A Seat of Learning
Katusi FUKUYAMADean, Faculty of Science and Graduate School of ScienceMESSAGE

As dean of the Faculty of Science and Graduate School of Science, I would
like to send a warm welcome to all international students, faculty members,and guests.
The Faculty of Science was established in 1949 as one of the faculties at
Kobe University. Now our Faculty of Science and Graduate School ofScience consist of 5 departments: mathematics, physics, chemistry,biology, and planetology, which cover a wide range of natural sciences. Our
staff-to-student ratio is a great advantage for students: we have more than
100 active faculty members for about 680 undergraduates and 330
graduates enrolled in 2018. We also have 36 international students enrolled.
Please visit our beautiful campus located at the foot of Mount Rokko as
well as our website.

Faculty ofScience andGraduate Schoolof Science

In the Faculty of Science, we conduct 4-year undergraduate education andresearch on fundamental issues in the natural sciences. The Graduate
School offers 2-year Master’s and 3-year Doctoral programs.
The Graduate School of Science collaborates closely with the following
research centers: Kobe University Organization for Advanced and Integrated
Research, Biosignal Research Center, Molecular Photoscience ResearchCenter, Research Center for Inland Seas, Kobe Ocean Bottom Exploration
Center Research Center for Urban Safety and Security, Center ofMathematial and Data Science and Research Facility Center for Scienceand Technology. The Center for also contributes to the Graduate School
education.

Faculty of Science

Graduate Schoolof Science■ Mathematics■ Mathematics■ Physics■ Physics■ Chemistry■ Chemistry■ Biology■ Biology■ Planetology■ Planetology

Organization for Advanced andIntegrated Research
Biosignal Research Center
Molecular Photoscience
Research Center
Research Center forInland Seas
Kobe Ocean BottomExploration Center
Research Center forUrban Safety and Security
Center of Mathematicaland Data Sciences
Research Facility Center for
Science and Technology
The Center for Planetary Science

Website http://www.sci.kobe-u.ac.jp/english/index.htm
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Faculty of Science
Graduate School of ScienceKobe UniversityDepartment of Mathematics
Mathematics is both old and new.
Traditionally, research in mathematics isthe study of numbers, spaces andfunctions. From a modern viewpoint, one
can argue that mathematics is still about
these things, but then one would have towiden the interpretation of "numbers","spaces" and "functions" to include the great
variety of forms that numbers and spaces
have recently evolved into. For example, to aset of numbers we may associate a "space",
and a space is also an object for algebraic
operations, or a space can even be a"function". In modern mathematics, they
exist in such a wide variety of forms, andincluded in these forms are mysterious
properties and intriguing principles.

We in the department of mathematics
regard mathematics as a synthetic subject.
We respect the independence of eachresearch field, but at the same time weintend to impart graduate students withknowledge of a wide range of areas. Wealso regard it as important that students
develop expertise in computation, logicalthinking and abstract thinking. With this inmind, the goal of our graduate school is toturn out superior graduates who work as
creative researchers and contribute to thedevelopment of society in various fields.
We cover a variety of research areas inboth pure and applied mathematics.
Students conduct their own research in an
independent environment, under thesupervision of their advisors. The membersof our department include about 20 faculty
members and 10 post-doctoral fellows.
Students have free access to our variousfacilities, including the library, offices,seminar rooms, computers andinternet-based communication tools
related to mathematics.
3Faculty of Science
Graduate School of Science

Kobe University

Research Topic
Rossman Wayne / ProfessorGeometry
I find doing research verysatisfying, shedding lighton how objects such assoap films bend the way
they do. I work in thegeometry group in theKobe University mathematics department, and I greatly enjoy theresearch vitality and friendliness of thisdepartment. Our geometry group includes
three other faculty members. One figure
here is from my own research, showing asoap film, and another is from our fellow
geometer Kentaro Saji in our group,
showing a connection between geometry
and singularity theory. Our research goals
are to create a better understanding ofpurely geometric objects and to connect
with other fields. One connection isbetween curvature properties in geometry
and some types of integrable systems(which are particularly elegant partial
differential equations). A number of ourfaculty focus on integrable systems
research. Another faculty member,
Naotaka Kajino, connects geometry withanalysis and probability theory, and one
figure here of a fractal is from his research.
A further connection is between discretization of surface theory and structures inarchitecture that bend in a segmented way(segmented bending can be seen in thesoap film figure), and also to computergraphics.

Research Groups
Analysis
Partial Differential Equations
Integrable Systems
Mathematical Physics
Algebra and Geometry
Algebraic Geometry
Number Theory
Differential Geometry
Knot Theory
Applied Mathematics
Probability Theory
Computer Algebra System
Fractal Analysis
Curriculum (undergraduate)
FreshmanCalculus
Linear algebra
Set theoryLiberal arts classes
Sophomore/Junior
Advanced linear algebra
Multivariable calculus
Complex function theory
Topology
Algebra I-IV
Geometry I-IV
Analysis IV-VIII
Probability theory
Representation theory
Computational mathematics
SeniorSpecialized seminar
Intensive short-term courses
Advanced courses

A non-Euclidean soap film (left), a "swallow tail" singularity (middle), a planar fractal (right)

Department of Physics
Physics is a field of study which explores
the truth of nature. It is an important
academic field that provides thefoundation for many applied sciences. The
research subject extends over a very wide
range: from the most basic particles
constituting matter (elementary particles),to atoms, to molecules, to liquids/solids
which is a population of atoms andmolecules, and to the structure of theuniverse.

will learn more advanced research topics
through lectures and seminars. Then you
will work on a current physics researchsubject. For this purpose, we are incooperation with research centers in our
university, and research institutions withlarge experimental facilities in Japan andoverseas.
The Department of Physics welcomes
students who plan to pursue careers
outside of physics as well as those whowill continue in physics after graduation.
Research Topic
Cosmology (Jiro Soda / Professor)

A physics experiment at Kobe University
There is close cooperation between
theoretical and experimental studies. The
meaning of phenomena discovered byexperiment is studied by theory. In
addition, the predictions from the theory
are tested by experiment. This close
relation has been very important in thedevelopment of physics. Our department
has both theoretical and experimental
research groups.
In the Department of Physics of theFaculty of Science, we have been doingsmall-group education, taking advantage
of our small class sizes. Through the thirdyear of undergraduate, we focus on
thinking of physics problems using math,then we move from classical physics tomodern physics. At the same time, acurriculum of basic physics experiments isprovided. In the fourth year ofundergraduate, you will learn that there
remain many unresolved issues, and you
will study one of those problems asgraduation research.
In the Graduate School of Science, you
4

Faculty of Science
Graduate School of Science

Kobe University( Illustration courtesy of Chris Blake and Sam Moorfield )Cosmology has become precision science
due to rapid developments ofobservational techniques. In particular,
WMAP and Planck satellites have provided
us with high precision data of temperaturefluctuations of the cosmic microwave
background radiation, which reveal theuniverse just 0.4 million years after the Big
Bang. From the statistical analysis of thetemperature fluctuations, we can extract
information about the very early universe,
namely at 10-34 seconds after the Big
Bang, which enables us to know thephysics of the microscopic world.
Although there are a lot of interesting
topics in cosmology, I am working on an
inflationary scenario through which we canexplore the microscopic world. The aim ofmy research is to find new physics throughinterdisciplinary studies of cosmology andelementary particle theory.

Research Groups
Theoretical Physics
Elementary Particle Theory
Cosmology
Condensed Matter Theory
Quantum Solid State Physics
Particle Physics
Particle Physics
Condensed Matter Physics
Extreme Condition Condensed
Matter Physics
Low Temperature Condensed
Matter Physics
Correlated Electron Physics
Quantum Dynamics
Curriculum (undergraduate)
Mechanics I*, II*
Analytical Dynamics
Modern Physics
Wave Physics
Electromagnetics I*, II*
Electrodynamics
Thermal and Statistical Physics
Statistical Physics I*, II*
Basic Mathematical Methods inPhysics
Mathematical Methods inPhysics I*, II*
Quantum Mechanics I*, II*, III
Information Science for Physics
The Theory of Relativity
Astrophysics
General Relativity
Solid State Physics I, II
Nuclear Physics
Elementary Particle Physics
Experimental Physics
Physics Laboratories I, II, III(*with exercises)
SeniorGraduation ResearchSeminarDepartment of Chemistry
Chemistry is the basic study exploring thestructures, properties, interactions, andtransformation of matter in naturalsciences. We seek to understand a wide
variety of material characteristics
according to the fundamental laws ofchemistry, which allows us to provide
direction for controlling chemical reactions
and for preparing advanced functional
materials. Recently, chemistry has evolved
to incorporate various areas of science at
an accelerated pace.

With the current trend of science, it isnecessary to actively advancecutting-edge studies with the purpose ofcreating new concepts andinterdisciplinary fields in science. It is
crucial to make continuing effort in trainingstudents to become motivated for andcapable of performing innovative work
both in academia and in chemicalcompanies. From the above viewpoint, ourdepartment has established a variety ofresearch/education fields, including
Molecular Structure and Dynamics,
Material Physical Chemistry, Chemical
Reaction Dynamics, Solid State Chemistry,
Solution Chemistry, Physical InorganicChemistry, Organic Reaction Chemistry,
Biomolecular Science, and Organic
Molecular Structure and Function. In order
to cultivate the spirit of academic inquiry ofstudents for substances, we offer somespecialized courses and lab training
course. Although the scale of thisdepartment is relatively small, thesmall-group instruction system on aone-to-one basis has developed theabilities of students to recognize and solve
unexplained issues with strong motivationand imagination. We think it is important to5

Faculty of Science
Graduate School of Science

Kobe University

use the small but highly capableorganizations for the development of future
human resources. In our research we
focus on scientific fundamentals and aim
to flexibly carry out research projects withhigh originality and big impact.
Research Topic

Photosynthetic organisms absorb solar
energy and transfer it toward a reaction
center as excitation energy of molecules(chlorophyll, carotenoid, and so on).
Light-harvesting and excitationenergy-transfer processes, which occur in
10-15 second (fs) to 10-9 second (ns), aremodified with changes in environmental
conditions, such as light, temperature,nutrient, and carbon dioxide. Associate
Professor Seiji Akimoto and coworkers
develop time-resolved measurement
systems and examine response andadaptation of photosynthetic organisms totheir environments. Recently, they foundnew mechanisms for a land plantArabidopsis thaliana and a green alga
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to survive
under high-light conditions.

Research Groups
Physical Chemistry
Molecular Structure andDynamics
Material Physical Chemistry
Chemical Reaction Dynamics
Inorganic Chemistry
Solid State Chemistry
Solution Chemistry
Physical Inorganic Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Organic Reaction Chemistry
Biomolecular Science
Organic Molecular Structureand Function
Curriculum (undergraduate)
JuniorPhysical Chemistry
Chemical Thermodynamics
Chemical Reaction Dynamics
Surface Chemistry
Quantum Chemistry
Molecular Spectroscopy
Inorganic Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry
Solid State Chemistry
Solution Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Structural Organic Chemistry
Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Biochemistry
Chemical Experiments
Computational Chemistry
SeniorLaboratory Research Course

Message from a Foreign StudentI came to Japan in 2016 from South Korea. Currently,
I’m majoring in organic chemistry on a Master's course.
Kobe University is in harmony with beautiful nature andscenery. Moreover, I can focus on my research with awell-organized system of education for foreign
students. Especially, I have received plenty of help fromthe International Center to make my daily life here more
Sanghun Kim
comfortable, such as financial aid, Japanese classes,
home rental and others. Thanks to this help, I have been acquiring various
chemical knowledge and analysis techniques through discussions withother international students and Japanese students. As well as cultural
exchange, this will give me the skills to become a versatile chemist.

Department of Biology‘What is life’ is a fundamental, but still
poorly answered question in Biology.
Biological phenomena occur at various
levels of organization, spanning frommolecules to ecosystems. To better
capture these multi-hierarchicalphenomena, we aspire to approachvarious biological issues with modern toolsof molecular, cellular, and developmental
biology, as well as genetics. In addition tothese approaches, our department has
been studying proximate and ultimate
causes of biodiversity with recently
advancing methodologies of phylogeny
and ecology. We believe that all of theseapproaches are mutually beneficial, andintegration of these approaches will lead
us to answer the fundamental questions inBiology.

[Expression of Lobe-less noncoding RNA in theDorosophilla central nervous system]
Our department embraces many fields
in Biology such as biochemistry, genetics,molecular and developmental biology,physiology, ecology, phylogeny, and so on.
We offer a variety of lectures as well as
experimental and practical courses toundergraduate and graduate students.
Students are hence able to master not
only fundamental skills to advance theirown research but also presentation skills
at scientific meetings and publication inscientific journals.
An outstanding feature of ourdepartment is that staff of various
backgrounds regularly work together withstudents to answer both fundamental andintegrated issues in Biology.

6

Faculty of Science
Graduate School of Science

Kobe University[Recreation room for students]
Research Topic
Dr. Kimitsune Ishizaki
Many plants generate clonal progenies
directly from somatic cells of vegetative
organs, however, little is known about themolecular mechanisms. The liverwort
Marchantia polymorpha propagates

asexually via gemmae generated in thegemma cups.
Taking full advantage of molecular
genetic resources in M. polymorpha, wehave successfully identified several key
genes for the gemma-cup development,
which are both orthologous to regulatory
genes for axillary buds in angiosperms.
Our results suggest a common regulatory
mechanism between vegetative
propagation and axillary bud formation.

[Left: Gametophyte body of the liverwort Marchantia
polymorpha; Right: Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM) of gemmae in gemma cup.]

Research Groups
Biomolecular Organization
Molecular Physiology
Cell Function
Bioinformation
Biosignal Transduction
Gene Expression
Gene Function
Genome Integrity
Biodiversity
Evolution, Phylogeny
Ecology, Speciation
Curriculum (undergraduate)
JuniorAnimal Ecology
Development
Environmental Biology
Environmental Plant CellBiology
Functions of GeneticInformation
Genome Dynamics
Marine BiologyMolecular Biology
Molecular Biology of Plant
Molecular Genetics
Molecular Physiology of Animal
Behavior
Neuroethology
Neurophysiology
Photobiology
Plant Genomics
Readings in Biology
Field Biology
Laboratory Exercises in Biology
SeniorGraduation researchDepartment of Planetology
We have taken a new step forward since
FY2015. The Department of Earth andPlanetary Sciences has been renamed
Department of Planetology, as planetology
is a discipline that integrates earthsciences with planetary sciences. We arevery keen to answer a primordial question,
why this planet has evolved into the earth.

Since we are dealing with a wide varietyof natural phenomena from the core of theearth to the edge of the solar system, wewant our students not only to acquire wide
knowledge and skills for planetology, butalso to develop broad viewpoints,
creativity, and originality, which are freefrom existing frameworks. To achieve thisgoal, we recommend that our students
study mathematics, physics, earthscience, chemistry, biology, etc. andbecome familiar with techniques andmethods on field surveys, observations,experiments and theoretical analyses. It isdifficult to achieve these goals with apassive attitude. Our diverse faculty
members are available as guides for you.

We have a wide range of research fields
on the origin and evolution of the earth andthe solar system. For example, one
researcher goes out for field work to hearsounds from stones or geological strata.
Another researcher imagines the early
7

Faculty of Science
Graduate School of Science

Kobe University

stages of the solar system by doing impact
experiments with ice and stones. A third
researcher is trying to reproduce anatmosphere of a planet in a computer. And
another researcher is exploring the originof life from molecular motions. Curiosity isthe engine to be enthusiastic about suchthings. Our department is full of people
who enjoy research with whole-hearted
enthusiasm and excitement. We believe
this atmosphere is the key to makeinteresting studies possible. Why don't youcome and join our paradise forintellectuals?
Research Topic
Minami Yasui / Assistant Professor
Experimental Planetary ScienceIce creates some characteristic
topographic features on the earth, such as
ice sheets on Antarctica and glaciers onhighlands. However, these features madeof ice are also observed on other planetsin the solar system. For example, there arepolar ice caps and glaciers on Mars andfurthermore, the satellites orbiting aroundgiant planets have crusts made of ice.
I study the formation processes of
unique topographic features observed on
the surfaces of icy satellites. One of thekey parameters that affect these surface
features is strength. I measure the strengthof icy materials simulating the crusts of icy
satellites by laboratory experiments in alarge cold room in order to discuss how
these surface features were formed.

Research Groups
Fundamental Planetology
Geology
Petrology and Mineralogy
Solid Geophysics
Fluid Geophysics
Planetary Astrophysics
Frontier Planetology
Experimental Planetary Science
Marine Geodynamics
Computational Planetology
Cooperative Division
Applied Planetology
Evolutionary History of thePlanets and the Earth
Curriculum (undergraduate)
Planetology
Fundamentals of Planetology
Exercise of Fundamental
Planetology
Fundamentals of Planetary
Physics
Solid Earth
Earth and Planetary Evolution
Science
Earth Material Science
Planetary Material Science
Fundamentals of Experimental
Training in Planetology
Experimental Training inPlanetology
Geology
Planetary Physics
Physics of Solid Earth
Planetary and Space ScienceFluid Dynamics in Planetology
Atmospheric Science
Field Exercise on Geology
Graduation ResearchColloquium

Number of international students (2017)

Total
Undergraduates
Graduates

CountryChinaKorea

USAUK

EgyptOthers

77Master

22

17Doctor

1152

321

12

KOBE Summer School
The annual science-focused international summer schoo will be held at
Kobe University in July. At this school, all lectures will be given in English.
Interested students (regular undergraduate and graduate students enrolled
at universities which have academic exchange agreements with KobeUniversity) should consult with the appropriate sections of their home
universities.
http://www.sci.kobe-u.ac.jp/international/pdf/1w_experience2018.pdf

From Views of Kobe 50 choices, Kobe City

Faculty of Science, Graduate School of Science Kobe University
1-1 Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501 Japan
TEL : +81-78-803-5761 | FAX : +81-78-803-5770
Mail : sci-soumu@office.kobe-u.ac.jp | Web : www.sci.kobe-u.ac.jp/english/intro.htm
July 2018