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List of Departments - Natural Sciences

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Natural Sciences

| Physics | Chemistry | Biology | Graphic and Computer Sciences |
| Earth Science and Astronomy | Sports Sciences | Mathematics |
| Komaba Institute for Science |

Physics

The Department of Physics is responsible for physics education in the Junior Division of the College of Arts and Sciences at the Komaba Campus. Physics is a discipline that aims to understand the fundamental laws of nature, and lies not only at the heart of the natural sciences but also underpins much of modern scientific technology, such as electronics or telecommunications. Further, physics also provides us with an objective mindset for approaching a great variety of problems of contemporary society, such as energy and environment.

In line with the vision of liberal arts education at the College of Arts and Sciences, we at the Department of Physics believe that a fundamental knowledge of physics, regardless of whether they go on to pursue the subject at a specialist level, will equip students with a sound intellectual basis to engage with all areas of the natural sciences and wider societal problems. We thus offer lectures (including seminars and fieldwork) as well as introductory experiments in Physics. Specifically, we offer Foundation Courses in Mechanics, Thermodynamics (summer semester) and Electromagnetism (winter semester), plus a wide range of Integrated Courses such as Waves and Oscillations (winter semester), Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics, Analytical Mechanics, Modern Physics, Physics I, Physics II.

Staff at the Department not only teach in the Junior Division, but are researchers who are also responsible for teaching in the Senior Division and at the Graduate School. By interacting with them through lectures and discussion, students will thus have the opportunity to gain a feel for the current frontiers of research.

Chemistry

The Department of Chemistry is responsible for chemistry teaching in the Junior Division of the College of Arts and Sciences, and consists of a staff team of 11 professors, 6 associate professors and 11 research associates. For science students, we run Foundation Courses in Basics in Chemical Bonding, Basics in Material Chemistry and Introductory Experiments in Chemistry, and Chemical Thermodynamics A and B specifically for Natural Sciences II and III students. We also run Integrated Courses (E) for both science and arts students, including Introduction to Modern Chemistry, Basics in Organic Chemistry, Chemical Equilibrium and Kinetics, and Environmental Material Science, as well as Introduction to Material Chemistry I and II (Integrated Courses (E)) specifically for Humanities and Social Sciences students. Classes are run not only by members of the Department but also by members of other university faculties university faculties (e.g. Departments of Science, Engineering and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute for Solid State Physics, Institute for Industrial Science, the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology), and occasionally by some staff from other universities as part-time lecturers.

Biology

seibutsu01.jpg
Growth hormone secretory cells
in the anterior pituitary gland
(green: hormone granules,
red: cell nuclei)
The 21st century is often called the age of the life sciences. Indeed, almost every other Nobel Prize in Chemistry since the turn of the century has been on topics in the life sciences, blurring the boundary with the Prize in Physiology and Medicine. From the molecular world of DNA and protein, to the cellular world of cells and organisms and all the way to the macroscopic world of ecological communities and systems, modern biology encompasses an incredibly wide spectrum. While the school subject 'Biology' may have felt like memorisation, life sciences at university is completely different: it is a dynamic science, integrating theory and data from every scale to understand biological phenomena, and provides a foundation for tackling important problems of the 21st century such as food, health and environment.

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Forests in Ogasawara
On this basis, the Department of Biology provides the following courses in the Junior Division of the College of Arts and Sciences, taught by 22 professors, associate professors and research associates, as well as 14 part-time lecturers.

Foundation Courses Introductory Experiments (Biological Sciences) (Natural Sciences II and III), Biological Sciences (Natural Sciences I), Biological Sciences I and II (Natural Sciences II and III), Human Sciences (Natural Sciences III)
Integrated Courses Zoological Science, Plant Science, Modern Life Sciences (Humanities and Social Sciences students), Molecular Biology (Humanities and Social Sciences students), Experimental Life Sciences (Natural Sciences I), Cell biology, Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Experimental Biology, Field Course in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Thematic Courses Several unique lectures - for more information, please refer to the Syllabi and Timetables.

Do ask questions during class, as that helps to energise the discussion and deepen your understanding.

Graphic and Computer Sciences

The Department of Graphic and Computer Sciences aims to equip students with broad information literacy, as well as the skills to understand, communicate, and create through images. We provide the following courses, as a way to teach information and the graphics used to express them: Information (compulsory); Information Science; Programming Methodology; Introduction to Computer Science; Introduction to Using Information Systems; Graphic Science I and II; Laboratory Exercise for Graphic Science I and II; Graphic Science (for Humanities and Social Sciences students); Science and Technology Studies; and System Theory and Practice.

These courses provide all Junior Division students, regardless of discipline, with the information literacy needed for living through the modern information age; at the same time, they are also desired courses for those wishing to progress to the Departments of Engineering or Science in the Senior Division. Our emphasis on information and graphics is a reflection of the 'iconographic shift' in intellectual paradigm in the late 20th century (move away from analytical methods of dividing objects into words or mathematical formulae, to a scholarship that examines image in its totality for an understanding of its particular characteristics.)

Earth Science and Astronomy

The lectures and seminars offered by the Department of Earth Science and Astronomy focuses on natural phenomena of the Earth and the Universe. We teach an interdisciplinary science that has multiple disciplines of the natural sciences at its base, in order to understand such macro systems as the Earth and the Universe in their totality.

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A field trip to a meteor crater in Arizona, USA
Specific courses include Space Sciences I and II, Earth and Planetary Science I and II, Space Science (Practical) I and II, and Earth and Planetary Sciences (Practical). We also run seminars on a semi-regular basis. Further, to ensure that knowledge of the Earth and the Universe does not simply become an accumulation of theoretical knowledge from books and the Internet, we also organise trips to observatories, geosciences fieldwork in the vicinities of Tokyo, and a field trip to the western USA (including the Grand Canyon).

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The distribution of 1.3 million celestial
bodies in the celestial sphere,
as produced by the infrared
astronomy satellite Akari.
At university level, students are no longer expected to simply memorise what is spoon-fed to them, but instead to take initiative for their own learning through actively researching, analysing and assimilating key information themselves. We therefore recommend students to tackle texts such as What is Scientific Revolution? (Kagaku Kakumei towa nanika) (Akiho Miyashiro, Iwanami Shoten, 1998) related to the earth sciences, or Chandra: The Biography of S. Chandrasekhar (K.C. Wali, The University of Chicago Press, 1991) for space sciences, in order to appreciate the efforts and thinking of distinguished researchers.

For more information on our course content, as well as details of research at the Department, please refer to the departmental website below. Here, we also publicise all results from student satisfaction surveys on our lectures, which we hope will aid you in your studies.

Sports Sciences

Our department is responsible for the compulsory Physical Education course in the first year, as well as the second year elective practical course in Sports and Fitness Exercise, plus the Integrated Courses in Science for Human Movement and Fitness, Medical and Health Sciences of Sports, Mechanics of Physical Exercise, and Sport Science. Physical Education is compulsory and must be taken during set time periods; as well as practical classes, there are also common courses for learning the scientific principles behind exercise to appreciate its importance. Sports and Fitness Exercise in the second year is primarily a practical course and has a greater choice of sports than in the first year. Research at the Department covers a wide range of topics, with focus on exercise physiology, biomechanics and sports medicine. The Department website http://idaten.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp icon_window.gif gives details of our research, as well as course content for our Junior Division teaching.

Mathematics

When you hear of mathematics, your impression may be that of a dry process, learning formulae and theorems by rote or mechanically solving problems in textbooks. Yet this could not be further from the truth. The real crux of mathematics lies in realising the significance of these theorems and formulae, understanding their underlying principles and discovering the true joys and excitement of learning.

We run several courses for students in the Junior Division of the College of Arts and Sciences. In Mathematics I we teach mathematical analysis, which plays an important role in quantitatively analysing both natural and social phenomena; in Mathematics II we cover the principles of linear algebra, an essential tool for linear approximations. These courses are also accompanied by Practice in Mathematics Seminars. In the second year, we build on these foundations through Mathematical Sciences I, II and III.

Mathematics is a subject that forms the basis for objective and logical analysis and is essential for developing the skills of reasoning and argument that is increasingly needed in the global community. We hope that all students, regardless of discipline, will take advantage of the variety of Elective Courses we have on offer to engage with mathematical study. Although the initial hurdle may be challenging, the mathematical principles once learnt remain valid over time, and will undoubtedly form a strong foundation that will remain with you for life. Our classes are very different from the mathematics you are used to in high school, so we hope that you take the chance to attend seminars and classes, even if mathematics has not always been your forte.

Registration for Mathematical Science Courses in the Junior Division
Department of Mathematics Prospectus

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