Summary of Proposal

Host institution
Chief entire-project
officer(Head of host institution)
Chief center-project
officerNational University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology

Yoshinao Mishima, President
Kei Hirose, Professor
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology

Center director

Kei Hirose, Professor
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology

Center nameEarth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)

Project Summary

Mission statement
and/or Center identity

Target research field

ELSI aims to answer the fundamental question "when and where did life
originate and how did it evolve?" This question, which originated with the Greek
philosophers, has been one of the most important topics of natural science. We will
focus our research on addressing the unique environments on the early Earth that gavebirth to life and their subsequent changes, with the main aim to study the origin andearly evolution of life and persistent ecological systems in their geological context. We
will also approach the primordial environment of the Earth through explorations ofdeep-sea microbial ecosystems and extraterrestrial primitive asteroids. In addition, we
will critically examine the universality of these processes, to determine the uniquenessof our planet, with implications for the search for extraterrestrial life, both in the solar
system and beyond.
So far, discussions about the origin of life on Earth have been mostly limited to thebiochemistry of proto-life forms. While the Earth environment has been described as a“cradle of life”, the image of a “cradle” points to a supporting background role, rather
than a dynamic interplay. In ELSI, we want to radically broaden these discussions byfocusing equally strongly on both sides of Earth and Life. For one thing, life ispreserved through a continuous exchange of matter and energy with the surrounding
environment. For another, it is a two-way interaction: as soon as life forms are present,
they start to influence the environment, just as the environment is influencing life. Ourbasic outlook is reflected in the name of our proposed center: ELSI stands for
Earth-Life Science Institute, in which Earth sciences and Life sciences will be equally
represented.
In contrast to NASA’s Astrobiology Institute whose research topics are broadly
similar to ours, we emphasize 1) the role of the Earth as a whole in the origin andevolution of life, based on the past achievement of collaborative studies at Tokyo
Tech; and 2) the fact that ELSI will not be a virtual institute, but based in one building,with vigorous internal communications through a series of daily, weekly, and monthly
events, following the Program for Interdisciplinary Studies at the Institute forAdvanced Studies (IAS) in Princeton as a model. This IAS program will act as asatellite center for ELSI.
We are planning to build up a strong interdisciplinary program within ELSI. This
will attract a wide variety of top scientists to visit ELSI to interact with members there
and also with each other. We do not want to define job specifications too strongly
beforehand. Rather, we prefer to attract top scientists first, and then to finetune theresearch program around their skills and interests.
We will combine our research with outreach and education. Spacecrafts such as
Hayabusa and Hayabusa-2, and questions about the formation of Earth and the originof life, as well as extraterrestrial life are of strong interest to the general public, andthus perfect for outreach. As for education, we will create a Summer Internship
Program for high school students, based on nation-wide competitions in high schools
in Japan. These activities will also help not only ELSI but also its host, Tokyo Tech, tofurther increase both its international and its domestic visibility.
Target research field:
Interdisciplinary Research on Solid-Earth Science, Planetary Science, Geology,
Environmental Biology, and Microbial Genome Science
Recent progress:
Major progresses has been made recently in the three areas of early Earth（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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environments, primordial ecological systems, and extraterrestrial life: 1) laboratory
experiments that reproduce the conditions at the beginning of the Earth’s history, 2)
investigations of ecological systems under extreme environments, and 3) the study ofEarth-like exoplanets. Our PIs have made major contributions to the progress in all ofthese areas.
Our superiority:
Our team has proven to be world-leading in the areas of our proposed research. We
will study the unique environments on the early Earth by combining the researchutilizing high-pressure/high-temperature experiments, theory of planet formation, anddecoding the Earth’s history, all of which are areas in which research at Tokyo Tech isahead of that at other places, nationally and internationally. In addition, Japanesescientists are also playing a leading role in the research of microbial ecological systems
under extreme conditions.
Our research will answer the following scientific questions:- What were the environments at the beginning of the Earth’s history?
- When and where did the primordial ecological system originate?
- How did the Earth and the Universe affect the evolution of life?
- How unique is our planet?
We will also contribute to the planning of explorations of the solar system andobservations of exosolar systems based on the outcome of our research.

Research objectives

The Center will be established as an independent organization inside Tokyo Tech.
The Center Director will have the authority to make all decisions related to ELSI
including the appointment of all staff members, budget implementation, etc, withadvice from the Steering Committee and the International Advisory Board. The Center
will create a research-oriented English-based administrative system. In addition to
Outline of management
Research Advisors who provide a wide range of support to researchers, a Life Advisor
will be assigned to each non-Japanese family. Research Communicators will be incharge of overall outreach activities, organizing regular meeting with journalists,
lecture series for the general public, and a Summer Internship Program for high-school
students.
[Principal Investigators] 16 (incl. 6 non-Japanese)[Total number of researchers] 76 (incl. 25 non-Japanese)[Total number of staffs] 116 (incl. research assistant, excluding short visitors)[Timing for achieving these staffing goals] October, 2015
[Main principal investigators] (current affiliation)
Piet Hut (Inst. Adv. Study, Princeton), Joseph L. Kirschvink (Caltech), Renata M.
Researchers and otherWentzcovitch (Univ. Minnesota), Jack Szostak, Lisa Kaltenegger (Harvard Univ.),
center staffs, satellites,
John W. Hernlund (Univ. California, Berkeley), Tetsuo Irifune (Ehime Univ.),
partner institutions
Hitoshi Kuninaka, Masaki Fujimoto (JAXA), Ken Takai (JAMSTEC), Kei Hirose,
Shigeru Ida, Jun-ichiro Makino, Shigenori Maruyama, Naohiro Yoshida, Ken
Kurokawa (Tokyo Tech)[Satellite organizations] Ehime University, Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton,
Harvard University[Partner institutions] 38 institutions in 11 countries（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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Dr. Kiyoshi Nakazawa, Dedicated Professor, Ex-Dean of Graduate School of
Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology- The Center will ensure that all PIs can concentrate on their research. Each PI has
his/her own research group with at least two post-docs. Both Research Advisors andLife Advisors will provide a full range of support to non-Japanese scientists andtheir families. PIs from the host institute will be reassigned to ELSI, and exempted
at least from the duty of teaching undergraduate students.
- The Center will provide each PI from abroad with start-up fund of JPY10 to 20M.
Additional support may be given upon discussion with the Center Director.
- English-based research-orientated administrative systems will be created through aunique new system. The administrators will be informed of the latest research
Outline of research
results, will be sent to oversea satellite institute to learn efficient administration, andenvironment
will be evaluated annually from a researcher’s point of view.
- Evaluation of the research activities by each scientist will be made on the basis of
publication in academic journals and presentation at the Annual Evaluation
Workshop. Contributions to other activities of the Center such as public outreach
will be also considered. These will reflect in the annual salary renewal.
- The university has reserved sufficient research space (about 1,500 m2 from start andadditionally up to approximately 2100 m2 by FY2015) for the Center at its
Ookayama Campus, close to the building of the Department of Earth and Planetary
Sciences. We can start research as soon as the Center is established.
We can evaluate our research activity and impact using the database provided byThomson Reuters. The data from 1996 to 2010 show that the average number of papers
per faculty member (PI for ELSI) per year is much larger than those for the
Outline of indicators for
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Japanese top universities, andevaluating a center’s
comparable to those for world-leading institutes. Most importantly, the papers
global standing
published by our PIs have been cited more times than those reported from theworld-leading universities. In the next five to ten years, ELSI will become the top
institute in the world in both of the indicators.
The 10 Japanese PIs have acquired research funds of JPY670M/year on averageduring 2007-2011 and about JPY970M/year in average for 2012 and 2013.
Additionally, the 8 Japanese non-PI researchers have received another JPY~200M/year
Securing researchin these periods. These past records clearly show that our team can secure researchfunding
funds exceeding that of the WPI grants (about JPY700M/year). With the competitive
research funds acquired by non-Japanese PIs and dedicated assistant/associate
professors, we expect to obtain more than JPY1500M/year by FY2019.
Program name: Global Center of Excellence program (G-COE)
Exploiting the results of Project title: From the Earth to “Earths”
previously-initiatedRelated to this G-COE program, the university provided about JPY4M in 2012 and acenter-building efforts2
research space of about 260 m .

Administrative director

Total
FY

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

($ millions）

WPI grant

Appropriations plan

3.756 6.625 7.625 7.625 7.625 7.625 7.625 7.625 7.625 7.625

71.3810.501 1.122 1.125 1.125 1.125 1.125 1.125 1.125 1.125 1.125

10.6244.257 7.747 8.750 8.750 8.750 8.750 8.750 8.750 8.750 8.750

82.006

Funding forpreviously-i(Exchange Rate: JPY/USD=80)

nitiated
center-building efforts(if any)
Total- The establishment of the WPI institute matches the guidelines for long-term goal
“Vision 2009” as well as the university’s mid-term goal, and therefore the university
will provide long-term full support to ELSI. Moreover, the university will add thedescription of the WPI to the mid-term plan immediately in the future.
- The university will provide ELSI with JPY90M every year after FY2014 from theSummary of hostPresident's Discretionary Fund to compensate for the ending of the support from theinstitution’s commitment
Global Center of Excellence (G-COE) program.
- Appropriate research space for ELSI has been already reserved by the university at its
Ookayama Campus, very close to the building for the Department of Earth andPlanetary Sciences.
（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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- Already before the end of the WPI program, Tokyo Tech as a whole will internallyadopt widely those parts of ELSI's innovative systems that will have proven to beeffective.

（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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Research Center Project
Host institution
Chief entire-project
officer(Head of hostinstitution)
Chief center-project
officer
Center director
Center nameNational University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology
Yoshinao Mishima, President
Kei Hirose, Graduate School of Science and Engineering,Tokyo Institute of Technology, Professor
Kei Hirose, Graduate School of Science and Engineering,Tokyo Institute of Technology, Professor

Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)
1. Research Objectives
The Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) aims to answer the fundamental question"when and where did life originate and how did it evolve?" This question, which
originated with the Greek philosophers, has been one of the most important topics ofnatural science. We will focus our research on addressing the unique environments on
the early Earth that gave birth to life and their subsequent changes, with the main aim to
study the origin and early evolution of life and persistent ecological systems in theirgeological context. We will also approach the primordial environment of the Earththrough explorations of deep-sea microbial ecosystems and extraterrestrial primitive
asteroids. In addition, we will critically examine the universality of these processes, todetermine the uniqueness of our planet, with implications for the search forextraterrestrial life, both in the solar system and beyond.

Project summary

ELSI will be thoroughly interdisciplinary from the start, integrating three areas inscience that are essential for understanding the early stages of Earth and life.
1. Geological sciences, including geology, geochemistry and geophysics of the early
Earth, as the sciences that describe the environment in which life first originated, andwhich shaped, and in turn was shaped by, its further evolution.
2. Biological sciences, ranging from biochemistry and systems biology to environmental
microbiology, as the sciences that can investigate the processes that led to the origin
and early evolution of life and ecological systems on Earth and elsewhere.
3. Broadly interdisciplinary input from a range of other scientific fields, frommathematics and physics and chemistry all the way to computer science andcognitive science, to shed completely new light on the age old question of how life
first appeared and then evolved.
Why these three areas? Clearly, biological sciences are needed to discuss the detailsof any possible early life forms, and how they managed to become both more complex
and more robust. In addition, any discussion about the origin of life needs a detailed
description and analysis of the environment in which the building blocks of life came
together, and the way in which evolution started to optimize the combinations of thosebuilding blocks. Therefore, both geological and biological sciences are essential
ingredients.
If there was any good agreement about roughly where and how life formed, those
two areas taken together might be enough to produce more and more refined models of
the co-evolution of life and environment, right from the appearance of the first living
cells. However, currently we are still rather far from such a situation. The debate about
how life may have formed continues to range over a huge spectrum of possible
environments, together with a wide set of theories of which molecules combined how to
produce self-sustaining reactions that were both robust enough to be preserved andflexible enough to admit increasing growth in complexity through early forms ofevolution. As long as we don't really have a strong clue as to which ideas are correct, it
is a good idea to step back from the immediate details, and to solicit ways of thinking
from other areas in science and mathematics. This is where the third area comes in,
combining a range of broadly interdisciplinary sciences.
For example, in the last century some well-known physicists have moved into
biology and thereby have triggered novel theoretical ways of thinking. In addition, it
may well be that abstract modeling of self-sustaining processes, not directly aimed at（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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very specific forms of chemistry, may teach us how to think on higher levels of
abstraction about the origin of life. Computer scientists, in turn, can help with the designand execution of simulation methods that also show levels of abstraction not normallyencountered in biochemistry. And finally, cognitive scientists with experience in patternrecognition and pattern generation and other cognitive processes may help in otherways: they may approach the interactive needs of the most primitive proto-cells in waysthat biologists who are trained to work with current life forms may not easily stumble
upon.
More specifically, here are the main research topics at ELSI, focused on thefollowing questions:(A) Origin of the Earth
A1. How was the earth formed?
A2. Why does water exist on Earth?
A3. What is the deep part of the earth like?

(B) Birth of Earth-Life system
B4. What was the state of the ocean and the atmosphere when life emerged?
B5. Where did the Earth’s life emerge?
B6. What were the genomes of the first community like?

(C) Evolution of Earth-Life system
C7. Why does the Earth’s atmosphere contain oxygen?
C8. How did the thermal evolution of the solid Earth change the ecosystem?
C9. How did galactic events influence the Earth's surface environment?

(D) Bioplanet in the Universe
D10. How unique is our planet?
D11. How should we search for extraterrestrial life?
Our superiority in these studies is clear. We will study the unique environments on
the early Earth by combining the research utilizing high-pressure/high-temperatureexperiments, theory of planet formation, and decoding the Earth’s history, all of which
are areas in which research at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) is aheadof that at other places, nationally and internationally. In addition, Japanese scientists arealso playing a leading role in the research of microbial ecological systems under extreme
conditions, including those at deep-sea hydrothermal systems.
Moreover, we already have a rich tradition at Tokyo Tech in addressing many ofthese issues, based on unprecedented interdisciplinary research on Solid-Earth Science,
Planetary Science, Geology, Environmental Biology, and Microbial Genome Science.
Such collaborative research has been carried out by teams similar to ours since 2004
through the 21st century COE (Center of Excellence) Program and the Global COE
Program. Based on our achievements in these programs, the research at ELSI willemphasize the roles of Earth’s interior and the Universe in the origin and evolution of
the Earth-life system. The main novel addition will be the even broader interdisciplinaryconnections in the third area listed above, for which we will make strong international
connections with interdisciplinary groups elsewhere, such as the Program inInterdisciplinary Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

2. Organization
The Center is led by the Center Director, Prof. Kei Hirose, who has the overall
responsibility to create a world-leading research center. He will recruit leading scientists
from around the world and give them both clear roles and freedom in research. The
Center Director appoints all the research and administrative staff members. The
Steering Committee will support and advise the Center Director in the overall operationof the Center and evaluation of each research and administrative staff member, incollaboration with the International Advisory Board.
We will have sixteen Principal Investigators, including six non-Japanese, two
women, and three from the Satellite institutes (Ehime Univ., Institute for Advanced
Study in Princeton & Hatvard Univ.). Each Principal Investigator has his or her own
research group including post-docs. The Center will also hire post-docs who have much
freedom in research with loose connection to a specific group. The evaluation ofresearch activity by each scientist will be made through an Annual Evaluation（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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Workshop in the presence of International Advisory Board members.
Collaborative research is promoted through extensive communications between the
different groups. Piet Hut, currently a Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at theInstitute for Advanced Study (Princeton), will organize regular events (daily, weekly,
and monthly) that will stimulate broadly interdisciplinary interactions within the Center
itself, as well as between the Center and Tokyo Tech as a whole.
The Operations and Administration Division is led by the Administrative
Director, Dr. Kiyoshi Nakazawa who has rich experience in creating new organizations,in the first few years with the aid of Executive Administrative Director. It consists ofan International Promotion and Researcher Support Department, an Operations
Department, and a Public Relations Department (Figure 10). Proper administrative
officers of Tokyo Tech will be assigned to the former two departments, providing the
primary interface with existing administration offices of the university. Someadministrators will stay at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, our Satellite
institute, for a few months to learn their highly efficient administrative system. The
functions of the Operations and Administration Division will be carried out by a coupleof Research Advisors with academic background, who support both researchers andadministrators. A Life Advisor will be assigned to each non-Japanese family, assistingwith immigration, housing, and daily life. Research Communicators in the Public
Relations Department will be charged with overall outreach activities, including
monthly meeting with journalists, a Summer Internship Program for high-school
students, public lectures on topics of general interest such as Hayabusa missions, etc.
ELSI will have three Satellites at Ehime University, the Institute for Advanced
Study in Princeton, and Harvard University (Figure 13). We also make strong
connections with the Institute of Space and Astronomical Science (ISAS) of the Japan
Aerospace Extrapolation Agency (JAXA), and the Japan Agency for Marine Scienceand Technology (JAMSTEC), where some Principal Investigators are based. These two
agencies perform large-scale investigations of extraterrestrial bodies and to deep-sea
hydrothermal systems, whose research targets are closely related to our scientific goals.
In addition to these institutes, we will collaborate with a number of domestic andover-sea institutions listed in Figure 13. Exchange of scientists with these institutions is
an important mission for ELSI in its role to become a world communication center.

Mission statement
and/or Center identity

So far, discussions about the origin of life on Earth have been mostly limited to thebiochemistry of proto-life forms. While the Earth environment has been described as a“cradle of life”, the image of a “cradle” points to a supporting background role, rather
than a dynamic interplay. In ELSI, we want to radically broaden these discussions byfocusing equally strongly on both sides of Earth and Life. For one thing, life is preserved
through a continuous exchange of matter and energy with the surrounding environment.
For another, it is a two-way interaction: as soon as life forms are present, they start toinfluence the environment, just as the environment is influencing life. Our basic outlook
is reflected in the name of our proposed center: ELSI stands for Earth-Life Science
Institute, in which Earth sciences and Life sciences will be equally represented.
In addition, we will replace the biology question of the “origin of life” with the more
relevant interdisciplinary question regarding the “birth of a persistent ecologicalsystem.” An important goal in our research will be to clarify the initial ecological systemthat allowed a stable and persistent existence of life even under the various harsh andviolent changes of the environment at the beginning of the Earth’s history.
And while we will study life in the context of the early Earth environment, similarly
we will also study how the Earth itself was formed and how its conditions changed,
inside the Earth as well as on the surface. In the course of these studies, we will
critically examine the universality and uniqueness of our planet that gave birth to life as
we know it, with implications for the search for extraterrestrial life in both solar andextra-solar systems.
We will perform our research through cutting-edge lab experiments, computer
simulations, and field observations. We may also need to develop wider pictures ofmetabolism and self-reproduction on more abstract meta levels through a broadlyinterdisciplinary approach. How such abstract models are then implemented onmolecular levels may differ between life on Earth and elsewhere.
In contrast to NASA’s Astrobiology Institute whose research topics are broadly
similar to ours, we emphasize the role of the Earth as a whole in the origin and evolutionof life, based on the past achievements of collaborative studies at Tokyo Tech. Most
importantly, ELSI will not be a virtual institute. People from different fields will gather（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

3

together at ELSI to make it a foremost interdisciplinary research institute. We will
promote internal communications through a series of daily, weekly, and monthly events,
following the Program for Interdisciplinary Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study(IAS) in Princeton as a model. This IAS program will act as a satellite center for ELSI.
The success of ELSI will depend strongly on its research environment, and therecruitment of good scientists. We are planning to build up a strong interdisciplinary
program within ELSI. This will attract a wide variety of top scientists to visit ELSI tointeract with members there and also with each other. We do not want to define job
specifications too strongly beforehand. Rather, we prefer to attract top scientists first,
and then to finetune the research program around their skills and interests. In addition topromoting internal communications, the Center Director is responsible for providing thebest research environment. PIs joining from Tokyo Tech will be reassigned as
Professors of ELSI, in order to be freed at least from the duty of teaching undergraduate
students. A very efficient research-oriented administrative system will be createdthrough evaluation and education of administrators.
ELSI will also play a strong role as a communication center. We will promoteinterdisciplinary connections between researchers internationally and nationally. In
addition, we will combine our research with outreach and education. Spacecrafts such as
Hayabusa and Hayabusa-2, and questions about the formation of Earth and the origin oflife, as well as extraterrestrial life are of strong interest to the general public, and thus
perfect for outreach. As for education, we will create a Summer Internship Program forhigh school students, based on nation-wide competitions in high schools inJapan. These activities will also help not only ELSI but also its host, Tokyo Tech, tofurther increase both its international and domestic visibility.

(1) Target research field
Interdisciplinary Research on Solid-Earth Science, Planetary Science,
Geology, Environmental Biology, and Microbial Genome Science
We will promote integrated research in fields related to the formation of the Earth in the early solar system, theenvironment and the creation of life on the early Earth, and the co-evolution of the Earth-Life system, using the
keyword “early Earth”. Through the study of Earth, we will clarify both universal and unique aspects of the Earth,from which life emerged and evolved, and we will predict the presence or absence of life on other planets. In order toimmediately apply our research results to search for extraterrestrial life, we will work in close cooperation with space
exploration missions and astronomical observation teams.

Importance and trend of the research field
The life science and Earth science should be linked, simply because life is a phenomenon that can exist only
through the exchange of energies and matter with the surrounding environment. We will therefore integrate researchon the Earth and life, and explore “how our life can originate and continue on this planet” through a detailed study
focused on the early Earth. This is one of the most important questions that natural science, beginning with Greek
philosophy, has asked until this modern age. It is amazing and fascinating that so much progress has been madeduring the last 20 years, in related fields, on a question that has been at the heart of science for 2700 years. Three
trends will be described in the following sections.
1. Understanding the Earth
Recently, rapid progress has been made in analyzing the deepest parts of the Earth, and we now have a detailed
image of the Earth’s interior, including the core of the Earth. One of the major factors in this progress has been adrastic advancement in ultrahigh pressure experiment techniques by Hirose, the Institute manager, and Irifune, theperson in charge of the Ehime satellite Center. Ten years ago, most experiments covered a depth of only 2000 km, butcurrently experiments studying the center of the Earth, 6400 km deep, are being conducted. As a result, Hirose et al.
found that the lowermost mantle is composed of a newly-discovered mineral phase, post-perovskite. They also foundthat the associated phase transition activates convective motion in the mantle. These are great accomplishments
achieved in Japan. Furthermore, Hirose et al. have analyzed crystal structures of the inner core of the Earth’s deepest
part. As a result, the actual state of the Earth’s core, which so far had been a topic of speculation, is now becoming arealistic subject of experimentation.
Most of the past ultrahigh pressure experiments were conducted for understanding the “current Earth”. The
research is now targeting “the Earth of the past”, and “the early Earth”. The advancement of a series of ultrahighpressure experimental techniques enables the ultrahigh temperatures during formation of the Earth to be reproduced.
Hirose et al. experimentally confirmed the hypothesis of “Bottom Magma Ocean” where the molten rock, which（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

4mostly covered the primitive Earth’s surface extended all the way down to the deepest parts of the mantle. In
principle, this could allow a much more complete degassing of the volatiles that formed the oceans and atmosphere of
the Earth. It is apparent that the extensive differentiation of the Earth due to the magma ocean is a major factor
controlling subsequent changes of the Earth, resulting in determining the upheaval of the surface environment.
Complementing these discoveries, the progress of research on geology and geochemistry of the early Earth isremarkable. As a result, on a macro and long-term time scale, it is becoming clear that Life and Earth evolved
together. In the 1980’s, the Precambrian Paleontology Research Group led by Bill Schopf found many bacterial
fossils in Precambrian rocks older than 1 billion years ago. This revealed that life was active on the early Earth.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to classify the fossil bacteria based on their simple forms, and it was unknown “whatfunctions and metabolisms were active on the early Earth”. After that, the geochemical bio-indicators such as stable
isotope ratios of bio-essential elements were established, and certain physiological natures and metabolisms could becontinuously read off the geological records. Currently, the biogeochemical cycle of C, N, S, and Fe, etc. can betraced back to 3.8 billion years ago. Furthermore, this research on geochemistry is reaching a level that produces
quantitative estimates of the chemical environment on the early Earth, including the atmospheric composition andredox status of the oceans. The “decoding whole-Earth history” project led by Kumazawa and Maruyama, Institute PI,
pioneered this research in Japan since 1995. Then, internationally, the Agouron Institute started their scientific drilling
project in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa (PI, Kirschvink), followed by the NASA Astrobiology Institute andcontinental drilling programs of France and Australia, etc. Research programs by Tokyo Institute of Technology
COE/G-COE programs also played a role in the research of the evolution of the Earth.
The results of this research uncovered unexpected aspects of atmospheric evolution, such as the Great Oxidation
Event, and climate changes, such as Snowball Earth, found by Kirschvink, an Institute PI, implying an important
relationship between environmental changes and the evolution of life. The ultimate causes for these environmental
changes have not yet been identified; however, changes of the solid Earth (rapid continental growth, increase in
sedimentary rocks, intense volcanic activities and geomagnetic field intensity changes), sudden biological evolutionof oxygen-releasing photosynthesis, and the impact from galactic events (increase in cosmic rays on Earth), have been
discussed actively. A number of new concepts have originated from interdisciplinary research by Tokyo Institute ofTechnology’s G-COE program. To determine the origin and evolution of life on Earth, it is time to pay close attention
to the relationship between the thermal evolution of the Earth including its deep mantle and core and long-termchanges in the Earth-Life system.
2. Geomicrobiology
Since 1977, when unique microbial and macrofaunal communities were found in the deep-sea hydrothermal
system where sunlight does not reach, environments where we can imagine the limits of life and its activity have been
extensively explored. Microorganisms are especially good at adapting to extreme physical and chemical conditions,such as temperatures, pressures, pH, and redox state. The investigations of the microorganisms in these extreme
environments provided us with confidence that extraterrestrial life may thrive in environments somewhat similar to
the Earth’s ocean. The impact from the discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal ecosystems immediately led to the
hypothesis of “hydrothermal origin of life”. Observations of the deep-sea for over 30 years, from 1977, by researchersin Japan, U.S. and Europe, identified that the physical and chemical environments in deep-sea hydrothermal systems
are extremely varied. Each hydrothermal ecosystem uniquely depends on its chemical environment, which isultimately controlled by the geological settings and reactions with the seawater. Therefore, the type of the firstecosystem of this planet must have been controlled by the composition of the primitive crust produced when themagma ocean solidified and by the primitive ocean chemistry. The driving mechanisms of the early ecosystems are
based on chemical energy inputs supplied by the Earth’s interior. From the standpoints of energy mass balance, Earthand Life cannot be separated and thus consists of a single Earth-Life system. These recognitions led to theestablishment of the Biogeoscience division at large-scale academic meetings of Earth and life sciences, such as theAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU), the Japan Geoscience Union (JPGU) and the Golschmidt Conference.
Takai, the Institute PI, led the exploration of deep-sea hydrothermal ecosystems by JAMSTEC, and succeeded toclarify the key role of molecular hydrogen and to establish a new theory of the hydrothermal origin of life. Throughhis observations, it has been more deeply understood that most life forms exist as a community, not as a single
population, and their activity is closely linked to the geologically determined physico-chemical environment. On theother hand, it has been revealed that the ecosystem itself plays an important role in the evolution of the atmosphereand ocean chemistry.
Microbial genome and metagenome sciences are keys to understand the early and modern ecosystems and to
extract general principles from the great complexity of ecosystem formation and behavior. Rapid development of
next-generation sequencers and data analysis methods enable us to obtain, extract and interpret enormous amount ofdata and information, expanding our knowledge at unprecedented rates. With engineering developments to synthesize
long-chain DNA, synthetic biology has been developed, which enables experiments to determine the function androbustness of the artificially created DNA. In addition, both research targets have been extended to the primitive
living system of a community as well as single cells.
3. Discovery of “Earth-like” exo-planets
Since 1995 when extra-solar planets were first found, the number of planets newly discovered has increased
drastically. Many terrestrial planets (super-Earths) have been discovered beyond the solar system in the last 17 years,（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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and the size distribution is rapidly expanding, to reach down to the size of the Earth. The most recent observations andtheoretical models suggest that more than 20% of percent of solar-type stars have Earth-like planets, resulting inincreased discussion about extraterrestrial life within the field of astronomy.
In a parallel development, the discovery of past water traces on Mars, and observational data that strongly
suggests the existence of internal oceans in Europa (a satellite of Jupiter) and Enceladus (a satellite of Saturn), gave us
great expectations that there may be other celestial bodies in the solar system that might harbor life.
In this manner, the hope of finding life on celestial bodies has now become a concrete expectation. Because of thissituation, using current or future observational techniques, we can begin to look for biosignatures of extraterrestrial
life, or actual extraterrestrial life. The major idea is to detect atmospheric components of biological origin, such asozone, by direct spectroscopic observation of light emitted by extra-solar planets. Such observations form one of thehighlights for next-generation large ground-based telescopes (Thirty Meter Telescope: TMT and Extremely Large
Telescope: ELT) planed by international consortiums. Also, using radio telescopes, organic matter in interstellar
molecules has been discovered.
The search for extraterrestrial life includes in situ analysis or sample return by space missions in addition to theremote sensing by telescope observations. ”Mars Science Laboratory” which NASA launched last year, will arrive at
Mars on August 5 of this year, and has the capability to detect organic matter on the surface of Mars. Also, one of the
purposes of “Hayabusa-2” is to detect water and organic matter on a primitive C-type asteroid through a sample
return. European Space Agency’s (ESA) “JUICE” mission, which was approved this year, potentially in cooperation
with JAXA, is to explore the icy moon Europa. This space mission will explore conditions for the presence of life bycapturing water plumes emitted from the icy moon (observed on Enceladus by the Cassini mission) probably
originating from an internal ocean.
As just described, science missions searching for extraterrestrial life have already started, and atmospheres ofextra-solar Earth-like planets will be investigated through spectroscopic observation within the next 10 years. Thus,
the understanding of the universality and uniqueness of our Earth, and the presence or absence of biological activity
will dramatically advance. In this way, Earth and planetary sciences will be revolutionized, upon finding habitable
planets beyond our current imagination. Before such observations will start, we need to establish a new field of“Bio-planetology” that will predict which types of planets may harbor life and what observation methods should be
used for finding them. This should be an urgent issue for earth and planetary sciences and astronomy.

List of centers in similar research fields
International:- NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)- Extremely large ground-based telescope programs (TMT and ELT)
- Continental drilling programs (France, South Africa, Europe), Deep-sea drilling programs (ODP, etc.)
Domestic:- Institute for research on Earth Evolution (IFREE)- Precambrian Ecosystem Laboratory, JAMSTEC- Tokyo Institute of Technology G-COE

Japanese expertise
In this institute, we first “recreate the Earth” through ultrahigh pressure experiments and simulations based onplanet formation theory. We then increase our understanding of the origin and early evolution of the Earth-Lifesystem through geological and microbiological research, and study the universality of life-hosting planets throughgeneralizing from the case of the Earth. Among these, ultrahigh pressure experiments and planet formation theory are,without a doubt, world-renowned specialties of the Japanese in the fields of earth and planetary sciences. In theultrahigh pressure experiments, the multi-anvil apparatus and diamond (anvil) cell apparatus are the two major highpressure generators that are most widely used. The former apparatus was mainly developed by Naoto Kawai in Osaka
University in the 1960’s. The apparatus and experiment techniques have been exported worldwide from Japan. The
person at the leading edge of developing these techniques is Irifune, an Institute PI. The latter apparatus has the
disadvantage that microscopic samples are used; however, it has become the major apparatus for high pressure earthscience with the advent of radiation light facilities. Only the group lead by Hirose, the Institute manager, can realize
the ultrahigh pressure and high temperature environment at the center of the Earth. Both groups, led by Irifune andHirose, have achieved great results based on their world-class ultrahigh pressure experiment techniques, and thesuperiority of those results will continue for the next 10 years. In addition, particle beams are required to analyze
microscopic samples under high pressure. Having the world’s most advanced high pressure sample analysis facilities,
such as the world’s largest facility for synchrotron radiation, SPring-8, and the Japan Proton Accelerator ResearchComplex, J-PARC, form some of Japan’s superior.
Equally leading internationally, planet formation theory began with the solar system formation standard theory,“Kyoto model”, established in the 1980’s. Currently Ida’s group in Tokyo Institute of Technology (an Institute PI) has
taken over, and a new “Tokyo Tech model” is being established. That process is closely connected with thedevelopment of large scale computer systems. Makino, an Institute PI, has contributed greatly to the development of
the world’s fastest super computer, by setting clear, scientific goals. This was realized by a unique approach of（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

6integrating the development of hardware, algorithms, and software and scientific research, and his expertise will be
invaluable.
In the 1990’s, a project on “decoding the whole Earth history” was promoted mainly by Maruyama, an Institute
PI. In this project, ahead of the inception of the encoding the evolution of life on the early Earth by the NASA
Astrobiology Institute, much progress was made in collecting, encoding and analyzing of rocks from the early Earthworldwide. Rock samples collected from all over the world reached a total of over 165000 samples. These samples
are stored at Tokyo Institute of Technology and made available for collaborative research all around the world.
Collecting rocks in consideration of the changes in the solid Earth is an exclusive part of this project.
For deep-sea hydrothermal exploration, Japan has the best capability in the world, led by the Japan Agency for
Marine-Earth Science and Technology. Takai, an Institute PI, et al. have initiated geomicrobiology of the deep-sea
hydrothermal systems and have provided basic principles of interaction between the geo- and life-systems throughmore than 10 years of exploration of his group, utilizing world-class, large-scale research facilities. In addition, he andhis colleagues have presented a grand hypothesis describing how the most ancient, continuing community of life
originated in the primitive deep ocean and how the early evolution and global propagation of life was successfully
achieved in the highly varying and evolving early environments in the primitive ocean.
While Europe and the U.S. lead the way regarding the observation of extra-solar planets in the universe, Japan has
also achieved many essential results, such as a sample return from asteroids by Hayabusa and Hayabusa-2, and direct
imaging of extra-solar planets by the Subaru Telescope.
In addition to the expertise of each individual researcher, the collective research done in the “project on decoding
the Earth evolution”, “Tokyo Institute of Technology COE project: the Earth” and “Tokyo Institute of Technology
Global COE Project: From the Earth to the Earths”, has provided interdisciplinary integrated research bygeoscientists, planetary scientists, and life scientists. This research, starting 20 years ago, has firmly establishedJapan’s leading role in these fields, internationally.
International appeal of ELSI
It is obvious that interest in the origin and evolution of Earth and life is common among humankind in all ages andplaces. The possible existence of life on Mars and the icy moons Europa and Enceladus with potential internal oceans
has been extensively discussed as a near future target for space exploration. Recently, a large number of extra-solar
planets have been found, and some of them may have oceans like on Earth. In this age when the existence of life in
the universe is beginning to be scientifically discussed, we face an increasing importance of understanding the originof the Earth, from which life has grown.
The program of the NASA Astrobiology Institute systematically began research on extraterrestrial life and theenvironment on the early Earth, and has greatly contributed to promoting astrobiology. However, the program is a
research and development promotion program, and is done by a virtual organization where researchers in different
fields do their research separately in their own institutes. In contrast, there are many advantages in having asorganization in which the researchers in different fields physically gather, such as in the Tokyo Institute ofTechnology G-COE program and the system earth and life sciences program, “Precambrian Ecosystem Laboratory”,
promoted by JAMSTEC in Japan. These programs have destroyed the walls existing between the research fields, andhave succeeded in a real integration of fields, to some extent at least. In fact, the roles of the solid Earth and theuniverse in influencing the origin and evolution of life have received attention as new key concepts. Based on our
existing programs, we seek to become a truly international research institute in this field.
The “early Earth” that we focus on, is an almost untouched field so far, waiting for the experimental andnumerical techniques that we plan to use. As there is little direct physical evidence, research on the early Earth is agreat challenge for geology and life science. It is clear that the early Earth and early Life have followed a path ofjoined evolution. An international institute that researches on such unresolved important fields should attract the eyesof the world.

(2) Research objectives
We focus on the early Earth when life emerged, and will answer the following scientific questions: (A) How was
the Earth formed within the solar system? (B) How was the earth's first ecosystem established, and (C) How can theearth and life evolve after the first state. Through the study of the Earth, we clarify universality and uniqueness of theplanet Earth harboring life. Further, we utilize the outcomes of the research (D) to provide guidance for the search forlife on other planets and moons. Each of those themes is performed under an interdisciplinary fusion of different
fields. Each question to be solved is discussed in detail below.

（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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Figure 1. Summary of research objectives.

A) Origin of the Earth
The main goal of our study is to understand how the planet Earth was formed and harbored life. It is critical todetermine the first state of the Earth from central core, through mantle and crust, to the ocean and the atmosphere.
First, we aim to understand (1) how the earth was formed in the solar system using a theory from first principles,
examining the theoretical model from the viewpoint of the chemical composition of the Earth. (2) Breaking throughthe conventional idea of habitable zone (i.e. just presence of liquid water), we will find out factors which
determined the appropriate level of ocean water on the Earth. And finally, (3) we experimentally reproduce material
differentiation of the early Earth before and after the birth of life.
A1. How was the earth formed?
The Kyoto Model is well known as the standard model for planet formation in the solar system. However, many
problems remain unsolved. In particular, due to the recent finding of many extra-solar planetary systems with quite
diverse structures, a more general theory of the planet formation process is now necessary. We abandon many of
the simplifications used in conventional models, and rebuild the planet formation theory, in order to understand theplanet formation and the evolution processes from first principles. Furthermore, we verify our theoretical models by
clarifying the chemical composition of the bulk earth, by determining the composition of the present core and lower
mantle of the earth on the basis of super-high-pressure experiments.
A2. Why does water exist on Earth?
Presence of liquid water conventionally has been considered as one of the conditions for habitable planets, andthe range of orbital radii in which liquid water can exist is called a habitable zone. However, the factors that
determine the amount of water on a planet are not known yet, and coexistence of ocean and land may also be a
condition for a planet for life to emerge. Therefore, we investigate the unsolved problem of why this amount ofwater exists on Earth, from the most recent planet formation theory developed in A1.
A3. What is the deep part of the earth like?
As the magma ocean was formed and solidified, the earth materially differentiated into the core, the mantle, thecrust, the ocean, and the atmosphere. Such material differentiation in the early period of the Earth determined thesubsequent mantle dynamics and thermal evolution of the Earth. Through volcanic activity, continental growth andmagnetic field formation, it should have had a significant influence on changes of the surface environment and theevolution of life. We investigate such a material differentiation by high-pressure experiment and computer
simulation.

B) Birth of Earth-Life system
Sustainable life cannot exist as an individual living form (homogeneous origin), but rather as a community(heterogeneous origin) interacting with its surrounding environment. Surely, the so-called “origins of life” should
be discussed as entirely different phenomena from the emergence of the most ancient living ecosystem of our（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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ultimate ancestors. We focus on the first Earth-Life system including the atmosphere, the ocean, the rocks, and thebiological community that co-evolved finally into the present life. Our goal is to understand when, where and how
the Earth-Life system was established. In ELSI, we will try to solve the following three questions.
B4. What was the state of the ocean and the atmosphere when life emerged?
What was the composition of the initial atmosphere, the ocean and the crust at the time of the birth of life? It is
still largely an unsolved scientific question. We will build a verifiable model for the first ocean and atmosphere by
1) a forward approach based on the high-temperature experiments and theoretical simulations of A1 to A3, and 2) areverse approach from the geological record. With the technical development of geochemical tracers, we will
decode the chemistry of the early ocean and the atmosphere from rock records dating back to 4 billion years ago,
and we will test the theoretical model thoroughly.
B5. Where did the Earth’s life emerge?
We will elucidate where a sustainable "Earth-Life system" was established by asking the question: “what are thefundamental conditions required for Earth’s life?” We explore the conditions, timing and interactive relations
behind the generation of the most ancient living ecosystem and the early evolution through interdisciplinary
investigations of specific environments in the modern Earth (e.g., hydrothermal systems) that are analogous to thoseon the early Earth or Mars. Interrelationship between the energy mass balance of the system, the elemental
composition, material cycling and the functional and metabolic organization of microbial communities in thesystem are the keys to answer these questions.
B6. What were the genomes of the first community like?
Starting from simple pre-biotic compounds through complex and functioning large molecules, life was born as acommunity of living forms. What was the gene set of the first community like? This dates back to the interactive
assemblage of genes in the most primitive living forms which later formed the genomes of the modern microbialcommunities. What are the factors that enabled sustainable and evolvable ecosystems to be built? In addition, where
was the initial environment located that was able to utilize 20 kinds of amino acid and genetic codes? How did it
become a life system? We approach those fundamental problems experimentally.

C) Evolution of the Earth-Life system
After the emergence of life on Earth, life has evolved in close interaction with surface environmental changes,
ultimately linking with the thermal evolution of solid earth and possibly with changes in the galactic environment.
We aim to understand these evolutionary aspects of the present-day environment in which organisms including
human beings now exist, through decoding the geological record and through systematic evolutionary biology. We
will especially focus on three revolutionary events, (1) the onset of photosynthetic oxygen production, (2) the
emergence of Eukaryotes and (3) the emergence of multicellular animals (metazoans), and we will try to understandthe roles of the thermal evolution of the Earth and galactic events as driving forces of these three steps in biologicalevolution.
C7. Why does the Earth’s atmosphere contain oxygen?
We will elucidate how life on Earth evolved from chemosynthetic life, dependent on the Earth’s internal energy
supply, to the photosynthetic life dependent on solar irradiation. This “revolution of energy metabolism” wasprobably driven by environmental changes in the atmosphere and the ocean. The key approach is a combination of(1) the systematic and evolutionary biochemistry of energy metabolisms and (2) geology/geochemistry decoding of
newly emerging rock records for testing the scenario. The fusion of these studies will answer the following
questions: When, where, and why did the oxygen-producing photosynthesis emerge? When and how was theatmosphere oxidized? Was the birth of eukaryotes really caused by the ascent of oxygen?
C8. How did the thermal evolution of the solid Earth change the ecosystem?
We will explore how the long-term cooling of the solid Earth influenced the co-evolution of life, atmosphereand ocean. We will elucidate the changes in the chemically-stratified structure of the Earth’s interior over time
based on convection simulations with parameters defined by our high pressure experiments (A3), and we will
evaluate the intensity of the volcanic activities and growth rate of continents. Using the physical properties of thecore determined by A3, we will perform numerical simulations of the convection in the core and its change throughtime. We will estimate the timing of the birth of the inner core, which probably changed the geomagnetic intensity.
In addition, using the geological samples, we will analyze paleogeomagnetic intensity through time, large-scalevolcanic activity, continental growth, and we will thoroughly verify the simulation results. Taking the surface
environmental changes brought by the solid earth evolution into account, we will re-evaluate the causes of the two
evolutionary events: the emergence of eukaryotes and the emergence of metazoans.
C9. How did galactic events influence the Earth's surface environment?
We will estimate the changes in our galactic environment during the 4.6 billion years history of our solar system
based on theories and observations. Recently, the understanding of the disk and spiral stricture of our galaxy has
substantially changed. The travel history of our solar system within the galaxy and its relation to the Earth’s history
is still largely unknown. We will elucidate this issue based on new theoretical simulations and astronomical
observations of our galaxy, and we will evaluate the influences on the Earth’s surface environment. Furthermore, byusing deep-sea sediments of specific ages and developing cosmochemical techniques, we will try to locate evidenceof these galactic events, to further clarify the influence on the climate and the Earth’s biological evolution.

（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

9D) Bioplanet in the universe
D10. How unique is our planet?
Through the study of Earth, obtained from A1 to C9, we will clarify both universal and unique aspects of the
Earth. We will generalize them and construct a “Bio-Planetology” that has the potential to predict the presence orabsence of life on other planets.
D11. How should we search for extraterrestrial life?
We will work closely with those in the fields of space missions and astronomical observations, in order to apply
the research results of the above points A to C for the detection of life on planets, moons and similar objects. Within
the next 10 years, spectroscopic observations will start to yield information about the atmospheres of extra-solar
Earth-like planets in the habitable zones, which may contain oceans. Before that, we will establish criteria forlife-harboring planets using the results of our explorations on the early Earth and its subsequent evolution.
[Social Impact]
The ultimate goal of this study is to go back to the origin of science, and ask ourselves "why are we here?" Thereis no question that the results of our research activities will revolutionize our views of Earth and life, as
state-of-the-art scientific achievements and the most advanced attainments of intellectual and cultural activity ofhuman beings. Our research will stimulate young people who will carry the future of the scientific nation of Japan byreminding them of the intellectual desire and curiosity that is the original instinct of human beings, through which
they distinguished themselves from other creatures.
Each type of research is conducted with clear scientific objectives while developing new advanced techniques. As
a result, there are countless effects on the society in the short term. For example, development of techniques forultra-high-pressure and ultra-high-temperature experiments; development of high speed large-scale computer systems;
design and development of organic molecules on the basis of chemical evolution experiments; finding previously
unrecognized factors controlling global environmental change; innovation of advanced techniques of environmental
measurements, analysis and decoding; discovery and a wide spectrum of application of novel and uniqueextremophilic microorganisms; large-scale acquisition of microbial genetic information and resources; developing,analyzing and mining enormous quantities of genomic data; making progress in space exploration technology driven
by the intellectual desire of human beings, and so on. However, these short-term impacts are only by-products of thisprogram.

[Research plan]
We will try to answer the above 11 questions from A1 to D11 through interdisciplinary investigations. Eachresearch plan is described in detail below.
A1. How was the earth formed?
We aim at a theoretical understanding of the planet formation process by means of a three-dimensional global
simulation of protoplanetary disks consisting of gas and dust. For such study we need to perform long-term
three-dimensional simulations of differentially rotating gas disks with sufficient accuracy, which has been considered
impossible. The artificial transport of energy and angular momentum due to the finite resolution causes changes in thespatial structure of gas disks on a dynamical timescale. It is not clear if we can achieve the necessary accuracy toprevent such numerical artifacts. Even if we could, the long timescale requires very long integration times, andtherefore very large amounts of computer resources.
Recent advances in computer technology have solved at least partially the problem of computing resources. Thus,
the problem of accuracy has become more important. We are currently working on the improvement of the SPH(smoothed particle hydrodynamics) method, in order to reduce the artificial transport and to improve resolution.
In ELSI, we will take the following approach. We try to understand the diversity of the planet formation processby global simulations with appropriate modeling of required physical processes, instead of the traditional approach inwhich we construct a global view by combining our understanding of processes obtained by local simulations.
We have been leading the research of the planet formation process for the last two decades, since Ida and Makino(1992). Moreover, we have developed special-purpose computers for N-body simulations and new parallel
algorithms, and we have been leading the world in the simulation of galactic disks, similar to protoplanetary disks
since they are also rotating systems of particles and fluids.
In addition to these advantages in computational science, we form one of the leading centers in the world, fortheoretical research on planet formation. Therefore, it is expected that there will be new developments by combining
theoretical studies and large-scale simulations. The PI, Ida and his colleagues have done numerous studies on
elementary processes. As for the global simulation of the gas disk, we have been working on large-scale simulationsof the galactic disk beginning with Saitoh et al. (2008).
Numerous extra-solar planets very close to central stars have been found, and this strongly suggests that theformed planets migrated inward through the interaction with the disk gas. However, our solar system cannot be
reproduced if we incorporate such migrations with the existing formulas. In order to resolve this contradiction, wemust simultaneously solve the evolution of the disk structure and planet formation. These global simulations will
become extremely important for the understanding of events such as the late heavy bombardment and watertransportation into the early Earth by the impact of asteroids or comets.
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On the other hand, it is important to identify the chemical composition of the lower mantle, which accounts for
60% of the volume of the earth and the light element content in the metallic core, in order to elucidating the originalcomposition of the Earth. Our ultra-high-pressure experiments with geochemical/geophysical information canconstrain the original concentration of volatile elements such as O, S and Si in the metallic core, resulting in great
progress in the elucidation of the Earth’s building blocks. This makes it possible to establish important boundary
conditions for the simulation of the formation process of the early solar system, and elucidate how the Earth wasformed, and its uniqueness and universality in the planet formation process.

Figure 2. The formation of the Earth in solar system will be examined by a combination of computer simulations ofplanet formation, with the aid of laboratory experiments and information about extraterrestrial bodies (related toquestions A1 & A2).
A2. Why does water exist on Earth?
In the conventional planet formation theory, it is extremely difficult to explain how the Earth came to have an
ocean of 1/10000 of the planet mass, a very fine-tuned amount. In a protoplanetary disk, H2O ice dust can becondensed from the disk gas only in a low temperature range (below 160-170K) beyond 3AU. Actually, while
asteroids originating from the region near 3AU include about 10wt% of H2O water, the ones from well inside 3AU do
not contain H2O ice at all. If this is true, it means that dust material around 1AU from which the Earth is formed did
not contain H2O.
Conventionally, research has mostly focused on the theory that water was brought to the Earth by accidental
collisions with asteroids or comets formed beyond 3AU. For instance, there is a simulation, which studied possible
scattering of icy planetesimals by the formation of Jupiter. However, as scattering phenomena are chaotic, eachsimulation generated a different outcome, resulting in tens of wt% as Earth’s water content in one simulation, andzero water content in another. If this approach is correct, the Earth’s water content is unpredictable and the H2O watercontent of the Earth and creation of life were determined by pure coincidence. However, this “asteroid/comet collisionmodel” is yet to set out a scenario consistent with the hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios of the Earth. Based upon an
improved planet formation theory constructed in A1, we will discuss this “coincidental collision theory.”
We will also consider other possibilities than the collision model. We have already outlined a new model forreactions between a primitive hydrogen atmosphere and a magma ocean (Genda and Ikoma, 2008). In this model,
H2O is produced by a terrestrial planet itself, thus the existence of oceans on Earth is inevitable and the amount of
H2O is determined by the planetary parameters.
The habitable zone is a range in orbital radius in which a planet can have liquid water under an atmosphere.
However, unless H2O was brought to a planet by some mechanism, or the planet produced H2O by itself, an ocean
cannot have existed and neither could life have emerged. In order to investigate why and how life was created on
Earth, as well as to estimate the possibility of the existence of life on planets in habitable zones in planetary systems
outside the Solar system, it is very important to elucidate why water exists on the Earth in the current amount.
We also address this issue by contributing to the scientific mission plan of JAXA’s Hayabusa-2. The Hayabuya-2
mission plans sample return from a primitive C-type asteroid, which may be formed near the ice boundary, and it will
clarify H2O’s behavior in planet formation.
Thus, the conditions for the existence of liquid H2O are not easy to satisfy. It is well known that, because of its
unique character, H2O’s density decreases in the phase transition from liquid to solid phase. Moreover, various icy
phases exist under extremely high pressure. By integrating H2O study in material science and study of celestial bodies
in the Solar system that contain H2O (not only oceans on the Earth, but also in asteroids, comets, icy satellites, Uranus
and Neptune), we expect that there will be a new field “H2O in the universe” and its relationship with life.
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Because ELSI will include leading scientists in planet formation theory (S. Ida) and extremely high pressure
experiments (K. Hirose), and leaders in science and engineering parts of HAYABUSA 2 (M. Fujimoto and H.
Kuninaka), we can form a strong group to investigate this new and important problem.
A3. What is the deep part of the earth like?
Lower mantle: First, we need to clarify the chemical composition of the lower mantle, which composes 60% ofEarth in mass. We will carry out experiments on realistic model compounds by employing the multi-anvil apparatus,in order to precisely determine the phase transition, element partitioning, density, and elastic wave velocity underhigh-pressure and -temperature conditions of the lower mantle. By comparing the results with seismological data, wewill then clarify the lower mantle chemical composition. This provides important constraints to the chemicaldifferentiation that occurred inside the Earth, the origin of layered structure, as well as its dynamics and evolution.
Core composition: The chemical composition of the core is one of the most important problems in the solid Earthscience. It will be obtained on the basis of diamond-anvil cell experiments by measuring the sound velocity anddensity of liquid Fe-alloys using synchrotron X-rays, differentiation of light elements at the inner core boundary, andthe dissolution of light elements from the molten mantle into the core at the giant impact events on the early Earth.
The determination of chemical compositions of the lower mantle and core will elucidate the bulk Earthcomposition. Then, comparing the result with cosmic abundances of refractory elements, we can examine consistency
with the theoretically-derived Earth-formation scenarios obtained in A1 above.
Magma ocean and proto-crust: We also examine the primordial layered structure inside the Earth, from the coreto the proto-crust. We will reproduce experimentally the solidification of the magma ocean, which most likely
extended to the whole mantle at the time of the Moon-forming giant impact event. While it has been believed that its
solidification occurred from the bottom, recent experimental studies suggest that it started at the middle of the mantle,
eventually spreading upward and downward, which changes the whole view of the solidification process.
The chemical composition of the Earth’s proto-crust forming from the final residual melt after extensive
crystallization of the magma ocean may have been significantly enriched in incompatible elements including
phosphorus, the essential element for life. Indeed, the unusual type of rock called KREEP (K, REE, P-enriched) isfound on the Moon’s crust, but it can be different from the Earth’s.
Core evolution and geomagnetic field: Finally, we study the thermal and dynamical evolution of the Earth’s core
based on its physical properties, from which we can estimate changes in geomagnetic field intensity through Earth’s
history. With the chemical composition of the core obtained above, we can determine temperature, thermal
conductivity, effects of chemical buoyancy for convection, and possibly viscosity of the core, all of which areimportant for modeling.
At the same time, by using vast amounts of Precambrian rock samples collected by our geology team, changes inpaleomagnetic intensity will be examined. We will apply new techniques developed mainly by the PI, Kirschvink to
improve the database of paleogeomagnetic intensity for Precambrian times, and thereby test the predicted changes.
Numerous intrusive complexes from large igneous provinces are being discovered and dated accurately with U/Pb
techniques, and simple shallow drilling operations could provide pristine samples amenable to the modified
Thellier/Thellier techniques needed for robust paleointensity determinations. Magnetic microscopy using
Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQuID) technology may even allow these techniques to be used on
detrital grains of Hadean age. These studies are link with the theme C8.
ELSI is fully equipped and ready to investigate the solidification of the magma ocean and chemically-stratified
structure of the mantle, as well as to determine the primordial crust composition. Studies on core and lower mantle
described above are primarily based on property measurements of iron alloys and silicate minerals, employing highpressure and temperature (P-T) experiments. At this point, the Hirose team is the only group in the world which cansimultaneously create extreme high P-T conditions that exceed that of the center of the Earth (364 GPa, ~6000 K) bystatic experiments using the diamond-anvil cell (Tateno, Hirose et al., 2010, Science). Combining such leading-edge
technology and synchrotron radiation X-rays, the group has achieved several outstanding results. These include thediscovery of post-perovskite, a major mineral in the lowest mantle (Murakami, Hirose et al., 2004, Science),
determination of the crystal structure of iron in the inner core, the discovery of a phase transition of FeO underouter-core pressure (Ozawa, Hirose et al., 2011, Science), and the discovery of the cubic structural phase of SiO2
(Kuwayama, Hirose et al., 2005, Science). Furthermore, we have developed a new methodology for measuring
properties such as the electrical and thermal conductivity (Ohta et al., 2008, Science), seismic velocity (Murakami etal., 2012, Nature), and element partitioning (Nomura et al., 2011, Nature) under high pressure, which resulted in
making major breakthroughs. Also, pioneering research has been conducted on mantle materials by Irifune’s team
based on precise measurements in a multi-anvil apparatus (Irifune, 1994, Nature; Irifune et al., 1998; 2010, Science;
Irifune et al., 2008, Nature; Irifune and Isshiki, 1998, Nature). More recently, they succeeded in making the firstmeasurements of elastic wave velocity under lower mantle P-T conditions. Meanwhile, as reported in Irifune et al.
(2003, Nature), the team started applying the world’s hardest nano-polycrystalline diamond for the multi-anvil
apparatus. This technology is expected to enable precise experiments under the entire range of mantle conditions.

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Figure 3. Chemical differentiation within the Earth from core to atmosphere will be reproduced byhigh-pressure/high-temperature experiments. Subsequent chemical and thermal evolutions inside the Earth will bealso examined (related to question A3).
B4. What was the state of the ocean and the atmosphere when life emerged?
By extending the high-temperature experiments and theoretical computations of A1-3, we will make forward
estimations of the composition of the atmosphere and oceans. To verify our theoretical predictions on the basis ofgeological evidence, we will analyze the early geological record dating back to 4 billion years ago.
Theoretical and Experimental Approach: Our objective is to specify the physico-chemical environment of theprimordial Earth on which life emerged. According to the conventional theoretical model, the Earth's primordial
atmosphere formed from volatiles (secondary atmosphere) produced by the degassing of planetesimals, the building
blocks of the Earth. It is generally believed that the degassed volatiles consisted primarily of H2O vapor, CO2 and N2.
As the Earth’s surface cooled, H2O turned to liquid (i.e. ocean), while a CO2-rich primordial atmosphere remained.
Under such a CO2-rich (i.e. oxidizing) atmosphere, however, it is extremely difficult to follow pre-biotic synthesis oforganic matters that are necessary for the emergence of life. On the other hand, recent research results rather suggest amore reducing primary atmosphere, possibly rich in H2 and CO due to delayed dispersion and capture of nebulahydrogen (Genda and Ikoma, 2008, in our team) and resetting the conditions in the atmosphere by reactions withmeteorites that fell during the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB), some 4 billion years ago (Hashimoto et al., 2007;
Schefer and Fegley, 2010). Additionally, our research at G-COE has suggested the possibility that the moon-forming
impact ejected fragments that returned to Earth during 100 million years after the impact. These re-entering fragments
may be large enough (10 to 100 times larger than impact from the LHB event) to have converted a substantial amountof primordial ocean into H2 (Sasaki et al., 2012, in our team). Because these early atmospheric conditions also define
the origins of H2O on Earth, they are extremely important for understanding the origins of seawater and its total
volume as discussed in A2. For re-evaluating these new scenarios, we will first perform numerical simulations byextending the planet formation theories developed in A1 and A2. In particular, the H2O content of planetesimals andtheir accumulation process after solidification of the magma ocean are important aspects on which we will focus in
our simulations. Furthermore, the mass of the early atmosphere and oceans is controlled by the cooling process of themagma ocean that we can constrain by using the high-pressure experiments of A3.
In addition, the composition of the atmosphere was modified by gases released from the mantle through volcanic
activity. This process has been studied on the basis of research using today's subaerial volcanoes. The early Earth,
however, was covered with oceans and had almost no land. Hence, input to the atmosphere and ocean system would
come not from high-temperature volcanic gases, but from submarine hydrothermal gases resulting from reactions
between rock and seawater. Hence, we will perform hydrothermal experiments on rock types from the Earth's earliest
oceanic crust determined by A3 to systematically understand the volatile and elemental flux into the early atmosphereand oceans. The experimental setup has already been developed and utilized to study this issue by the group of the（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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PIs, Takai and Maruyama (e.g., Yoshizaki et al., 2010).
Geological and Geochemical approach: Our theoretical predictions must be thoroughly verified on the basis ofgeological evidence. Unfortunately, the means for such verification for the Earth's environment during the Hadean(before 4.0 billion years ago) are extremely limited because there is no geological record except for tiny mineral
grains in clastic rocks. In the past ten years, however, dramatic advances in research on the early ocean andatmosphere during the Archean (4.0 to 2.5 billion years ago) have been made by rapidly developing chemical andisotopic indicators recorded in sedimentary rocks that now provide useful boundary conditions to verify the Hadean
environment. In particular, 1) over 10 years of geologic mapping of the PI, Maruyama’s group has identified many
fragments of the past oceanic crust in Archean cratons and their comprehensive metamorphic petrology, making it
now possible to quantify the CO2 concentrations in the Archean ocean (e.g., Nakamura et al., 2004; Shibuya et al.,2007; 2012, in our team). Moreover, 2) after the discovery of a sulfur isotope anomaly in Archean sedimentary rocks
that proved extremely low oxygen levels of the Archean atmosphere (Farquhar et al., 2000), recent advances in
research on the isotope fractionation of photochemistry makes it possible to quantify not only oxygen levels but also
the concentration of green-house gases and volcanic flux into the atmosphere (Lyons, 2007; Danielache et al., 2008;
Ueno et al., 2009, in our team).
In this context, we will reproduce the composition of the Archean oceans by using systematic chemical andisotopic analysis with thermodynamic computations on the rock samples. Tokyo Tech's earth history archives alreadyhouse numerous Archean oceanic crust samples. While we have already obtained fixed-point data based primarily on
detailed field mapping in designated regions and metamorphic petrology, we will now significantly broaden our scopein order to describe temporal changes across the entire Archean. For decoding the Archean atmosphere, while muchdata has been collected on isotopic anomalies regarding their role as atmospheric proxies, the inherent potential of thisresearch has not been fully realized because the basic mechanisms for producing the isotope anomaly are still
inadequately understood. Hence we will conduct spectroscopic studies and reaction experiments with numericalsimulations of photochemical reactions to understand the dependencies of UV wavelength, atmospheric composition,
temperature and pressure on the isotopic effects in order to constrain the Archean atmosphere quantitatively. The PI,
Yoshida and his group has determined photochemical isotope effects by a number of key reaction steps (e.g.,
Danielache et al., 2008; Ueno et al., 2009; Hattori et al., 2011; Enghoff et al., 2012) and will extend this research to
produce testable models of the Archean atmosphere by using geologically preserved isotope anomalies.

Figure 4. Chemistry of the early atmosphere and oceans will be determined by planet formation theory and tested bygeological evidence (related to question B4).
B5. Where did the Earth’s life emerge?
We will try to determine what environmental conditions can give birth to the most ancient living ecosystem via
the organization of energy mass balance, elemental flux, mineral availability, prebiotic organic synthesis to lead to thebirth of our ancestors. We will also explore the concrete place for a cradle of the most primordial sustainable living
ecosystem through the interdisciplinary exploration of modern sites, similar to locations on the early Earth (e.g.,（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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seafloor and subseafloor hydrothermal systems, serpentinite hot springs, chains of crater lakes, etc.). Interrelationships
between the energy mass balance of the system, the elemental composition and availability of the system and thefunctional and metabolic formation of microbial community in the system are keys to answering the most crucial
questions.
The habitable physical-chemical environment formed the basis from which life emerged on Earth. The nature of
the environment for the emergence of the most ancient living ecosystems relevant to us today can be addressed byestimation of the likelihood for such ancestral life to emerge in a given environment, and the universality in incidenceof that environment. As a result of recent advances in research on the submarine hydrothermal systems, we areconvinced that the Hadean seafloor hydrothermal systems, hosted by ultramafic rocks widespread in the ocean crust,
were abundant and prepared the H2-rich environments that potentially offered the best energetic habitability. Institute
PI Takai has already proposed a hypothesis that such ultramafics-associated deep-sea hydrothermal environments
nurtured hydrogenotrophic energy metabolisms capable of habitability and sustainability of the most ancient living
ecosystem (Takai et al., 2006).
Along these lines, the institute PI Kirschvink (2003) proposed another scenario (i.e. Martian origin of life). Early
Mars was clearly not a water world like Earth, and in addition to hydrothermal systems would have had numerous
environments like Death Valley in which periodic wet/dry cycles could promote polymer formation via dehydration
reactions, as well as providing a borate-stabilized pathway for RNA synthesis. This theory also makes use of the more
reducing nature of the Martian mantle (at the Iron/Wüstite buffer), and a surface layer more oxidizing than the Earth's.
While both hypotheses focus on energy and prebiotic chemical synthesis, other researchers have noted the great
potential of primordial continental rift valley considering the supply and availability of essential elements andnutrients necessary for formation of functional substrates of life (Maruyama, 2012). Indeed, this notion is supportedby the latest research, in which the common compositional pattern of essential elements has systematically pointed tothe cytoplasmic constituents and the hydrothermally altered clay pools in terrestrial hot springs (Mulkidjanian et al.,2012). In any case, the plausible places of environments must be verified on all points through quantitative estimatesof the likelihood for most an ancient living ecosystem to be generated and sustained, and the universality in theincidence of such environments on the early Earth. ELSI will include leading researchers behind each of thesehypotheses. Their vigorous debates and joint research can be expected to produce new world-leading hypotheticalmodels and theories.
To define the chemical environments for oceanic hydrothermal systems on the primitive Earth and even theprimitive Mars, research will be conducted with a forward approach using simulations and reproducing experimentsof hydrothermal reactions between the ancient ocean crust and seawater. Here we adopt a reverse approach as well. In
short, we will identify the microbial community composition, distribution and function, the metabolic processes andnetworks, and the composition and function of elements and minerals in present-day analogous environments that
could share operative principles in common with the candidate early environments. The methodology is amenable tomultifaceted analyses combining in-situ chemical sensing and probing, high-sensitivity/quantitative in-situ metabolic
activity measurement, isotope-tracer experiments, and metatranscriptomic and metabioelemental analysis. Preparatory
research has been ongoing, and the underlying technologies, methodologies and accumulated data are in place.
Under the Center's precursor G-COE program, microbiologists, genome scientists, environmental chemists, andgeologists engaged jointly in research on terrestrial hot spring environments, advancing interdisciplinary cooperationon the subject of early Earth-like hot environments. Making full use of Japan's world-leading large-scale researchfacilities for deep-ocean surveying and drilling, Takai's Precambrian Ecosystem Lab has already collected multiplelines of quantitative mass data and modeled geo-bio interactions of nearly all types of deep-ocean hydrothermal
activities that exist on Earth today, pursuing a reverse approach from the present to the Hadean (Takai andNakamuara, 2010; 2011).

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Figure 5. The first life on Earth may have emerged at deep-sea or continental hydrothermal system. Alternatively,
possibly life originated on Mars and was then transported to Earth (related to question B5).
B6. What were the genomes of the first community like?
Following its emergence on Earth, early life may have faced various environmental disruptions. To achieve asustainable and stable existence without extinction, a robust life system was necessary, consisting of both cellular andecological systems, to develop in order that life could cope with these environmental disruptions. While research on
the robustness of cellular systems has progressed in the life sciences, very little research has focused on robustness of
ecological systems. This area of research will elucidate dynamics that produce ecosystems that are both sustainable
and capable of evolving. The following research will be undertaken with the objective of tracing genomic
diversification and ecosystem formation since the emergence of life.
Comprehensive Earth Database (EarthDB): To reveal relationships between environmental factors and genetics,
we will build a comprehensive database, EarthDB. In conjunction with projects in B4 and B5, we will thoroughlycollect genetic data with environmental information from all environments including those similar to the early Earth.
Genomic information for isolated prokaryotes in these environments will also be included in EarthDB. We will also
perform metagenomic analysis on soils, oceans, and other present-day environments to fully reveal relationships
between genetics and environmental factors. PI Kurokawa has already developed MicrobeDB.jp, a comprehensive
database of microbial genomes and metagenomes (http://microbedb.jp/). MicrobeDB.jp not only captures genomes,
metagenomes, and metadata but also has led the world in developing a vocabulary that provides definitions of terms
used in descriptions of microbial habitats and thorough descriptions of semantic relationships between terms (MEO),
making it possible to speculate on relationships between genetics and environmental factors. Moreover, with respect
to microbial genomic and especially metagenomic analysis, by publishing results of large-scale human metagenomic
analyses (Kurokawa et al., 2007), Kurokawa’s group has established itself as one of the world’s leading researchgroups and made it possible to discover new knowledge by analyzing large data sets (Mori et al., 2010; Arumugam etal., 2011).
Synthetic Biological Experiments for Inference of Missing Enzymes and Genomic Organization of Early Life:
By using EarthDB, it will become possible to use the environmental factors in our reconstructions of earlyenvironments on Earth to infer gene groups necessary to maintain life, as well as gene groups necessary for specificenvironments. Though the inferred gene groups will include many genes with unknown functions, missing enzymes
can be identified by finding the rate of cross-environmental co-occurrence of genes and expected metabolites. By
combining these, we can form conjectures about early life genomes capable of inhabiting the Earth's earlyenvironments. PI Kurokawa's group has already published on methods for inferring missing genomes from bacterial
genome information (Yamada et al., 2012).
By artificially synthesizing the inferred missing enzymes, the function of the artificial genes can be confirmed byintroducing them into microbes from which the corresponding genes are missing or into microbes for which the genes
have become thermosensitive. After purification of a product of artificial genes, their functions will be measured invitro.
Because a genome has so many genes, early stages of our research will focus on genes for amino acid metabolism
and protein synthesis. During that time, we will develop research methods by which we will pursue a whole genome
understanding of early life. Proteins, which are the functional macromolecules in life today, rely on the functionalvariety of 20 types of amino acid to achieve their diverse range of functions. However, the lack of enzymes for today's
amino acid metabolism and protein synthesis in some microbes suggests that not all 20 types were used to make up（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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proteins around the time of early life's creation. For an amino acid to be newly incorporated into early life, despite theabsence of that amino acid, requires the existence of enzymes that synthesize the amino acid, as well as enzymes forprotein synthesis that utilize the amino acid. Utilizing EarthDB, this research will identify "late amino acid"candidates that might either be lost in a given environment or have been incorporated into the system around the timeof life's emergence. This research complements approaches that rely on modern-day life data for such identification
by taking an approach that focuses on data for amino acid sets available to early life as a result of the Earth's chemical
evolution.
Using wet experiments to synthesize the missing enzymes, we will first synthesize them using all 20 types ofamino acid. Moreover, we will generate evidence that the enzymes can function even when several late-period aminoacids are missing by tracing the artificial evolution of proteins that in fact lack those late-period amino acids.
Kiga in our team has already created an enzyme that acts in ways not seen on Earth and has measured its activity.
Moreover, by introducing this enzyme into in vitro reaction systems or cells, he has expanded the function of protein
synthesis to use 21 types of amino acid (Kiga et al., 2002). By a non-natural combination of proteins and nucleic
acids, he has also developed a system with multi-step reactions that proceed autonomously (Ayukawa et al., 2012).
Dynamics of a Robust Life System (Ecosystem): We will show how a robust life system, or ecosystem, is createdand evolves by positioning a multi-agent-modeled microbial colony simulation within a model of collective evolution.
To correspond to the computer-based simulation, we add artificial genetic networks to the microbes described above
to perform a culture experiment using living microbial cells. By examining differences between behavior under thesimulation and that of living microbial cells, we will improve precision of the simulation. The above research will
enable us not only to infer the genomes of early life, but also to argue how an environmentally robust ecosystem canbe produced. The PI Kurokawa has already developed a simulator, “SimMicrobiome”, capable of multi-agent
simulations of colony behavior under changing environmental conditions modeled on bacteria colony dynamics,
making it possible to express microbial ecosystems in silico. By introducing artificial genetic networks into E. coli,
Kiga in our team has already developed a multi-cellular system in which E. coli populations with identical genetic sets
diversify autonomously through cell-to-cell communication (Sekine et al., 2011).

Figure 6. The initial genome born in a unique environment on early Earth will be estimated by using the data base that
relates specific environmental factors and the gene pools of microorganisms. With a development of these database further, the initial ecological system that allowed a stable and persistent existence of life will be clarified(related to question B6).
C7. Why does the Earth’s atmosphere contain oxygen?
We combine the systematic and evolutionary biochemistry with high-resolution decoding of geological records tounravel the evolutional processes from the chemosynthetic energy conversion for life dependent on the Earth interiorenergy supply to the photosynthetic energy conversion for life dependent on solar irradiation driven by theenvironmental changes in the atmosphere and ocean. In addition, we will investigate the following questions in ELSI.
When, where, and how did oxygenic photosynthesis begin? When and how did the atmosphere first become oxidized?
Did the elevation of oxygen levels really cause the first snowball earth and trigger the birth of eukaryotes? Placing
geological and geochemical constraints on this transition is a major goal of PI Kirschvink and his group.

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Systematic and evolutionary biochemistry will be applied for understanding how the energy revolution developed
from chemosynthesis to photosynthesis. The study of the step-wise evolution of extending metabolic pathways by theteam led by PI Takai has been advancing by degrees. The team has analyzed the simplest diversification scenario of
metabolic pathways by the minimum innovation (evolution) of catalytic components and the molecular evolution of
catalytic enzymes and co-factors common to both chemosynthetic and photosynthetic metabolisms. The driving force
lies in a strong interrelation between the demand and supply of energy in the early evolution of the earth environments
and the ancient ecosystems. The necessity of innovation in the energy metabolisms is also closely linked to the
propagation of the early microbial communities from the limited habitats in the deep ocean to the global ocean
environments at those times. Our approach, however, is still in an early phase, and we intend to pursue it further.
Another important question is why very few types of chemosynthetic phototrophs (e.g., only anoxygenic green-sulfur
and purple bacteria) are known as the evolutionary intermediate metabolisms in any of the microbial communities in
the modern Earth. There are two possible answers to this question. One is that such evolutionarily intermediate energy
metabolisms and the host microbes have not been discovered by the present methods and techniques in the modern
microbial communities; the other is that such evolutionarily intermediate energy metabolisms and the host microbes
never emerged. To investigate the first possibility, we need to take advantage of the results of B4 above, and designpreviously untested experiments for detection and estimation of evolutionary intermediate energy metabolisms under
the potential initial environments such as a CO atmosphere and ocean. This kind of approach may find a missing linkof evolution between chemosynthesis and photosynthesis. Behind the second possible answer is a hypothesis that a
precursor or primitive photosynthetic metabolic system already existed almost immediately after the early continuing
living ecosystems came into existence. In connection with B4, B5, and B6 above, we will work toward unravelingthese mysteries.
Geology and geochemistry will be applied to trace the evolution from chemosynthesis to photosynthesis. The
transition from chemosynthesis to photosynthesis must be recorded in Archean geological records. Recent
development of stable isotope geochemistry has enabled us to identify the activity of some anaerobic metabolisms(e.g., methanogenesis and sulfate reduction) from isotopic information of Precambrian rocks. PI Yoshida’s group,
Ohkouchi and Ueno in our team have developed novel isotopic techniques to trace specific metabolic activities fromgeological rock samples (e.g., Ueno et al., 2006; 2008; Ohkouchi et al., 2007) Still, we have obtained relatively little
information about anaerobic photosynthesis and other key metabolisms of anaerobic organisms, which must haveexisted before the emergence of oxygenic photosynthesis. In the nitrogen cycle, for example, nitrogen fixation, whichmust have been crucial from the beginning of microbial ecosystem, have not been adequately traced from geologicalrecords. We will newly explore proxies of biological metabolism in an analogous environment to anoxic early Earthand incubation experiments during the first half of the project. And we will also apply new techniques currently underdevelopment to geologic samples of isotope systematics (e.g., H, C, N, O, S, Fe) at the same time or during the second
half of the project year. Conventional obstacles to this type of research have been metasomatic overprints andcontamination of exotic compounds into sedimentary rocks long after deposition. There have also been technicalobstacles that have prevented us from obtaining information from carbonaceous macromolecules (kerogen) in
sediments, which should not be affected by post-depositional petroleum migration. Developing a method to overcome
these technical difficulties is key. We will establish a new reliable geochemical method of extraction that focuses onorganic nitrogen, hydrogen, and sulfur, and we will strive to develop techniques that can test for their syngenetic
origin within their host rock. Consequently, we will unravel the evolution from chemosynthesis to photosynthesis in
the realm of microorganisms based on geological evidence.
We will carefully select a specific stratigraphic horizon for thorough geochemical analysis particularly focusing
on the time before and after the period of changes. The best potential locations are as follows: (1) The Kaapvaal
craton in South Africa to probe the emergence of oxygenic photosynthesis (3~2.8 or 2.4~2.2 billion years ago) (2)Gabon in Africa to probe the emergence of eukaryotes (about 2 billion years ago) through field mapping and targeted
drilling. Other international research projects including the NAI and Agouron Institute led by PI Kirschvink havedone similar projects to study the period 2.5 billion years ago when oxygen levels elevated. Our research will differ
from these studies, since it is vital to look at the subject matter from a different angle. In our view, the emergence ofphotosynthesis, elevation of atmospheric oxygen levels, and birth of eukaryotes were not isolated events, and possibly
the 1 billion year period, between 3 billion and 2 billion years ago was a transition phase whose beginning and end
were crucial. PI Kirschvink disagrees with this view, and this disagreement will in itself give rise to investigating andvigorous discussions within ELSI.
Based on the results of our research, we will develop a biological scenario (focusing on internal factors) of theorigins of photosynthesis, oxygen atmosphere, and eukaryotes to describe actual environmental changes. C8 and C9
below are meant to identify external factors that led to the emergence of photosynthesis, oxygen atmosphere, andeukaryotes.

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Figure 7. Metabolic evolution from the origin of life to oxygenic photosynthesis will be decoded by systematic andevolutionary biochemistry. The evolution pathway into the oxygenic photosynthesis and its influence on Earth’s
biosphere will be traced by geological observations (related to question C7).
C8. How did the thermal evolution of the solid Earth change the ecosystem?
The long-range evolution of the biosphere as well as the atmosphere and ocean is deeply connected with thethermal evolution of the solid Earth. The links between these categories of evolution have been dramaticallyreconsidered in recent years. Subject matters that have been revisited include the following: (1) Changes in andevolution of atmospheric composition through volcanic activity and differentiation of the Earth's crust and mantle. (2)Changes in the supracrustal material cycle through plate tectonics, and the link with the emergence of multicellur
animals. (3) Effects of the inner core formation and resulting changes in geomagnetic field intensity on the biosphere.
(4) True Polar Wander and the Snowball Earth hypothesis (Kirschvink). The driving force in these is related to thedifferentiation of the solid Earth through the cooling of the Earth. The record of the Earth's history reveals that there
were drastic changes in the Sr isotopic composition at 2.1 billion and 600 million years ago. These changes incomposition imply the onset of extensive weathering of continents, increase in sedimentary rocks owing to the
expanded land areas, and the supply of nutrients to the ocean. The times of the changes appear to coincide with the
emergence of eukaryotes and of metazoan animals when the levels of oxygen increased. These coincidences imply
possible causal links between these climatic and evolutionary events that may ultimately reflect the thermal evolutionof solid Earth. Particularly, the increase in oxygen levels 600 million years ago may have been an inevitable physicaltrajectory of a cooling planet.
We will clarify how the Earth's core, mantle, and crust differentiated over 4.6 billion years, and especially whenradiogenic heat sources were first distributed, and subsequently spread by mantle convection. To do so, we will first
determine the physical properties of key substances and their elemental partitioning in the Earth's interior based on the
results of experiments under high temperature and pressure in A3 above. Using these parameters, we will simulate theconvection of the mantle through time to identify when the convection transformed, and we will identify when the
inner core was formed. In addition, we will conduct a dynamo simulation of the metallic core to understand how thegeomagnetic field intensity changed by the formation of the inner core.
These simulations should be compared with actual observational evidence. We will measure paleomagnetic
intensity of rock specimens from various times in the history of the Earth to study the link between the core evolution
and magnetic fields. PI Kirschvink established a method of analyzing measured paleomagnetism as described in A3.
PI Maruyama and his team discovered that continental growth was episodic throughout the history of the Earth (Rinoet al., 2008). Igneous activity is closely linked to the thermal evolution of the solid Earth. Comparing the implied solid
Earth evolution with the surface environmental changes shown in the study of drill core samples will establish links
between the Earth's interior and surface environment. In regard to direct influence of environmental changes on thebiosphere, we will examine changes in composition of the atmosphere and ocean by extending the method describedin B4 and C7. To study links between plate tectonics and the biosphere, we will conduct a geochemical analysis andmodel biogeochemical cycling of key elements not only within biosphere but also include crust and mantle in a longer
timescale. PI Maruyama and his team studied changes in temperature and pressure of subducted plates in regional
metamorphic belts, and arrived at the conclusion that, as the Earth cooled, subducted oceanic plates carried water tothe mantle, and the total quantity of seawater decreased thereafter (Maruyama et al., 1996; 1997; Maruyama and Liou,2005). The decrease in seawater exposed vast areas of continent above sea surface. The denudation of the continents（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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increased the supply of nutrients to the ocean and substantial organic carbon burial into sediments, possibly triggering
the elevation of oxygen levels that may have triggered emergence of animals at 600 million years ago.
Focusing on the times 600 million years ago, our G-COE project has carried out continental drilling over 10 sites
and performed thorough geochemical and paleontological analyses (e.g., Sawaki et al., 2010). In this project, we will
focus on even earlier times to obtain pristine drill core samples of critical events, as described in C7.

Figure 8. The evolution of the Earth’s interior should have affected surface environments through enhancement ofgeomagnetic field, landmass, and sedimentary rocks. The effect from the Universe such as intensity of cosmic rays
may be also important for the change in Earth’s surface environment (related to questions C8 & C9).
C9. How did galactic events influence the Earth's surface environment?
Cosmic forcing may change the surface environment on Earth. This has been shown in daily meteorologicalchanges (links between cosmic rays flux, solar activity and cloud formation), and suggested even the freezing of theentire globe due to changes in galactic environment. The connection between the Earth and outer space has long been
pointed out, but it has been treated as a hypothesis that could not be examined due to the scarcity of specific evidence.
However, as astronomical observations have advanced in recent years, ages, masses, and locations of stars, galaxies,
and molecular clouds have rapidly been identified in detail. Moreover, advances in simulation technologies led by PI
Makino and his team have enabled us to theoretically analyze the origin and evolution of our Milky Way Galaxy,leading to a view significantly different from common belief (e.g., Baba et al., 2012). The conventional theory is thatthe sun circulates within the Galaxy, periodically meeting Spiral Arms that are in steady state. Recent observations,however, found a high probability that the sun's movement may be nowhere near circulation, and that its radial
movement within the Galaxy may be the cause of considerable changes in the Earth’s surface environment. The SpiralArms also undergo significant temporal variations, far from steady state conditions. Also, recent observations
discovered that the Galaxy has a large bar-like structure that may influence the movements of the sun and the SpiralArms.
In this project, we simulate the dynamics of the Galaxy based on numerical calculations to predict galactic events
that the solar system experienced in the Galaxy, as well as the timing of the events. The project has already started
and has stimulated links between a 150-million-years cycle of changes in Earth’s climate and in the position of thesolar system in our galaxy. Now, we re-examine the role of the universe in the history of the Earth quantitatively.
Events in the Galaxy that can influence the Earth’s climate may be the following: (1) Major changes in star-formation
rates, (2) A collision between molecular clouds and the solar system, and (3) A supernova explosion in the vicinity ofthe solar system. Astronomical observations by HIPPARCOS and other projects revealed a considerable increase instar-formation rates at 4.6 billion, 2.3 billion, and 0.7 billion years ago. The new picture of the galactic disk prompts
us to re-interpret the data from HIPPARCOS. Time scales for encounters with molecular clouds vary due to their size
and are estimated up to be several million years. Based on recent estimates by PI Maruyama and his group, the effects
of a supernova explosion on Earth’s climate last 10,000 years or shorter (e.g., Kataoka et al., 2012).
Will these galactic events leave any traces in the Earth's geologic record? It is known that the deep ocean covering
the Earth helps preserve extraterrestrial material in deep-sea sediments. If the Earth ever encountered any molecular
clouds, dust particles from the clouds can be preserved in deep-sea sediments. Therefore, a project to find andseparate extraterrestrial or extra-solar material is under way, examining deep-sea deposits collected from around the（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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world, in accordance with our project of decoding Earth's history developed by Tokyo Institute of Technology. As
evidence of a supernova explosion, the 60Fe isotope anomaly was reported in deep-sea sediments from the late
Pliocene when the Ice Age began that indicated the occurrence of a supernova explosion in the vicinity of the solar
system (Fields et al., 2005). Isotopic cosmochemistry is crucial to find extraterrestrial material and to develop andrefine theories of stellar evolution. Yokoyama and Usui in our team have developed an ultra-high-precision
technology to measure trace isotopes. For example, they reported the world's first measurements of high-precision
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Os/188Os isotope ratios from natural sedimentary rock specimens to detect potential extraterrestrial or evenextra-solar input (Yokoyama, JPGU2012). Searches for the past extraterrestrial or even extra-solar input into the Earthwill enable us to demonstrate cosmic effects on the history of the Earth that cannot be identified merely through thetheory and simulation of a galactic disk relying only on astronomical observations.
D10. How unique is our planet?
Fundamental questions in history such as "What is special about human beings?" and “How unique is ourplanet?” can now be addressed in quantitative ways based on actual observations, experiments and simulations. At
first, we clarify conditions for the origin of life systems and their subsequent evolution, and identify their dependency.
These considerations will be used to observe extra-solar planets, which will enable us to compare simulation resultsfor extra-solar planet formation and observation data. We will review and synthesize results concerning thecomposition of the atmosphere, the amount of ocean (sea versus ocean ratio), plate tectonics, magnetic field
generation, evolution of planet’s interior, positional relationships of the planet and effects from the Galaxy. We
promote the study of the Earth, while being aware of unique aspects of the Earth at any time. These achievements will
be published as an English book entitled by “Bio-Planetology” by the end of the WPI program.
D11. How should we search for extraterrestrial life?
The research outcomes from the above A to C will be utilized for space exploration missions, particularly forsearch for life on the icy satellites, Europe and Enceladus, that have subsurface oceans. The European Space Agency
has just announced its new mission named the Jupiter Icy moons Explorer (JUICE) to visit Jovian satellites. JAXA
has discussed corporation with this project since before the pre-proposal phase 6 years before. Japanese researchers
also cooperate in the project to promote scientific studies of icy satellites. As pre-exploration preparation, we will
study the possibility of existence of life forms on icy satellites with inner seas. We focus on developing scientificscenarios, rather than mission details. We will also commit to scientific scenarios for Hayabusa-2 that also aims at
detection of organic materials in the C-type asteroid.
Furthermore, spectroscopic observation of the atmosphere of extra-solar terrestrial planets in habitable zones will
be available in the near future. We will establish methods for remote sensing of biosignatures on these planets. We
will pursue original ideas as well as detailed discussions of ideas that have already been proposed.
As for a discussion of life diversity, we will link data on life in extreme environmental conditions on Earth anddata from searches for extraterrestrial life with date from geology, discussions of planetary condition based onstate-of-art planet formation theory, the history of the Earth, and Earth's interior physics. To be more specific, as casestudies, we will consider the possibility of existence of life on celestial bodies with subsurface oceans and planets inhabitable zones around M-type stars. Compared to our sun, M-type stars are so faint that the habitable zones are very
close to the central stars. Owing to tidal actions, the planet's rotation and revolution should be synchronized, with one
particular side facing the central star. The planets receive intense X-rays and ultraviolet fluxes owing to its proximity
to the central star. These planets, although they are in habitable zones, have environment, that differ significantly fromthat of the Earth.

（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

21

Figure 9. We will participate in future space exploration projects (such as missions to Europa and Enceladus, whichhave an internal ocean) as well as in projects to look for biomarkers by remote sensing of terrestrial planets outside
the solar system (related to questions D10 & D11).

(3) Managementi) Center director

Name of prospective Center Director:
Name:
Age:
Current position:
Field of expertise:Kei Hirose
44
Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Science,
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Tech
High-pressure Geoscience

Reasons for eligibility as Center Director:
Kei Hirose is only 44 years old but has already accomplished several milestones in high-pressure mineral physics
and petrology, which include 1) the first determination of melt composition formed by direct partial melting in the
Earth’s uppermost mantle, 2) discovery of post-perovskite, the principal mineral in the lowermost mantle, 3) the firststatic experiments at ultrahigh-pressure and -temperature beyond the conditions at the center of the Earth, and 4) the
first measurements of transport properties (electrical and thermal conductivity) at deep mantle conditions. These are
the products of his strong enthusiasm on research, and his ability of long-term planning & execution. Though Kei isstill young, he is a person of great insight into the essential part of the problem.
Kei has been appointed a Power User of SPring-8, the world-largest synchrotron radiation facility, since 2003
until now. During that period, the beamline BL10XU was reconstructed to a world-leading beamline for high-pressuresciences under his strong leadership as the Power User, which is a big benefit to the relevant communities in theworld.
Professor Hirose is a recipient of the Japan Academy Prize, the most honorable academic award in Japan, and the
Ringwood medal from European Association of Geochemistry for these outstanding achievements. He was also
elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union at the age of 40, the world-largest society in geoscience. Kei isalso well recognized internationally as an Editor of Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors (an Elsevier journal)
and a member of the Board of Reviewing Editors of Science.
Dr. H-K. Mao, one of the pioneers and leaders of high-pressure experiments using the diamond-anvil cell,
mentioned Professor Hirose’s personality and leadership in his letter of support, which ensure the recruitment ofworld-leading scientists for unexplored new researches at ELSI. His strong motivation in research, leadership in thecommunity, and international recognition will certainly make Professor Hirose an ideal Center Director.

ii) Administrative director

Name of prospective Administrative Director:
Name:
Kiyoshi Nakazawa
Age:
69
Current position:
Dedicated Professor, Global COE Program, Department of Earth and Planetary
Sciences, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Tech
Field of expertise:
Planet Formation
Reasons for eligibility as Administrative Director:
Dr Nakazawa has displayed an outstanding capability in launching a new organization and creating a sustainablesystem. In 1992, he founded the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in the Faculty of Science at Tokyo
Institute of Technology. At that time he was a professor of general studies at Tokyo Institute of Technology. Under
his strong leadership, the university succeeded in recruiting promising faculty members within Japan as well as fromthe University of California. The principal members of this Department were all recruited by him from the Universityof Tokyo when they were young. He also established a system to conduct an annual external evaluation of lecturers’
activities that was unheard of in Japan at the time. In addition, he introduced systems such as syllabus creation andevaluation of lectures by undergraduates, which had also not been done in Japanese universities in those days.
Although heavily criticized at that time, these are now common in the Tokyo Institute of Technology as well as otherJapanese universities. Therefore, it could be said that Dr Nakazawa took the lead in reforming university systems in
the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. As a result of these reforms, the Department of Earth and Planetary
Sciences at Tokyo Institute of Technology has achieved world-leading research results already shortly after its
establishment, and is widely acknowledged as one of the leading departments in its research field in Japan.
Furthermore, in 1998, he established another new organization, the Interactive Research Center of Science at thegraduate school of Tokyo Institute of Technology. The Interactive Research Center of Science consists of promising
young lecturers and world’s leading established scientists. They are exempted from all duties other than research (e.g.,（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

22

university management and lecturing) and thus they can concentrate solely on their research. It could be said that thisorganization is a pioneer for the WPI program. Excellent scientists including Dr Makino, an internationallyrecognized computer scientist, are working in this organization.
Dr Nakazawa is also known as a founder of the Japan Society of Planetary Science. He created a firm foundation
for the society. Serving as the first administrative director together with the first president, he launched the academic
journal “Yuseijin” and established a membership system mainly by himself.
Thus, his planning and management skills and future perspectives are outstanding. He has a number ofachievements in introducing new sustainable systems as well. The great success of the Department of Earth andPlanetary Sciences at Tokyo Institute of Technology as well as that of the Japan Society of Planetary Scienceestablished by him indicate that Dr Nakazawa is the most suitable candidate for the administrative director of theinstitute.
Dr Nakazawa has made two stipulations. Firstly, he would not interfere in research. Secondly, he would serve as
the Administrative Director only during the initial period following the launch of the institute. Therefore, Executive
Administrative Director who has a background with an exquisite experience as a Director of the Administration
Bureau of Tokyo Tech who also has a background as rich experience as a public official will work together with Dr
Nakazawa to lay the foundation of the center in the first two to three years and replace him as Administrative Director
after that.

iii) Administrative staff composition
The Operations and Administration Division will consist of three departments:
1) International Promotion and Researcher Support Department
2) Operations Department
3) Public Relations Department
Their functions will be promoted by a couple of Research Advisors, who have academic background and support
both researchers and administrators. Existing administration offices of the university, Research Project Support
Center, Research Strategy Office, Educational Planning Office, Evaluation Office, Office of Industry Liaison,
Planning Office, and International Office, will also provide full support for the operation of the Center’s
Administrative Division (Figure 10).

Figure 10. Structure of Operations and Administration Division of Earth-Life Science Institute.
International Promotion and Researcher Support Department
This department is responsible for connections between the Center and the outside world and for supporting the（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

23

researchers during their stay at the Center. The manager and supporting Research Advisors are in charge ofinternational recruiting, support and retention of non-Japanese staff members and visitors. With a “Japanese lifestyleadviser” assigned to each family, they offer assistance with immigration, housing, and daily life concerns. They also
provide language support for non-Japanese scientists and their families. This department will manage a series ofinternational seminars and workshops, both smaller in-house seminars and international conferences. Their role
includes assistance with preparation of external research grant proposals by researchers from abroad.
The key areas of responsibility for International Promotion and Researcher Support are:
- Recruitment of non-Japanese scientists- Quality of life of non-Japanese scientists- Language support- Symposia and workshops- Grant proposals
Operations Department
This department will handle the internal operations tasks of the Center, such as financial accounting andbudgeting, running the daily, weekly, and monthly events, etc. It will provide the primary administrative interface
with the rest of Tokyo Tech, particularly including facilities, information technology infrastructure, and procurement.
The key areas of responsibility for the Operations Department are:
- Office support- Administration & university liaison- IT and computer support- Pay for performance system- Procurement- Accounting and budgeting- Cost management
Public Relations Department
This department is responsible for Center’s outreach activity. We will hire Research Communicators with anacademic background as a contact person to/from the outside. They regularly will send out information about theCenter’s research achievements to the general public in both English and Japanese through a website, encourage press
releases by the Center’s staff, organize monthly meetings with reporters, journalists, and science communicators, andhold lecture series as monthly events, etc. This department also will organize the Summer Internship Program forhigh-school students. To regularly inform the Center’s administrators about the latest research outcomes is also an
important task for the Research Communicators. They also seek donations from the foundations and enterprises, incollaboration with Center Director. We will be able to provide the teaching materials to companies for education.
The key areas of responsibility for Public Relations are:
- Active Outreach- Regular meetings with reporters/journalists- Public lecture series- Summer Internship- Communication between researchers and administrators- Donations from outsideiv) Decision-making system
The Center Director will have the authority to make all decisions except those concerning the final
selection/removal of the Center Director himself. The responsibilities of the Center Director include the operation andmanagement, fully assisted by the Administrative Director. This will enable a flexible and fast decision-making
system.
The Center has a Steering Committee consisting of the Center Director as a chair person, Administrative Director,
Directors of Satellite Centers, and two other Principal Investigators, to assist the Center Director in making decisions
on a wide range of matters. The International Advisory Board members, two Japanese and three non-Japanese, also
advise from an international perspective. The Advisory board meetings will be held twice a year. The Center Director
receives advice from them, but makes final decisions by himself.

v) Allocation of authority between the center director and host institution
The President of Tokyo Tech is the chief representative of the university, and will be able to exercise strong
leadership in management strategy. While the President will have the authority concerning the final selection/removalof the Center Director, the Center Director will be empowered to appoint all the research and administrative staff（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

24

members of the Center, decide annual salaries and incentives, write a budget, etc, in consultation with the Center’s
Steering Committee and the International Advisory Board.

(4) Researchers and other center staffs, satellites, partner institutionsi) The “core” to be established within the host institutiona) Principal Investigators (full professors, associate professors or other researchers of comparable
standing)
Table 1. Planned number of Principal Investigators.

Numbers
At beginningThose inexisting

Final goal
At end of FY 2012

(Date: month, year)(October, 2015)

center-buildin
g project

Researchers from within
the host institution
Foreign researchers invitedfrom abroad
Researchers invited from otherJapanese institutions
Total principal investigators

6

6

6

6

3

0

3

6

4

1

4

4

13

7

13

16

Table 1 and Figure 11 show the expected number of Principal Investigators (PIs) at the beginning of the programand at the end of FY 2012, as well as the number set as the final target on October, 2015. At the start of ELSI, two PIs
will be invited from overseas. We will invite 2 female non-Japanese PIs in 2013 and 2015, and a full-time
non-Japanese PI in 2014. We assign a Japanese PI at the Satellite Center in Ehime University and also invite 3
Japanese PIs from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (2 PIs) and Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science andTechnology. The ratio of non-Japanese PIs of ELSI will grow from 23 % (3 out of 13 at the beginning) to 37 % (6 out
of 16) by the time of October, 2015.

Figure 11. Plan for the participation of non-Japanese Principal Investigators.

b) Total members
Table 2. Plan to achieve the final staffing goal.

Numbers
At beginningThose in existing
center-building

At end of FY
2012

project

Researchers

Principal investigators

23< 3,13 %>[ 0, 0 %]13< 3, 23 %>10< 0, 0 %>[ 0, 0 %]7< 0, 0 %>23< 3, 13 %>[ 0, 0 %]13< 3, 23 %>Final goal
(Date: month, year)(October, 2015)

71< 24, 33 %>[ 13, 18 %]16< 6, 37 %>（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

25

Other researchers

Research support staffs(incl. Research Assistant)Administrative staffs
Total number of people
who form the “core” of theresearch center[ 0, 0 %][ 0, 0 %][ 0, 0 %][ 2, 12 %]10< 0, 0 %>[ 0, 0 %]0

3< 0, 0 %>[ 0, 0 %]0

10< 0, 0 %>[ 0, 0 %]055< 18, 33 %>[ 11, 20 %]
34

5

0

8

10

28

10

31

115

By October 2015, the total number of researchers will reach 71, including 24 non-Japanese researchers (33%). At
this point we set the final staffing goal (Table 2 and Figure 12).
Our final goal consists of 10 collaborative researchers, 5 young and promising researchers at high-performancelevel (Associate Prof. level), and 40 young resourceful researchers (Assistant Prof. or postdoc level). Youngresearchers ranked at Associate Prof. level will lead their teams like a PI. Each PI will work closely with the newly
appointed researchers ranked at Assistant Prof. or postdoc level. Most of the young researchers will be newly
employed by international open recruitment adapted according to the Western recruiting calendar.
We will have a 5-year review of center operations in FY2016 and execute the ELSI reform agenda for next 5
years.
We will drastically reform our staff structure in accordance with the review in FY2017. After the reform we
expect the fraction of non-Japanese researchers to be up to about 40%.

Figure 12. Expected number of researchers at ELSI.

ii) Collaboration with other institutions
1) Satellite Center
ELSI has three Satellite Centers, i) at the Geodynamics Research Center, Ehime University, (ii) at theInterdisciplinary Program, Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and (iii) at the Origin of Life Initiative, Harvard
University. Each satellite function is as follows.
Geodynamics Research Center (GRC), Ehime University
GRC has shown globally leading research results in the fields of deep Earth science. Prof. Tetsuo Irifune will join
ELSI as a Principal Investigator and Satellite Director. The other five GRC members (one female) will also join thisSatellite Center (see Figure 13).
The main role of this Satellite Center at Ehime University is to conduct research on the origin and evolution of thesolid Earth, primarily based on the high-pressure/high-temperature experiments using multi-anvil apparatus(large-volume press). Such multi-anvil experiments have a great advantage in controlling sample temperature overexperiments by other techniques such as a laser-heated diamond-anvil cell, although the experimentalpressure-temperature range is limited. The combination of both diamond-anvil experiments (K. Hirose at Tokyo
Tech) and multi-anvil experiments (T. Irifune at Ehime Univ.) would provide the best answers to questions on the
deep Earth structure and dynamics.
Interdisciplinary Program, Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton
Prof. Piet Hut is based at the IAS in Princeton. He will divide his time between Tokyo Tech and Princeton, half
（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

26

and half. During his stay at Princeton, the Institute for Advanced Study will host both scientists and administratorsfrom ELSI. The IAS is, of course, a world-leading research institute, always hosting more than hundred visitors fromaround the world. This is an ideal place for scientists to exchange ideas and establish their own personal connections.
It is also a good place for administrators to learn about an efficient system at such a top-class institute.
Origin of Life Initiative, Harvard University
Prof. Jack Szostak will participate as a Principal Investigator and a Satellite Director on behalf of Harvard
University Origin of Life Initiative. He is a world-leading scientist in synthetic biology. We will exchange young
scientists to explore the origin of life, based on new information about the early Earth environments that will be
examined by the main body of ELSI.

ELSI
Chief Center

Overseas Institutes of co-operation

Tokyo Institute of Technology

ASIA

Principal Investigators: 13
Co-investigators: 8
RA graduates: 34
Short-term visitors : 57
Administrative staffs: 8
Post-doc. & dedicatedassistant/associate professors: 51

Indian Institute of Science, India
The Australian National University, Australia
National Cheng Kung University, China
China University of Geosciences, China
Beijing University, China
Jilin University, China
Northwest University, China
Sichuan University, China

171

Exchange researchers(short or long-term)
Joint Workshops

Satellite 1
Ehime University
Principal Investigator: 1
Co-investigators: 2
RA graduates: 4
Post-doc. & dedicatedassistant/associate professors: 6

13
Co-operative research
Exchange researchers

Satellite 2
Institute for Advanced
Study, Princeton
Principal Investigator: 1

Partnership Institute

1

JAMSTEC

Satellite 3

JAXA

Harvard University,
Origins of Life Initiative
Principal Investigator: 1
Co-investigators: 2

CalTechUniversity of Minnesota

3

University of Calfornia, Berkeley

USA
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Colorado, Boulder
Stony Brook University
The University of Chicago
Cornell University
Northwestern University
Yale University
Carnegie Institution of Washington
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

EUROPEMax Planck Institute for Astronomy, Germany
University of Bayreuth, Germany
University of Leicester, UK
Deutches Elektronen Synchrotron, Germany
European Synchrotron Research Facility, FranceCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France
Ecole Normale Superieure, France
Nice Observatory, France
University of Paris, France
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Russian Institute of Academy of
Science, Novosibirsk, Russia

AFLICA
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Univeristy

Figure 13. Collaboration with domestic and oversea research institutes, including the Satellite Centers and partner
institutions.
2) Partnership Institutions
ELSI will have strong connections with (i) Japan Agency for Marine Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), (ii)Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), (iii) University of Minnesota, (iv) Harvard University, (v) California
Institute of Technology, at which some Principal Investigators of ELSI are now based. Additionally, our partners
include 38 institutions in 11 countries (Figure 13). ELSI promotes collaborative research with these institutions byexchanging people and ideas.

(5) Research Environmenti.

Provide an environment in which researchers can devote themselves exclusively to their research, by
exempting them from duties other than research and related educational activities, and providing them withadequate staff support to handle paperwork and other administrative functions.

Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) will try to provide the best environment for Principal Investigators (PIs) toconcentrate on research. Two to three post-docs or dedicated assistant professors will be hired for each PI to form
his/her research group. A couple of Research Advisors with academic background provide additional support in orderfor them to avoid miscellaneous tasks. They will also help non-Japanese PIs in general ways, including assistance inwriting a proposal, communicating with external Japanese scientists, etc. PIs joining from Tokyo Tech will bereassigned as Professors of ELSI, which grant them a reduction in non-research responsibilities. They must be
exempted from at least the duty of teaching undergraduate students.
The Center Director is responsible for minimizing the administrative work by all researchers at the Center. For（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

27

this purpose, a very efficient research-oriented administrative division will be created through several unique systems.
Each administrator will be evaluated annually and given incentives, similarly to scientists. The Center holds a regular
event to inform administrators of the Center’s latest research results, which will lead to smooth communications
between researchers and administrators and more importantly will motivate the administrators to work for the
research. Some of the administrators will stay at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, our satellite institute,for a few months to learn their highly effective administration system.
ii.

Provide startup research funding as necessary to ensure that top-caliber researchers invited to the center do
not upon arrival lose momentum in vigorously pursuing their work out of concern over the need to apply
immediately for competitive grants.

Each PI invited from overseas will be granted JPY5 to 10 million, depending on theoretical or experimental work,
to start up his/her research project. For the second year, another JPY5 to 10 million will be provided. Further support
is possibly given until he/she obtains external funds based on the discussion with the Center Director. The Center will
provide non-Japanese PIs a full range of support to acquire large-scale competitive funds in Japan. We also provide
JPY6 million start-up funds to dedicated research associate professors.
iii.

As a rule, fill postdoctoral positions through open international solicitations.

The Center will hire three ranks of researchers besides PIs; 1) post-docs, 2) dedicated research assistantprofessors, and 3) dedicated research associate professors. More than half of the post-docs and dedicated assistantprofessors will work with one of the PIs, while the rest of them have more freedom in their research with only loose
connections to specific groups. All dedicated associate professors are independent (assistant professors in Japanese
universities are traditionally not independent). These three classes of researchers are recruited through open
international solicitations. The Center Director will make their best efforts to advertise the recruitment internationally.
iv.

Establish English as the primary language for work-related communication, and appoint administrative
personnel who can facilitate the use of English in the work process.

The official language must be English for non-Japanese and Japanese alike. Every document will be written in
English. A few officers of Tokyo Tech who can use English will be assigned to the Center as a priority. We will also
hire excellent English-speaking staff members from outside, and we will actively encourage the employment of staff,
Japanese and non-Japanese, with international experience. In addition, some of the administrative staff at the Center
will stay for three months at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, our Satellite institute, in order toexperience and learn their highly efficient administrative system and its operation.
v.

Adopt a rigorous system for evaluating research and a system of merit-based compensation. (For example,
institute a merit-based annual salary system)

The evaluation of the research activity by each scientist will be made annually. It will be based on publications inacademic journals and on the scientific merit of his/her research. The Annual Evaluation Workshop will be held inMarch for the latter purpose.
The Center secures better salaries for PIs than their previous employment conditions. Their annual salary will be
determined on the basis of their research output, contributions to Center’s overall activities, and the acquisition of
external competitive funds. For outstanding research outcomes or contributions by all scientists, the Center will
provide better research environments (space, financial support, post-docs, etc) as incentives.
Not only researchers but also administrators will be evaluated annually. For their superior works, the Center will
give them an opportunity to be dispatched to our oversea satellite institute.
vi.

Provide equipment and facilities, including laboratory space, appropriate to a top world-level research center.

Tokyo Tech will secure sufficient research space (about 1500 m2 from start and additionally up to approximately
2100 m2 by 2015) for the Center at the Ookayama Campus, close to the building of the Department of Earth andPlanetary Sciences. In addition to research space (offices, laboratories), we will prepare a Common room to promoteinternal communications, which is key for interdisciplinary studies. People gather in this room for their short breakand for daily and weekly events organized by Research Advisors.
The access to research equipments, in particular to large scale parallel computers for simulations, is abundant. The
computer center of Tokyo Tech (GSIC) has the most advanced supercomputer in the research institutes in Japan. In
addition, GRAPE series of custom-built supercomputers, developed by J. Makino's group, will be accessible toresearchers of the Center. Also, 10-Petaflops K computer and other supercomputers in national research institutes,
including National Astronomical Observatory, JAXA and JAMSTEC are accessible through PIs.
vii.

Hold international research conferences or symposiums regularly (at least once a year) to bring the world’s
leading researchers together at the center.
（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

28

International symposium will be held annually. They will cover a wide range of topics, with different clear-cut
key concepts in each year, based on original research at the Center. More than twenty world-leading scientists andyoung active researchers will be invited from abroad with and without travel support. The symposia will be held inautumn, the best season to recruit promising young researchers. Other relatively small symposiums on specific hot
topics as well as interdisciplinary topics will be held several times each year.
Additionally, Annual Evaluation Workshop will be held in March, at the end of the Japanese fiscal year, in which
all the scientists at the Center must present on their research made in corresponding year. Only a small number of key
scientists and International Advisory Board members will be invited. The primary purpose of this workshop is toevaluate the research activity by each scientist and to redirect the emphasis of the Center’s research if necessary.
viii.

Other measures, if any, to ensure that top-caliber researchers from around the world can comfortably devote
themselves to their research in a competitive international environment.

Living conditions will probably be the biggest concern for most non-Japanese scientists. To best serve them andtheir families, the Center will assign a “Life adviser” to each family even before they move to Japan. This adviser will
guide them through all the difficult processes and will always be available to advise on procedures such as visa,
school, bank account, special diets, garbage, transportation, taxes, pension, etc. The adviser essentially acts as apersonal assistant for non-Japanese scientists when needed. Tokyo Tech has an accommodation facility called the100th Anniversary International House with 100 single rooms and 20 family rooms in its Ookayama Campus. It canbe temporally used for non-Japanese scientists and families until they find a place to live outside.
Another challenge for non-Japanese scientists will be the acquisition of external funds for their research. BothResearch Advisors and other Center staff members in related fields will be strongly involved in their preparation of
proposals. The university’s Research Project Support Center and Research Strategy Office will also support
non-Japanese scientists to acquire competitive funds.

（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

29

(6) Indicators for evaluating a center’s global standingi) Criteria and methods to be used for evaluating the center’s global standing in the subject field
Our research is highly academic. Even for such academic accomplishments, evaluation requires comprehensive
assessment with various criteria and methods. However, the evaluation is often made on the basis of publications. It
may be still useful to assure the activity, quality, and recognition of research.
Here we indicate ELSI’s global standing from the perspective of “research activity” and “research quality”. To
evaluate such perspectives, assessment referring to the number of published articles and their citations is one of themost primary and objective criteria. Thomson Reuters have developed a database for this purpose. Here we used the
University Science Indicator (USI) as the most authoritative index to compare the research levels of world-top
universities in each field.

ii) Results of current assessment made using said criteria and methods
a. Number of papers per faculty staff (PI) per year

Figure 14. Research activity defined by (Numbers of papers) / (Number of faculty staffs) in the top universities inJapan, U.S. and UK (Thomson Reuters, USI Database 1996-2010, results from the fields of Geology, Geochemistry& Geophysics, Environmental Science, and Geoscience, Multidisciplinary). The number of faculty staff at each
institute is from its website in 2007. Productivity of papers by PIs of ELSI is at a global top standard.
In order to assess our research activity, we adopt (Numbers of papers) / (Number of faculty staffs) for each year.
Figure 14 above shows the change in this index during 1996 to 2010, for the world-class Earth and Planetary Science
departments at universities in US, UK, and Japan, in comparison with that by our PIs at ELSI. It clearly shows that the
research activity of our PIs far exceeds those at Japanese two major universities, and is indeed comparable to those atworld-leading institutes.
Impact of papers in subject area
We use an index of (Number of citations per publication in a given field) / (Total number of citations for all
publications in that field) to assess our “research impact”. We chose Geochemistry & Geophysics for papers by ourPIs, except for S. Maruyama (Geology), N. Yoshida (Environmental science), and P. Hut and J. Kirschvink(Geoscience, multidisciplinary). We calculated average values of 4 fields for leading universities and ELSI. The
results are shown in Figure 15 below, for the year of publications.

（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

30

Figure 15. Research impact defined by (Average number of citations per publication in a given field) / (Total numberof citations for all publications in that field) for papers published in a specific year (Relative Impact Factor,
Thomson Reuters, USI database). The number of citations for papers by our PIs is indeed world-leading.
This plot shows that papers published by our PIs have been well cited in each corresponding field. Sudden
increase after 2009 was caused primarily by a hot paper published by the group led by R. Wentzcovitch. Even without
this paper, our publications have been cited more times than those reported from the world top-level departments inEarth and Planetary Sciences, indicating that our research impact is really world leading.
Additionally, 8 out of 15 PIs in ELSI have “h-index” higher than 35 (see Biographical sketches). It is clear thatELSI exhibits a strong prospective to stand out globally as top-level research center in the world.

iii) Goals to be achieved through the project (at time of interim and final evaluations)
Once ELSI is established and starts research fully with world-top level and young promising scientists, we cannaturally expect that our research activity will be enhanced substantially. ELSI should be top in the world in bothresearch activity and impact defined above in five years. Each scientist of ELSI will pursue ambitious
interdisciplinary sciences, with retaining their excellencies in each individual field.
Additionally, Tokyo Tech has well known experts in the field of project assessment or scientometrics. In
cooperation with the university’s Research Strategy Office, ELSI will utilize new objective assessment program toassure the quality of research, as well as to advance research and research policy, by giving feedback to ourcommunity and funders.
Measure or Indicator

5 Year Target

10 Year Target

World leadership,
relevance and quality(Annual review)

・Globally competitive

・The only world-leading centerin all of its subject fields

Research activity*1
and Research impact*2

・Top in the world in bothResearch activity and impact・SameBusiness
Development

・Develop trend analysis for research
funds
・Establish framework for collecting
donations・Young researchers annually obtaincompetitive funds of JPY 110M.

・Stable operation of collecting
donations・Young researchers annuallyobtain competitive funds of
JPY 175M.

Development ofResearch Talent

・40% of young researchers come fromoverseas

・More than 30% of young
researchers are female

・80% of visitors assess support as
outstanding・Same

Effective support forinternational visitors

Figure. Goals to be achieved through the project（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

31

(7) Securing research fundingi) Past record
Ten Japanese PIs have secured a lot of research funds including Grand-in-Aid for Science Research (KAKENHI),
sponsored research funds, collaborative research funds, and university grants/operating subsidies. The amount ofobtained funds between FY2007 and FY2011 are summarized in Table 3 (the effort ratios of PIs are taken into
account). Prospective funds for FY2012 and FY2013 are also listed.
The dominant fund is KAKENHI. Indeed, the 10 Japanese PIs have constantly acquired large-scale KAKENHI
programs such as Specially Promoted Research, Scientific Research on Priority Areas, Scientific Research on
Innovative Areas, and Scientific Research(S). The annual average of the total amount of KAKENHI between FY2007
and FY2011 is JPY 294 million, and we can see that the amounts of KAKENHI have been demonstrating an upward
trend. Also, the 10 Japanese PIs have obtained sponsored research funds and collaborative research funds. Especiallyin FY2011, they see a remarkable increase in those funds.
The annual average of the total research funds obtained by the 10 Japanese PIs between FY2007 to FY2011 isabout JPY 670 million/year and this is equivalent to about 96% of our requesting WPI grants (JPY 700 million).
Figure 16 shows the total amount of funds obtained by the 10 Japanese PIs and another 8 Japanese researchers whowill join ELSI from the beginning. The annual average from FY2007 to FY2011 becomes about JPY 980
million/year, which exceeds our requested level of WPI grants.
We conclude that ELSI’s capabilities of securing research funding are substantially matched to the WPI program.
Table 3. Total amount of research funds obtained by 10 Japanese PIs over the past five years (FY2007 - 2011), withpromised funds for FY2012 and FY2013.

Figure 16. Annual variations in the total research funds obtained by the 10 Japanese PIs and another 8 collaborative
researchers between FY2007 and FY2011. The dashed bars of FY2012 and FY2013 indicate those
informally-promised by the end of June 2012.

ii) Prospects after establishment of the center
We expect funds acquired by the 10 Japanese PIs and by the other 8 Japanese independent researchers should be
at least JPY 600 million/year and JPY 300 million/year, respectively. Based on results in the past 5 years and thecurrent trend (in the preceding section), we think these figures are probably realized. Note that the sum of thesefigures, which is JPY 900 million/year, already exceeds the amount of funds from the WPI program. In addition, we
expect other members of ELSI including the foreign PIs (5), adjunct associate professors (10), adjunct assistantprofessors (20), and PDs (21), whom ELSI will recruit, to annually obtain JPY 140 million (2.5 million yen/person) or（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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more by FY2015 and beyond. In total, we expect the funding that all the members of ELSI will obtain should be morethan JPY 1000 million/year (Figure 16).
In order to ensure that the expected funding appears, we provide the following structured and strategic efforts toall researchers in ELSI.
- By creating an environment in which all researchers in ELSI can concentrate on research, we will allow them toapply for more competitive funding programs.
- Research Advisors will fully assist PIs in acquiring funds, including arranging financial support and applications
with the help of the project support center of Tokyo Institute of Technology.
- We will provide comprehensive support to individual investigators in preparing competitive grant proposals tofunding agencies in Japan and elsewhere, including: start-up funding for feasibility studies; English and Japanese
language editorial support; opportunity identification; training and mentoring of early-career staff in proposal
development; brokering of internal and external collaborations; and rigorous internal review prior to proposal
submission.
The operation and administrative directors should regularly develop some trend analysis of national policy
objectives, related subsidies, and competitive funding programs with the help of the policy making body of Tokyo
Institute of Technology. This will ensure a cost-effective approach to support basic funding applications and the more
complicated and demanding approach necessary for foundations and other large sources of funds. We will propose
new future-oriented large-scale projects to the government on the basis of the trend analysis.
One of ELSI’s challenging subjects is to secure endowed research funds. The public relations departments will
examine possibilities of donations from education business communities and a framework for collecting small
donations from individuals and corporations in ELSI operations. We aim at raising our collaborative research funds
including endowed funds to more than JPY 150 million by FY2019.
The Tokyo Institute of Technology will cover funds for the labor expenses for internally hired researchers (PIs: 6
professors and associate professors with 80 to 90% effort rate (= Effort 1); co-researchers: 8 professors and associate
professors with 50% effort rate) and administrative staff members, and will provide large equipment, etc., that should
be worth about JPY 145 million a year.
In summary, we expect to secure resources greater than the amount allocated as WPI grants throughout theimplementation period with the funds acquired through the above efforts (Figure 17).

Figure 17. Prospects of research funds. The total amounts of KAKENHI, sponsored research funds, collaborative
funds, and university grants/operating subsidies will far exceed the amount of requested fund from the WPI
program (yellow balls). Additionally, this figure includes the support from G-COE program until FY2013 and its
compensation from the President’s discretionary fund after FY2014.

(8) Exploiting the results of previously-initiated center-building efforts (when applicable)
Program name: Global Center Of Excellence program (G-COE)
Project title: From the Earth to “Earths”
Representative’s name: Shigeru Ida
Funding period: FS2009-2013
Related to the G-COE program above, the university provided the following support for our activity:
Financial support
・ FS2009 JPY9,150,057
・ FS2010 JPY5,632,000・ FS2011 JPY4,063,000・ FS2012 JPY4,161,000
Provision of research space
・ Room 403, 404, 405 in Ishikawadai no.6 Building in Ookayama campus
・ Room 009, 011, 017 in G1 Building in Suzukakedai campus
Total 10 units (1 unit: ~26 m2)（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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Previous G-COE programs have focused on the relationship between environmental change and evolution of lifeon Earth. Our focus was particularly on organisms in the Cambrian explosion and Snowball earth event 500 - 600
million years ago. We have carried out studies including geological decoding of environmental change before andafter the snowball Earth event and genome analysis of photosynthetic organisms in relation to adaptation to land. We
also looked at the evolution from prokaryotes to eukaryotes 1.9 – 2.0 billion years ago. Generalizing these results, wehave tried to discuss requirements for enlargement of life and adaptation to land on extra-solar terrestrial planets. We
recognized the role of solid Earth and environmental influences in the galaxy (influences of the universe) for variationof the Earth surface environments. This motivated us to make a project plan of ELSI with emphasis on the role ofsolid Earth led by a solid-earth geophysicist, Prof. Hirose as a leader. Research in ELSI will also highlight the early
Earth as the place of origin of life. Therefore, not only solid earth science, but also a theory of planet formation would
play an important role.
Using our experience to explore the relation between the snowball Earth event and discontinuous biologicalevolution, ELSI will explore the relationship between the early Earth and the origin of life. We have already been
focusing on Japanese geothermal and serpentine hydrothermal areas - Hakuba hot springs, which are thought to bemodern analogues of hydrothermal area on the ocean floor, a promising location for the origin of life. We havecollected microorganisms living in those extreme environments and we have analyzed their genomes.
In addition, data on life in extreme environments would be required to make our discussion of the origin of life on
the early Earth scientifically reliable. To achieve this, research projects in ELSI will closely link to the national
projects of a sample return mission for a primitive asteroid by JAXA’s “Hayabusa-2”, a possible future mission to icy
satellites, and exploration of deep-sea hydrothermal organisms by Japan’s renowned “Shinkai 6500”, which is run by
the Japan agency for marine-earth science and technology (JAMSTEC). It is the Earth that links deep ocean to deep
space (satellites of Jupiter and Saturn) in terms of life. The obtained knowledge would lead to understanding of life ina myriad of extra-solar terrestrial planets in the Galaxy.
The precursor programs 21COE - How to build habitable planets? (2004 -2008) as well as G-COE - From the
Earth to “Earths” (2009-2013) have achieved results by active collaboration of the history of the Earth, a theory ofplanet formation and ultra-high pressure experiments, which are Japanese specialty, with life science. Based on theseresults obtained by wide-field interdisciplinary collaboration, ELSI will much further proceed this line with emphasison the role of solid Earth and universe. It will also focus on not only the evolution of life but also the origin of life by
involving “Hayabusa-2” and “Shinkai 6500”. Thereby, we believe that ELSI will become a world-leading institute.
After the funding from the above-mentioned G-COE program ends in 2013, the university has promised that they
will provide US$1,125,000 every year after 2014 until the end of this WPI program from the president’s discretion
money. This amount of money is equivalent to the support from the G-COE program.

Others1) Activities after the end of the program period
The Center Director will do his utmost best to seek donations to ELSI from international nonprofit corporations
and from companies with close relations to Tokyo Tech. Several research topics of ELSI, such as extraterrestrial life
and the space craft “Hayabusa” are of general interest to the public, which may help us to collect donations.
After the end of the support under the WPI program, the activity of ELSI will continue based on 1) external funds
acquired by Principal Investigators and other members, 2) continued support from the university, and 3) donations
from outside.
2) Effects on other institutions
Internationalization is one of the important goals of this program. 1) English-based administration, 2) merit-based
annual salary & incentive, 3) non-Japanese family support systems will be secured at the Center. These can be models
for other institutions to host researchers from abroad.
ELSI will be highly research-oriented institute. For this purpose,- Annual Evaluation Workshops will be held to evaluate the research results by each scientist, which reflect in theannual salary and incentive given by the Center Director.
- Research Advisors with academic background will provide a wide range of support to all scientists.
- PIs from Tokyo Tech will be reassigned to the Center, in order to be exempted from the duty of teachingundergraduate students.
- A research-oriented Administrative Division will be created through 1) evaluation by researchers, 2) consequent
merit-based incentives, 3) dissemination of the latest research results, 4) stays at the overseas satellite center tolearn efficient system.
These unique systems may be helpful for other organizations to become more highly research-oriented.
ELSI will have strong connections to the general public.
- Research Communicators with full academic background will be in charge of overall outreach activities.
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- They will organize 1) press releases, 2) regular meetings with reporters/journalists, 3) a Summer Internship Programfor high-school students, etc.
Active outreach will make the ELSI and the host institute more visible from the outside, which will be a big
advantage for each institute.
3) Other plans important for the establishment of a leading global research center
ELSI will be a world communication center in related research fields. We will invite top-level professors on
sabbatical leave to stay for half a year or a year as well as support short stays by both established and young active
scientists. At the same time, the Center will encourage all scientists including PhD students to stay at oversea partner
institutions for a while to exchange ideas and collaborative research. We will also dispatch administrators to ouroversea satellite institute (Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton).
Researchers at ELSI will be actively encouraged to organize sessions closely related to their research topics atrelevant international conferences. The Goldschmidt Conference, which gathers 4000 researchers from all around theworld, will be held in Japan in 2016, which is a good opportunity to summarize our research results in the midst of the
project.
We already have nine years of experience of interdisciplinary research between geoscience and life sciencethrough 21st-Century COE and G-COE programs. Additionally, ELSI will have several plans to unite the team to
explore the early Earth and life. First of all, we need to promote internal communications within ELSI. We will
therefore prepare a Common room as well as daily, weekly, and monthly events following the model of IAS,
Princeton, where Prof. Piet Hut, one of PIs, is based. Second, we may replace some PIs after midterm evaluation,
based on their research performance. And third, the Director will co-supervise each young scientist. Under thesupervison by the Director, they will interact not only with their main advisor but also with other PIs to promoteinterdisciplinary research.
ELSI will have several young active Associate PIs in addition to PIs. They will make significant scientificcontributions in environmental chemistry and synthetic biology. Such Associate PIs will have their own researchgroup at ELSI.

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The Goal of Research at the Earth-Life Science InstituteCenter Director of the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI):

Kei Hirose
1. The Main Purpose of Research at ELSIThe main purpose of our research will be to solve one of the most fundamental questions of humankind:when and where and how were the first life forms born, and how did they evolve? This question, which
originated with the Greek nature philosophers, has been one of the most important topics of natural science.
However, it has remained largely dormant because of the great difficulty of making inroads into a problem
with such enormous complexity together with an almost complete lack of direct observational evidence.
Only the last few decades have seen various areas of science maturing enough to begin to tackle thesefundamental questions head on.
The name of our proposed institute reflects this recent maturity, in which geophysics, geology,
biochemistry, molecular biology as well as computer science and other fields in science are teaming up
together. ELSI, or Earth-Life Science Institute, aims at bringing together scientists from all fields related tothe study of the early Earth in relationship to the study of early forms of life.

What distinguishes ELSI from other institutes studying life sciences is the emphasis on the "origin of(Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

1

life in context", namely on Earth, in a specific ecological system. So far, discussions about the origin of life
have primarily taken off from the viewpoint of biochemistry, against the backdrop of a particular choice of
natural environment, a type of rock or pool or ocean floor, but with most of the attention directed to thebiochemistry of proto-life forms. We want to change that, by focusing equally strongly on both sides ofEarth and Life, because life is a phenomenon that is preserved through exchange of energies and materials
with the surrounding environment.
It is highly probable that the environment of the Earth around the time of the birth of life wassignificantly different from that of the present. For example, the Earth may have been surrounded by a seaof sulfuric acid. We will approach this problem from two directions: forwards, using theoretical models of
the formation of the Earth and backwards, tracing back the geological record.
The forwards approach starts with the origin of the Earth. Through the theory of planet formation andmaking use of the world's cutting-edge computer simulation technology, the formation process of the Earth
in

the

solar

systemwill

bemodeled

from

first

principles.

In

addition,byutilizinghigh-pressure/high-temperature experiments, which is Japan’s specialty, we will investigate the material’s
differentiation of the Earth and replicate its core, mantle, crust, atmosphere, and oceans.
The backwards approach needs a rich data base mapping out the geological record. Fortunately, we canutilize the 165000 samples spanning the history of the Earth, stored in the Museum of Evolving Earth atTokyo Tech. We will thus investigate changes in the environment back to 3.5 billion years ago, and estimate
as best as we can the environment in the Hadean Eon. We will study “places” on the early Earth, which
could have provided both energy and nutrients indispensable to life. This will help us to specify theenvironment that gave birth to life.
In the field of genomic science, relations between specific environmental factors and the gene pools of
microorganisms are now being documented, and stored in data bases. We will utilize these to estimate the“initial genome” of life born in a special environment on the early Earth. Furthermore, we will attempt toactually reconstruct one of the initial cells by using a synthetic biological approach. In other words, we will
replace the biology question for the “origin of life” with the more relevant interdisciplinary question
regarding the “birth of a persistent ecological system.” An important goal in our research will be to developthese data base systems further, in order to clarify the initial ecological system that allowed a stable andpersistent existence of life even under the various harsh and violent changes of the environment that
happened on the early Earth.
We will complement these more theoretical approaches with research directly based on experiments andobservations. One PI in our institute is in charge of a search for micro organisms in hydrothermal systems
at the deep-sea floor, using the “Shinkai 6500” submersible. Another PI is in charge of an investigation ofprimitive asteroid using the spacecraft “Hayabusa-2”. The deep-sea floor hydrothermal system andprimitive asteroid may have provided energy and material necessary for the birth of life on Earth,respectively.
As a result of the Earth-Life focus in our research, we will be able to understand what was special about
the Earth, as the planet where life originated, that ultimately gave rise to our existence. As a corollary of(Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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our research, we will contribute to a wider understanding of the universality of life and its possible modesof origin on other planets, in our solar system and beyond. We will also proactively participate in space
exploration projects (such as missions to Europa and Enceladus, which have an internal ocean) as well as inprojects using next-generation telescopes now under construction, in order to look for biomarkers by
remote sensing of terrestrial planets outside the solar system.

2. Setting Up a Research Environment of Great Excellence
The research environment of Tokyo Tech is already quite good, and the individual results by each of the
Principal Investigator are at the world’s top level. However, most results so far have been obtained withinwell circumscribed and established research disciplines. What we need to progress further is a strong
enhancement of hybrid forms of research, spanning different fields. This requires substantial effort, coupledwith a willingness to lower the barriers that currently mark the boundaries of different disciplines. Our
greatest challenge is how to set up a research environment that exhibits great diversity in disciplines while
retaining the great excellence that Tokyo Tech has established in individual disciplines.
Interdisciplinary research has been recommended in various research programs, including the WPI
program. However, translating these good intentions into actual thriving collaborations is far from trivial.
For one thing, researchers trying to cross boundaries between different fields typically continue to havetheir offices in different buildings, making communication already much less natural and frequent. Even
when well funded, in practice these barriers greatly reduce the efficiency of multi-disciplinary
collaborations.
In ELSI our foremost concern is to create a physical environment which naturally encourages and infact enforces daily communication between all its researchers. ELSI will be housed in a single building,with a Common Room in which daily activities will be organized to promote many kinds of exchanges
between all researchers and staff members. However, that in itself will not be sufficient, and we know manycases in most universities where even people in adjacent offices rarely talk to each other. Something moreis needed.
The well-known Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton has four roughly equal groups ofresearchers in the very different areas of mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, and historicalstudies. After a long period of trial and error, during the first seventy years of its existence, there was still
little direct communication between these four main groups. In order to remedy this situation, ten years ago
a new Program in Interdisciplinary Studies was started at IAS, which has been greatly successful informing rich bridges between the four groups, as documented in a recent report by an external visiting
committee.
Encouraged by the success of that Program of Interdisciplinary Studies, we have approached the Headof the program, Professor Piet Hut, inviting him as a PI for our new center, in a two-fold function.
First, we would like him to repeat the success of the development of his program in the environment ofTokyo Tech. Second, we would like to establish his original program at IAS as a Satellite Center for our(Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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WPI center, encouraging two-way exchanges between both scientists and administrators between ELSI and
IAS. After we explained our vision, Professor Hut enthusiastically agreed to play this double role within
ELSI.

Japan is still lagging far behind Western nations in international exchanges. There exist significant
obstacles that foreign researchers must overcome in order to do their research in Japan. The biggest
obstacle might be a sense of alienation brought about by the language barrier. Therefore, we willthoroughly enforce the use of English as the official language at ELSI. Also, we will dispatch some of theleading administrators at ELSI to our overseas satellite center at IAS, for stays of up to several months inorder to learn how the IAS functions in practice on a day-to-day basis, encouraging an atmosphereconducive to open and free ranging research. We will hire more than 30 researchers from abroad and invite
famous foreign researchers on sabbatical to stay at ELSI. We will also ask Japanese researchers to visit theoverseas satellite center or other collaborating organizations in order to expand their contacts throughinternational networks.

3. Strengthening of the Public Relations Division
The success of ELSI is directly connected with its visibility. In order to attract researchers from abroad,active young and upcoming researchers as well as famous older scientists, it is essential to establish a broad
awareness of ELSI, of its mission as well as its accomplishments. And in the long run, after the initial WPI
funding runs out, high visibility of ELSI will increase our ability to attract competitive funds by principal
researchers as well as continued support from the university and contribution from external foundations and(Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

4enterprises.
We are therefore highly motivated to make every effort to promote public relations activities within
ELSI. The Center Director will reach out to the general public at every opportunity, both in Japan andabroad. Several principal researchers are serving as chairs for their relevant academic societies. Theirinternational networks will also be helpful.
Actual public relations activities will be carried out by a group of dedicated science communicators.
First of all, they will proactively share the results of research projects at ELSI. In addition to events
surrounding specific publications of broader interest, they will periodically organize press conferences withgeneral writers, journalists, and science writers. They will also hold regular seminars for the general public
and summer intern programs for high school students. Fortunately, outreach activities are poised to be
successful already by the very nature of ELSI, since questions like the origin of life, and life on otherplanets, are sure to grab the attention of the public. For example, the return of “Hayabusa” received great
attention in Japan, while books and movies related to astrobiology, planets beyond the solar system, thecenter of the Earth, and snowball Earth have been released. Thanks to those, some of the main key words
related to research at ELSI are already widely recognized.
In addition, we will make connections between the public relations activities of ELSI and those at
Tokyo Tech. This will also increase awareness of Tokyo Tech itself as a top-level university within Japan.
Currently, the general public in the U.S. has a much greater awareness of the existence and excellence of
MIT or CalTech, compared with the awareness in Japan towards Tokyo Tech. It is high time to change thatlack of awareness within Japan, as well as from outside Japan. This will be one important way in which
ELSI can perform an essential service for its hosting university, Tokyo Tech. For this reason, theuniversity’s Public Relations Division needs to be strengthened.

(Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

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Host Institution’s Commitment
Date 9 November, 2012
To MEXT
National University Corporation
Tokyo Institute of Technology

Yoshinao Mishima, President
I confirm that the measures listed below will be taken faithfully if “(center name)” is adopted under theWorld Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI).
＜Provision in host institution’s mid-to-long-term plan＞
Tokyo Institute of Technology (herein after “Tokyo Tech”) has formulated the long-term vision “Vision 2009”
as well as the mid-term targets and plans as follows.
[Tokyo Institute of Technology Vision 2009]
The Vision 2009: A Vision for the Future of Tokyo Institute of Technology (herein after “Tokyo Tech”), which
focuses on the next ten years, is a view to enable Tokyo Tech to fulfill this mission over the long-term andcontribute to ongoing world development in the midst of the unprecedented difficulties facing humankind. We have
set the followings as goals for the item “III. Research”:
1. Create new academic fields
Pay adequate attention to securing the research funds and space necessary to promote basic and challenging
research that conventionally should be encouraged by Tokyo Tech as a university.
2. Create new values by systematically strengthening research
Select research fields in which Tokyo Tech can demonstrate its strengths on a university/departmental basis, andstrengthen the Institute’s research capacity by concentrating investments on resources in these areas, etc.
3. Establish a hub for international collaborative research
Rally researchers with diverse global perspectives and establish an international collaborative research hub tocontribute to addressing social needs and solving global issues.
[Medium-term targets/plan]- The forewords of the medium-term plan (2010 to 2015) define the basic principles of Tokyo Tech as follows:“Based on the recognition that the basis of the sustainable development of Japan and contribution to the world lies
in “human resources”, Tokyo Tech will stabilize its position as a global education and research base throughnurturing “knowledgeable, skilled, ambitious, peace-minded and harmony-seeking scientific creators of thetimes”.
- “Target concerning research level and results” of the medium-term target states, “Based on the variety of creative
research results in the basic and fundamental areas backed by a long-term viewpoint, Tokyo Tech will create newvalues including integrated areas and new areas.”- “Target concerning research implementation structure, etc.” states, “Establish a structure for flexible
implementation of organizational research utilizing the knowledge and resources of Tokyo Tech.”
The Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) will integrate the research in various disciplines and gather
world-leading researchers to solve one of the most fundamental questions of humankind: how did life originate andevolve on Earth. The establishment of ELSI and associated innovations in science and technology match theabove-mentioned vision and medium-term targets and plan. Therefore, the university will promptly revise to include
ELSI in the medium-term targets and plan.

＜Concrete Measures＞(1) How it will support the center’s need to secure resources that match or exceed the project grant through suchmeans as competitive grants obtained by researchers participating in the project, in-kind contributions and otherforms of assistance by the host institution (including partial payment of salaries, provision of research space),
and/or external donations. In the case of project exploiting previously-initiated center-building efforts, how it will
（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

1

assist the center in securing sufficient independent resources to continue to secure the same scale of themeasured amount through independent resources after that funding eventually ends.

From the start, ELSI will be competitive in its ability to attract external grants, given the excellent track record of
its PIs, who have already brought in a level of funding comparable to what WPI can provide. In addition to that very
promising outlook, we will add additional support in the following ways.
a) Concrete support for acquiring and utilizing competitive funding
We will provide extensive guidance, in terms of advice, coaching and language support to the foreign members of
ELSI, to enable them, too, to be competitive in applying for Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI). This
will make ELSI an unusually attractive place for foreigners to work, given the existing barriers in language andculture in most other Japanese research institutes.
In addition to these concrete scientific and administrative forms of support, we will also provide an equallyconcrete financial form of support: part of the indirect expense of acquired research grants (KAKENHI) will be
provided directly to the researchers at ELSI.
b) Concrete measures to increase research time for ELSI members
We fully understand that the main goal of a WPI institute is the creation of a place where scientists canconcentrate on their research, in an international and interdisciplinary setting. The university will work toward thisgoal in two ways. First, the PIs employed by Tokyo Tech will be transferred to ELSI to reduce their current duties.
Second, we will provide members from our own administrative staff at no cost to ELSI, to build up an independent
Administrative Division (for general affairs and planning, research support, financing and facilities, etc.). In doing so,
we will select staff members with excellent linguistic abilities and extensive administrative experience. In short, we
will shield ELSI members from much of the day-to-day chores interfering with research, both by lightening their
non-research work load and by providing administrators of high caliber to help them focus on establishing an ideal
research environment.
c) Concrete continued funding through discretionary funds
After the current Global Center of Excellence (herein after G-COE) Program is terminated, about 100 million yen (thesame amount as the operating cost of the existing G-COE program) will be provided to ELSI from discretionary funds
by the President of Tokyo Tech.
(2) How it will institute a system under which the center’s director is able to make substantive personnel and budget
allocation decisions necessary to implementing the center project—a system, which in practice, allows the center
director autonomy in making decisions regarding the center’s operation.

- ELSI will be established as an independent organization inside Tokyo Tech. The prospective Center Director of
ELSI will have authority to make all decisions related to the Cenetr, including personnel affairs (excluding hiringand firing of the Center Director him/herself) and execution of the budget, etc. He receives advice from theSteering Committee, for which the Center Director him/herself serves as the Chairperson, but makes final decisions
by himself.
- The Center Director will evaluate both researchers and administrative staff members, and can provide them withextra incentives, depending on their performance.
(3) The support it will provide to the center director in coordinating with other departments within the host institution
when recruiting researchers for the center, while giving reasonable regard to the educational and research
activities of those departments.

- We will make arrangements directly with those departments that provide one or more researchers belonging to
ELSI, to ensure that those researchers will have unusual amounts of time and freedom to concentrate on theirresearch, for example by appointing substitute professors for educational activities.
(4) Its flexibility in applying, revising, or supplementing the host institution’s internal systems as needed for the centerto effectively implement new management methods (e.g., English-language environment, merit-based pay,
top-down decision making) unfettered by conventional modes of operation.

- English will be used as the primary language inside ELSI.
- Some departments of Tokyo Tech have internationally recruited researchers and provided support for them inEnglish for research and administration. Utilizing such know-how, international recruiting will be conducted for all
research positions in ELSI, to prepare a top-notch internationally inviting environment.
- We will support the dispatch and extended visits for several months of the administrative staff in ELSI to an
overseas satellite. In addition, exchange visits of part of the administrative staff of the satellite center to Tokyo
Tech will be encouraged.
- Tokyo Tech has already introduced a salary system that provides extra financial incentives for researchers andadministrative staff members in recognition of their proven abilities and performance. For the overseas Principal（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

2

Investigators, an annual salary system will be adopted.
- Additional incentives will be made available for members of ELSI, based on their performance, such as
improvements in research facilities for researchers, and opportunities to be dispatched overseas for administrative
staff members (if they so desire). Decisions will be made depending on presentation of results held at the Annual
Evaluation Workshop that will be the end of every academic year.
- Except for cases of hiring and firing of personnel or a drastic revision of financial projects, the Center Director of
ELSI will be given the freedom to follow a streamlined and flexible policy in which he/she can make decisions
without the need to consult the Steering Committee.
- In addition to these specifics, in general we will operate its existing systems in flexible ways, leaving room forrevisions and additions when required by ELSI.
(5) Its accommodation of the center’s infrastructural requirements (for facilities, e.g., laboratory space; equipment;
land, etc.).

- The board of Tokyo Tech assured approximately 1500 m2 of floor space for ELSI at the start-up and additionally up
to approximately 2100 m2 by 2015 in an existing building. The building is located closely to the building of the
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences that ELSI is most closely related. This will include research labs,
offices for clerical work, and a presentation room for an audience of 150, as well as meeting rooms on each floor.
Research can be carried out there from the opening day of ELSI. Moreover, renovation of the building will create
an environment encouraging researchers from different fields to communicate frequently and comfortably on adaily basis.
- Moreover, approximately 500 m2 of research space is currently used by the existing G-COE program. In addition,
ELSI will be eligible for the system already established at Tokyo Tech that provides space preferentially toresearchers who acquire large competitive funding. These additional spaces will enable researchers of ELSI andrelated graduate students of Tokyo Tech to conduct joint research.
- Depending on additional growth of ELSI, we are prepared to provide more space on its campus.
- The Ookayama Campus of Tokyo Tech, housing ELSI, is located near a train station about 30-minutes away fromthe center of Tokyo. It has a number of large and small conference halls that can hold an international symposium,a main hall, a library, and a restaurant. Therefore, the campus is suited for meetings of world-leading researchers.
We will provide support for preferential usage of such common spaces.
- Meeting spaces and the lecture hall in our Tamachi Campus, located in the heart of Tokyo, is convenient for
researchers from abroad and from locals who are working with a tight schedule. We will provide support for
preferential usage of such spaces as well.
- We will encourage researchers of ELSI to use the most advanced research equipment available at Tokyo Tech incoordination with each department.
- Our on-campus accommodation, the International House, offers single and family rooms for young overseas
researchers and short-term visitors. It is conveniently located right next to the building of ELSI and provides apreferable environment for researchers. 20 rooms of which will be preferentially secured for ELSI use. Off-campus
accommodations will be also arranged.
(6) How it will support to sustain the center as a world premier international research center after the WPI-grant
period ends.

- ELSI's goal is to become an established institute where superior geoscientists and biologists gather from around theworld when the WPI-grant period ends. With ELSI forming a significant face for Tokyo Tech as a leading research
center, we will in turn continue to provide support, such as funding and space.
- In addition, we will aid ELSI in obtaining continuous support from outside of Tokyo Tech, in terms of competitive
funding, and contribution from foundations and enterprises.
- Already before the end of the WPI program, Tokyo Tech as a whole will internally adopt widely those parts of
ELSI's innovative systems that have proven to be effective.
- We will encourage ELSI to coordinate with centers of other programs at Tokyo Tech that have a similar structure toprovide stronger ties with higher efficiencies and more leverage.
(7) Other types of assistance it will provide to give maximum support to the center in achieving its concepts andobjectives and becoming a world premier international research center in both name and deed.

- In order to develop ELSI into a truly global research institute, it is very important to publicize the activities of ELSI
both inside and outside of Japan, in order to highlight its presence. From such a viewpoint, the Research Strategy
Office, the Planning Office, the International Office, and the Center for Public Relations will all collaborate to plan
public relations strategies of Tokyo Tech to effectively advertise the research activities and results of ELSI.
- While integrating the PR activities of ELSI with the PR activities of Tokyo Tech, the PR activities of Tokyo Tech
will be strengthened in line with public relations strategies.

（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)）

3

(Appendix 1)

List of Principal Investigators

1

Current affiliation(organization, department)

Academic degree andcurrent specialties

Name

Age

Kei
HIROSE*

44

Tokyo Institute of Technology,
Graduate School of Science and Engineering,
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Ph.D.
High-pressure Geoscience*

62

Tokyo Institute of Technology,
Graduate School of Science and Engineering,
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Ph.D.
Geology, Tectonics,
History of Life and the Earth**

Shigenori
2
MARUYAMA*

Notes

3

Shigeru
IDA*

52

Tokyo Institute of Technology,
Graduate School of Science and Engineering,
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Ph.D.
Planetary Sciences,
Planetary Physics.

4

Piet
HUT*

60

Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton,
Program of Interdisciplinary Studies.

Ph.D.
Theoretical Astrophysics,
Interdisciplinary Studies.

49

Tokyo Institute of Technology,
Graduate School of Science and Engineering,
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Ph.D.
Computational Astronomy*

58

Tokyo Institute of Technology
Interdisciplinary Graduate School of
Science and Engineering,
Department of Environmental Chemistry andEngineering

Doctor of Science
Environmental Chemistry,
Global Change Analysis*

44

Tokyo Institute of Technology
Graduate school of Bioscience and Biotechnology
Department of Biological Information

Ph.D.
Metagenomics,
Bioinformatics*

58

Ehime University
Geodynamics Research Center

Ph.D.
High-pressure geosciences,
Materials sciences

59

California Institute of Technology,
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences.

Ph.D.
Geobiology, Paleomagnetism,
Biophysics, Neurobiology.

56

University of Minnesota
College of Science and Engineering,
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials
Science

Ph.D.
Physics

from Dec. 2013

Ph.D.
Atmospheric Physics,
Planetary physics

from Oct. 2015

Junichiro
5
MAKINO*

Naohiro6
YOSHIDA*

Ken
7
KUROKAWA*
Tetsuo8
IRIFUNE*

9

Joseph Lynn
KIRSCHVINK*

Renata10
WENTZCOVITCH*

Max Planck Institute for Astronomy,
Department of Planet & Star Formation

Lisa
11
KALTENEGGER

35

Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics,
Solar System and Planetary Sciences（Host institution：National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology Center name：Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) ）1