a SF writer
  • Masatoshi Shima (嶋 正利), invented CPU Intel 4004
  • Kensaku Shimaki (島木 健作), a writer in Showa period in Japan.
  • Chūsei Sone, film director
  • Su Buqing (蘇歩青), Chinese mathematician and former president of Fudan University
  • Susumu Satomi (里見進), Surgeon and president of Tohoku University
  • Kenji Suzuki (鈴木 健二), an announcer of the NHK
  • Koichi Tanaka (田中 耕一), winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
  • Hirofumi Uzawa (宇沢 弘文), an economist
  • Shintaro Uda (宇田 新太郎), inventor of the Yagi-Uda antenna 1926, The ubiquitous television antenna.
  • Hidetsugu Yagi (八木 秀次), Professor of Shintaro Uda and collaborator in the invention of the Yagi-Uda antenna 1926.
  • Chinggeltei (1924–2013), Mongolist, former vice-rector of Inner Mongolia University
  • Morio Kasai (1922-2008), Surgeon who developed the Kasai procedure for Biliary atresia
  • Besides them, many other famous alumni have notable achievements in diverse fields.

    References

    Tohoku University Wikipedia