JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44

JSPS
SAN FRANCISCO
NEWSLETTER
VOL. 44 |ＮＯＶ. 20172017 CJS‐JSPS Interna onal Symposium “Drive for theNobel Prize”

The JSPS San Francisco and the Center for Japanese Studies (CJS) at the University of California,
Berkeley (UCB) held a joint symposium tled “Drive for the Nobel Prize” at the Interna onal House in
Berkeley on October 31 and November 1.
The objec ve of this symposium was to discuss the influence that the Nobel Prize has on individuals,
ins tu ons and society. The symposium started with opening remarks from UCB chancellor, Carol Christand Mariko Kobayashi, Director of the Interna onal Program at JSPS. Dana Buntrock, Chair of CJS, also
gave some context and background to the topic at hand.
Nobel laureates, Yuan T Lee (Chemistry, 1986), Saul Perlmu er (Physics, 2011) and Takaaki Kajita(Physics, 2015) delivered lectures on their research and the topic of the event to more than 80 scholars.
The dis nguished guests also took numerous ques ons from the audience.
(Con nued on page 2)

Inside this issue
2017 CJS‐JSPS Interna nal Symposium “Drive
for the Nobel Prize” ......................................... 1
Past Events....................................................... 2
Past Informa on Session ................................. 6

Upcoming Events ............................................. 7
News from Japanese Universi es.................... 8
Upcoming Applica on deadlines ................... 15
Oﬃce Staﬀ Switch .......................................... 15

JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44(Con nued from page 1)

The second day included panel discussions on three diﬀerent topics: “Journalism and the Nobel
Prize”, “The Nobel Prize’s Impact on Ins tu ons” and “The Nobel as an Incen ve”. The panelists includeda Nobel selec on commi ee member, several journalists (from Science, New York Times and the Asahi
Shimbun), an oﬃcial from Japan’s Ministry of Educa on, Science, and Technology (MEXT), and research‐ers from the US and Japan.
The JSPS San Francisco will con nue to support such symposia while maintaining its close rela on‐ship with the University of California.

PAST EVENTS

Summer Researcher Gathering 2017 in the U.S.

More than 50 people, including JSPS fellows,
On August 5th, JSPS San Francisco held theSummer Researcher Gathering 2017 at the David visiting and resident scholars, researchers and ad‐
Brower Center in Berkeley. This biannual gathering ministrators participated in the event.
Dr. Toru Tamiya, Director of JSPS San Francisco,provides an opportunity for Japanese researchers to
expand their networks by presenting their research gave the opening remarks which were followed byand exchanging views on the difference between presentations from several young researchers who
research environments and methods in the U.S. and shared their current work. Next Dr. Yoshihiro Izumi‐
Japan.
(Con nued on page 3)2

JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44

another while enjoying food and drinks.
The next Researcher Gathering will be heldya (an Associate professor at the University of Cali‐ this winter in Berkeley.
fornia, Davis’ Department of Dermatology Schoolof Medicine, Comprehensive Cancer Center) gave apresenta on on his carrier trajectory and lab while
giving tips on acquiring grants. After the presenta‐
tion, participants divided into 6 groups to exchange
views and experiences pertaining to such issues as
career advancement and strategies for staying pro‐ductive as a researcher. After the group discussion
the JSPS introduced several funding opportunities
available to the participants.
Dr. Izumiya and Dr. Tamiya gave some closing
remarks that touched on the history of this eventand the life challenges that one often faces as a
researcher.
At the evening reception participants were able
to further strengthen their connections with one(Con nued from page 2)

18th Workshop for Japanese University Administra ve
Staﬀ in the U.S.
tunity for professional development and networking.
The main event was a lecture by Nariyuki Fu‐
jita, the Director of New Academic Ini a ves at theCenter for Interna onal Educa on at UC Davis. He
presented some of the many collabora ons be‐
tween UC Davis and Japanese universi es and his
experience on the job market here in the US. Mr.
Fujita also focused on the strengths that Japaneseemployees o en bring to interna onal organiza ons
and how the a endees could benefit from an aware‐ness of these strengths. He also argued that above
all, one needs passion to achieve goals.
A er the lecture, the diverse group of par ci‐
On October 23 the JSPS San Francisco held its pants discussed the diﬀerence between working
18th annual workshop for Japanese university ad‐ styles at American and Japanese universi es and theministra ve staﬀ in the U.S. at its oﬃce in Berkeley. abili es needed to eﬀec vely navigate between the
The purpose of this workshop was to provide Japa‐ two diﬀerent se ngs.
(con nued on page 4)
nese university administra ve staﬀ with an oppor‐

3

JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44(Con nued from page 3)

The JSPS San Francisco will con nue tohold this workshop regularly.

Fellowships for Research in Japan
Informa onal Session & Networking at the University of Washington, University of Cali‐
fornia, Berkeley, University of California, Los Angeles and University of California, Davis

Opening Remarks at UW

Networking at UCBJSPS San Francisco held fellowship infor‐ including late‐term doctoral students, postdocs andmation and networking sessions at the University of faculty members.
Washington, the University of California, Berkeley
The JSPS would like to thank JSPS alumni Ste‐(UCB), the University of California, Los Angeles ven W. Collins (Associate Professor, Division of En‐(UCLA) and the University of California, Davis.
gineering & Mathema cs, University of Washing‐With the generous help from several univer‐ ton, School of Science, Technology, Engineering &sity staff members numerous participants come to Mathema cs), John Harte (Professor, Department
learn about the JSPS’s fully‐funded fellowships for of Environmental Science Policy and Management,
research in Japan and to connect with fellow re‐ UCB), Mathew Malkan (Professor, Department ofsearchers.
Physics and Astronomy, UCLA) and Thomas L.
The sessions drew a large variety of research‐(Continued on page 5)
ers at different career stages from different fields,
4

JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44(con nued from page 4)(Consul (Science and Technology) from the Consu‐
Rost (Professor Emeritus, Department of Plant Biol‐ late‐General of Japan in San Francisco) also partici‐
ogy, College of Biological Sciences, UCD) for sharing pated in the short networking event following thetheir experiences researching in Japan on JSPS Fel‐ session at UCB. They shared viewpoints about thelowships. Their talks were the highlights of each state of research in Japan and their experience ofsession, providing attendees with valuable insight accepting overseas researchers.
through their first‐hand perspectives.
JSPS San Francisco will continue to hold regu‐
The JSPS also thanks guests from Japanese lar networking info sessions at universities around
University Network in the Bay Area (JUNBA), the Bay Area. All interested researchers are wel‐
Kazuhiko Hasegawa (Regional Director, Osaka Uni‐ come to attend.
versity North American Center for Academic Ini a‐
For more information about upcoming infoves) , Mari Maruyama (Execu ve Director, Obirin sessions, as well as fellowship eligibility, and otherGakuen Founda on of America) and Yoichi Aizawa details, please contact the JSPS San Francisco Of‐(Executive Director, San Francisco Office, Waseda fice: fellowships@jspsusa‐sf.org or visit us at ourUSA) for their participation in the short networking website:
events following each session. Ichiro Hashimoto http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e‐fellow/

Fellowship Informa on at UCB

Fellowship Informa on at UCLA

Alumni talk at UCLA

Fellowship Informa on at UCD

5

JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44

PAST INFORMATION SESSIONS
When

Where

October 12, 2017

University of Washington

October 18 , 2017

University of California, Berkeley

October 26, 2017

University of California, Los Angeles

November 8, 2017

University of California, Davis

JSPS San Francisco will continue to hold informational sessions at universities on the West Coast.
Please check our website for the most updated information: http://www.jspsusa‐sf.org/fellowships.html

6JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44

UPCOMING EVENTSJANUARY

JSPS Fellowship Informa on Session
Stanford University
Date: January 30 2018
Details coming soon

FEBRUARY

JSPS Researcher Gathering
We will hold a gathering for Japanese researchers and JSPS alumnus.

Date: February 3
Venue: David Brower Center(2150 Allston Way Berkeley,CA 94704)
To RSVP, please contact us: gathering@jspsusa‐sf.org“The Poli cal Economy of Japan under the Abe Government”
Symposium Sponsored by Japan Society for Promo on of Science, Freeman
Spogli Ins tute for Interna onal Studies (Stanford University), and Shorenstein
Asia Pacific Research Center (Stanford University)

Date: February 8‐9Venue:Philippines Room, Encina Hall, Stanford University
7

JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44

NEWS FROM JAPANESE UNIVERSITIESKyoto’s Living Legacy of Quan fying the Invisible
Scien fic inquiry from the infinitesimal to the infinity of space
This year’s awarding of the Nobel physics prize “Theore cal physics is all about quan fying the— to three researchers instrumental to LIGO’s suc‐ invisible,” explains Joey. “We use mathema cs as acess in detec ng gravita onal waves — was a microscope to probe the fundamental laws of na‐
cause of jubila on for Kyoto University’s YITP, the ture. Professor Yukawa’s award‐winning research
Yukawa Ins tute for Theore cal Physics, in par cu‐ — predic ng the existence of mesons — is a shin‐lar because many of the Yukawa scien sts have ing example of the power of theore cal physics.”
worked closely with Dr. Kip Thorne, one of theawardees.
Joey explains that YITP’s s mula ng interna‐
YITP doctoral candidate Joseph M. Fedrow — onal research environment — where students
Joey to his friends — is a na ve of Long Island, New and professors are encouraged to focus on individ‐
York. An alumni of The Evergreen State College, he ual research interests — is par cularly unique. The
received his Master’s degree in astronomy from open atmosphere enables groundbreaking science
San Diego State University while comple ng his
thesis in theore cal physics as a visi ng graduate
student at UC San Diego.
Strongly interested in educa on, Joey is pas‐sionate about using interdisciplinary methods tobring science to a wider audience. This passion
brought him to Japan, not ini ally as a researcher,but rather to teach English to primary and second‐ary school students.
Now he is back in academia at Kyoto Universi‐
ty, in the lab of Professor Misao Sasaki, using nu‐
merical rela vity to be er understand gravita onal
waves from extreme astrophysical sources.
In other words, he surfs the waves of space to huntblack holes.
YITP has a long history of fostering talented
physicists like Joey. Founded in 1953, the ins tuteis named a er Hideki Yukawa, the 1949 recipient of
the Nobel prize in physics, and Japan’s first Nobel
laureate. Since its incep on, YITP has been a world
YITP doctoral candidate Joey Fedrow describing toleader in theore cal physics, suppor ng cu ng‐
the interaction of a pair of black holesedge researchers from the fields of cosmology, par‐cle physics, field theory, astrophysics, and con‐(Con nued on page 9)
densed ma er physics.

8

JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44
advance informally and collabora vely, especiallyover meals and coﬀees.
Joey is also part of the collabora ve“Interna onal Research Unit of Advanced FutureStudies”, or AFS, in which 15 research organiza‐
ons from across the university are joining theirintellectual eﬀorts to guide the future of humani‐ty. It is an environment where Joey enjoys the
freedom to pursue his own interests. As a result,
he has started to work with scien sts at otherins tu ons such as Caltech.
“I am con nually inspired by the power oftheore cal physics to elucidate the macroscopic
manifesta on of microscopic phenomena under‐
lying all of nature. In addi on, one of the best
A computer simula on of Joey’s inves ga on of blackparts about being a theore cal physicist is that
holes and gravita onal waves
people without much scien fic background, evenkids s ll in grade school, can understand and ap‐
preciate the basics of what we do. As a result, I For addi onal info:
hope to inspire more students to become scien‐ •Yukawa Ins tute for Theore cal Physics
sts and more adults to become scien fically lit‐ h ps://www.yukawa.kyoto‐u.ac.jp/en‐GB/• Interna onal Research Unit of Advanced Fu‐
erate.”“My ul mate research goal is to bring about ture Studies
h p://www2.yukawa.kyoto‐u.ac.jp/~future/?
social jus ce through astrophysics.”
lang=en

Evolu onary Design of Sustainable Transporta on
Rolando Armas, Hernán Aguirre and Kiyoshi Tanaka
Fron ers in Massive Op miza on and Computa onal Intelligence
Shinshu University
h ps://sites.google.com/view/lia‐modo
The popula on of ci es keeps growing. Addi onally, in large ci es located in developing
According to the UN[1], 54% of the world’s countries, the number of vehicles is increasing,popula on currently lives in urban areas, rendering mobility problems even worse. The re‐demanding infrastructures that support a design of road network infrastructure in thosesa sfactory level of service. Mobility represents a countries implies substan al costs that are hardly
constant challenge in those ci es where aﬀordable. Hence, a way to reduce traﬃctransporta on infrastructure is inadequate. conges on is to make be er use of exis ng

9JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44

between signals. Using data mining techniques, wegroup the op mal solu ons in clusters. Finally, we
infrastructure, which can be achieved in part by a analyze the eﬀects of traﬃc signal se ngs respect
proper set of traﬃc signals or improving the level to the environmental impact using the output dataof service of the system while reducing the density from the MATSim emission module. Fig.1 illustrates
of vehicles on the streets.
in blue the area where CO2 emissions can be
Quito Metropolitan District ‐ DMQ (Ecuador) is significantly reduced by adop ng an appropriate
a perfect example of a city that has grown in recent signal configura on found by the evolu onary
years increasing traﬃc conges on, gas emissions, algorithm.
pollu on, and use of energy. Our research
A second study examined traﬃc density levels
integrates evolu onary computa on, traﬃc in urban transporta on. We define Level of Service
simula on, emission models, and data mining tools (LoS) in terms of traﬃc density and use theto gain a be er understanding of DMQ's complex evolu onary algorithm to search combina ons ofmobility and transporta on system in order to the number of private/public transporta on users,
propose solu ons sustainably. We par cularly the capacity of buses, and the me interval
focus on Quito's business district, which covers between bus departures of five main Bus Rapid
approximately 5x8 km2.
Transit (BRT) corridors on DMQ scenario [3]. The
The first study dealt with the op miza on of evolu onary algorithm searches for solu ons
70 traﬃc signals. The proper se ng of traﬃc which minimize traﬃc density, travel me and fuelsignals helps to reduce emissions and induce traﬃc consump on simultaneously. Fig. 2 shows thepa erns to control speed in sensible areas to trade‐oﬀ between travel me and density. This
increase pedestrian security. We used an figure is colored according to the propor on ofevolu onary algorithm together with a traﬃc agents NPt that use public transporta on andsimulator (MATSim) to obtain op mal signal includes ver cal lines to mark the ranges of LoS A‐
se ngs, minimizing average travel me and D.
emissions simustaneously[2]. We implemented
We also analyze the eﬀects of BRT headway
several gene c operators and designed several configura ons on Par culate Ma er (PM)experiments to find a proper configura on that emissions. Fig. 3 shows PM emissions diﬀerences
allows a fluid traﬃc through a proper coordina on between
two
diﬀerent
BRT
headwaysconfigura ons.
(Con nued from page 9)

Fig. 2 Trade‐oﬀ between tarvel me and density colored by Npt

Fig. 1 Reduc on of CO2 by traﬃc signal op miza on

10(Con nued on page 11)JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44(Con nued from page 10)

References:[1] Department of Economics, United Na ons andPopula on Division Social Aﬀairs, Worldurbaniza on prospects: The 2014 revision, 2014.
[2] R. Armas, H. Aguirre, S. Zapotecas and K.
Tanaka, Traﬃc Signal Op miza on: Minimizing
Travel Time and Fuel Consump on, Ar ficial
Evolu on: 12th Interna onal Conference, Evolu on
Ar ficielle, EA 2015, Lyon, France, Springer,
Ar ficial Evolu on, pages 29‐43.
[3] R. Armas, H. Aguirre and K. Tanaka, Mul ‐objec ve Op miza on of Level of Service in Urban
Transporta on, Proceedings of the Gene c andEvolu onary Computa on Conference, GECCO'17
Berlin, ACM, pages 1057‐1064.
Fig. 3 PM emissions diﬀerence between two BRT
configura ons

Third Joint Commi ee mee ng of the Trans‐Pacific Human
Capital Development Program and short‐term training at
the Pon fical Catholic University of Peru
University of Tsukuba,
Global Commons
The Trans‐Pacific Human Capital Development es; Keiko Sekimoto, head of the Global Commons
Program, a student‐exchange project adopted and oﬃce; and Dr. Paola Sanoni, Interna onal Associ‐supported by the Ministry of Educa on, Culture, ate, made a courtesy visit to the president of theSports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT), PUCP, Dr. Marcial Rubio, together with represent‐
currently in its third year of ac vi es, held its Third a ves from the other five partner universi es that
Joint Program Mee ng of the Steering Commi ee par cipate in the Trans‐Pacific consor um: El Co‐
at the campus of one of its La n American partner legio de Mexico, the University of Guadalajara
universi es, the Pon fical Catholic University of (Mexico), Los Andes University (Colombia), thePeru (PUCP), on September 14th and 15th of this University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), and the University
year.
of Chile. Professor Osonoi expressed his deep
Prior to the mee ng of the commi ee, Professor gra tude to the PUCP family, and to Dr. Rubio inpar cular, for their coopera on in hos ng the
Shigeo Osonoi, Chair of the program and Provostof the Faculty of Humani es and Social Sciences of mee ng of the Steering Commi ee, and for re‐this university; Dr. Mari Minowa and Dr. Saori Iso‐ ceiving our students in the short‐term training
da of the Faculty of Humani es and Social Scienc‐ program. The visit to Dr. Rubio was then followed(Con nued on page 12)11

JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44

Besides the high‐level mee ng, the PUCP also host‐ed the Short‐Term Training Program of our stu‐by an exchange of opinions with all the representa‐ dents from September 3 to 21. As part of the pro‐ves present about strengthening the collabora‐ gram, other than taking classes of Spanish lan‐on between partner universi es. At the two‐days guage and Peruvian culture and society, students
mee ng of the commi ee, the future agenda of had an enriching experience which included visits
the program (now reaching its halfway point) was to the Japanese Embassy, the Japanese‐Peruvian
presented, with par cular a en on to the further Associa on (Nikkeijin Kyokai), JICA Peru, JETRO Li‐
promo on of exchange and the expansion of the ma, the Japan‐Peru Chamber of Commerce andnetwork. These points were lively discussed, andthey set the tone for the exchange program.
(Con nued from page 11)(Joint Program Mee ng of the Steering Commi ee)(Dr. Marcial Rubio (5th from the right), Professor
Osonoi (6th), and other commi ee members.)

12

Industry, Peru Shimpo, and the Japanese company(Con nued on page 13)

JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44
gram, the students presented their findings andconclusions at the final presenta on held for that
Ajinomoto, etc. Through these interac ons, the purpose. Overall, we expect that the experience
students gained further understanding of the ac‐ will lead them to their next professional step, andve rela onship between the two countries. During to become a bridge between La n America andtheir me at the PUCP, the students also enjoyed Japan.
the opportunity to meet alumni of the Trans‐Pacific
Program who had studied in Tsukuba in the past.
On September 19, the last day of their training pro‐(Con nued from page 12)(Professor Osonoi (3rd from the right, front row)and the short‐term program students visi ng(Training of the short‐term program students
at Peru Shimpo)

the Embassy of Japan in Peru)

Newly discovered brain chemical “NPGL” controls appe te andbody fat composi on
The latest discovery by the group of Professor standing and should guide scien sts in finding ways
Kazuyoshi Ukena, along with collaborators from to assist the evolu onary‐survivalist human body toJapan and UC Berkeley, adds to our understanding adapt to a calorie‐intense 21st century environ‐of how the brain regulates energy usage and feed‐ ment.
ing habits – the control mechanisms of which are Related ar cles
not yet fully understood. They found that NPGL, a
recently discovered protein involved in brain signal‐ Iwakoshi‐Ukena E, Shikano K, Kondo K, Taniuchi S,
ling, has been found to increase fat storage by the Furumitsu M, Ochi Y, Sasaki T, Okamoto S, Bentley
body – even when on a low‐calorie diet in rats. In GE, Kriegsfeld LJ, Minokoshi Y, Ukena K. Neurose‐
addi on, NPGL was shown to increase appe te in cretory protein GL s mulates food intake, de novo
response to high caloric food intake. This latest re‐ lipogenesis, and onset of obesity. eLife 6:e28527(Con nued on page 14)
search into NPGL has greatly increased our under‐ (2017)13

JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44(con nued from page 13)

Press releases

Matsuura D, Shikano K, Saito T, Iwakoshi‐Ukena E, h ps://www.hiroshima‐u.ac.jp/en/news/41277
Furumitsu M, Ochi Y, Sato M, Bentley GE, Kriegsfeld
h ps://www.hiroshima‐u.ac.jp/en/news/39342
LJ, Ukena K. Neurosecretory protein GL, a hypotha‐
lamic small secretory protein, par cipates in energy Profile of Professor Kazuyoshi Ukena
homeostasis in male mice.
Endocrinology h p://seeds.oﬃce.hiroshima‐u.ac.jp/profile/158:1120‐1129 (2017)en.d20d4908f81dd6d2520e17560c007669.html

Unravelling the Mechanism of the Decline in Fer lity with
Age & Developing a Technique for Ovarian Rejuvena on

Fer lity decreases slightly in women around GnRH antagonist treatments might provide a new,the age of 30, but is clearly evident at a median age non‐invasive strategy for improving fer lity in aof 40. As a consequence, many women in devel‐ subset of non‐responder aging women before men‐
oped countries including Japan, USA, UK and EU opause.
countries rely on assisted reproduc ve technology Reference:(ART) to become pregnant. However, the success Takashi Umehara, Tomoko Kawai, Ikko Kawashima,
rate of ART in women more than 40 years old wom‐ Katsuhiro Tanaka, Satoshi Okuda, Hiroya Kitasaka,
en is low.
JoAnne S. Richards, Masayuki Shimada. The acceler‐
In our study (Umehara et al., Aging Cell 2017), a on of reproduc ve aging in Nrg1flox/flox;Cyp19‐
using the unique ovarian aging model mice, we re‐ Cre female mice. Aging Cell (2017)vealed that the growth of fibrosis ssue in ovarian DOI: 10.1111/acel.12662
stroma is induced by the high serum levels of LH Profile of Professor Masayuki Shimada
present with increasing age. The fibrosis is associat‐ h p://seeds.oﬃce.hiroshima‐u.ac.jp/profile/ed with the arrest of follicular development. Thus, en.421632da20fa61ea520e17560c007669.html

You can also refer to the following ar cles.
Latency of seizures determined by diet: estrogen‐mediated brain protec on directly linked to intake offa y acids found in oils
h ps://www.hiroshima‐u.ac.jp/en/news/41275

Conclusion of Inter‐university agreement with Na onal Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)h ps://www.hiroshima‐u.ac.jp/en/news/41713

14

JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44

UPCOMING APPLICATION DEADLINES: FELLOWSHIPPROGRAMS
Applica on deadline to JSPS Tokyo Oﬃce:

January 4 ‐ 11, 2018 *Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research in Japan‐ Short‐term Program (1‐12 months)
h ps://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e‐fellow/applica on‐18.html*The deadline is for the host ins tu on to submit the applica on to JSPS Tokyo; generally, applicants must
submit documents to host ins tu on 1‐2 months prior to this deadline.
Applica on Deadline to NIH:

January 31, 2018
Postdoctoral Fellowship for Overseas Researchersh ps://www.fic.nih.gov/Programs/Pages/japan‐fellowships.aspx‐ Short‐term for North American and European Researchers (1‐12 months)‐ Standard (12‐24 months)

OFFICE STAFF SWITCH
Introducing New Deputy Director, Liaison Oﬃcer and Interna onal Program
InternYumiko Minoura (Deputy Director from Nagoya University)
Yumiko Minoura joined the JSPS San Francisco freedom is in the air. Before star ng her tenure at
Oﬃce on September 1 as the 8th Deputy Director. JSPS SF, she worked at Nagoya University for 13
Since then she’s been enjoying mee ng new people, years and recently became involved in interna onal
walking in the beau ful Northern California sunshine collabora on. One of Nagoya University’s strengths
and learning more about American culture. She is is in its interna onal approach which is unique invery excited to work in Berkeley where diversity and that it pays focus closely(Con nued on page 16)

15

JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44(Continued from page 15)

on Asia. The university has several produc ve the opportunity to discover many more diﬀerent
and harmonious rela onships with other Asian and new places here in the U.S.
coun es. Right before transferring to the SF Bay
Area, Yumiko worked for two years for the univer‐sity’s Asian Satellite Campuses Ins tute that runs
the flagship program, the ‘Transna onal Doctoral
Programs for Leading Professionals in Asian Coun‐
tries.’ This program exclusively aims to provide ed‐
uca onal opportuni es to government oﬃcials in
six countries (Cambodia, Vietnam, Mongolia, Uz‐
bekistan, Laos and the Philippines) where NU Satel‐
lite Campuses are located. Through her work,
Yumiko has gained professional experience in in‐
terna onal coopera on while working with Japan’s
Ministry of Foreign Aﬀairs, Japan Interna onal Co‐
opera on Agency and MEXT. Back in 2009, she(Nashville, November 2017)
spent a total of 12 months in Montana and North
Carolina, par cipa ng in the Long‐term Educa on
Administrator Program, supported by MEXT. Just
few years later, she made a triumphant return to
the U.S. in order to a end the Academic Residency
of Educa on’s USA Leadership Ins tute on CampusInterna onaliza on: Ins tu onal Structures to Sup‐port Inbound and Outbound Student Mobility,
sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bu‐
reau of Educa onal and Cultural Aﬀairs (ECA). She
is thrilled to work with her American colleagues
and is always seeking out opportuni es to deepen
her understanding of higher educa on in the US
while expanding her personal network. She is a fre‐quent traveler and has visited fi een countries for(Uzbekistan, May 2017)business and/or pleasure and is looking forward to

Chris Reed (Liaison Oﬃcer )Chris Reed joined the JSPS San Francisco as a graduate student in the department of Poli ‐Oﬃce as Liaison Oﬃcer in August. Previously he cal Science at Waseda University, where he re‐worked for the Asahi Shimbun’s San Francisco Bu‐ searched pre and post‐war kamishibai (“paper the‐reau repor ng on technology and breaking news in ater”) propaganda. During his me as an under‐
the SF Bay Area. Chris has spent a total of 5 years grad at the University of California, Davis he spentliving in Japan, first as an Assistant Language 10 weeks on an internship living and working in Ise
Teacher on the JET Program in Nagasaki and later (located in Mie prefecture) at a “children’s home”(Con nued on page 17)

16

JSPS SF Newsle er | Vol. 44(con nued from page 16)

with disadvantaged youth, an experience thatjumpstarted his interest in Japan.
Chris is excited to play a role in higher educa‐
on and furthering academic es between Japanand the US. He’s also excited to be working with adynamic and engaging group at JSPS San Francisco
while con nuing the notable tradi on of JET
alumni filling the posi on of Liaison Oﬃcer. In his
spare me Chris enjoys reading nonfic on (mainly
history and economics), cooking (cauliflower Par‐
mesan casserole is his go‐to), listening to records(recently he’s taken an interest in early 90s De‐
troit Techno and early 80s electro‐pop from Ja‐pan), playing his Sega Genesis (known in Japan as
the Sega Mega Drive), and going on ou ngs withhis young daughter (she hates being coopted up
indoors).

Kaori Enoki (Interna onal Program Intern from KEK)
Kaori Enoki joined the JSPS San Francisco
Oﬃce as Interna onal Program Intern at the be‐ginning of July 2017 and will stay for two years.
Prior to JSPS, she was working for the High Energy
Accelerator Research Organiza on (KEK, Tsukuba
City, Ibaraki Prefecture) for eight years. Her lastposi on in KEK was at the J‐PARC Center Users
Oﬃce where she worked in opera ons and dormi‐
tory and apartment maintenance for J‐PARC Cen‐
ter facili es users.
She is grateful for the opportunity to experi‐ence not only the dynamism of physics but of thescien fic research community as a whole.

Japan Society for the Promo on of Science(JSPS)San Francisco Oﬃce
2001 Addison St., #260, Berkeley, CA 94704
Email: webmaster@jspsusa‐sf.org

17