Following this, there will be a panel discussion, where the pro-vice-chancellors and vice presidents of the two universities will be discussing the needs and strategies of facilitating higher education online.
In the last section, the direction for future research talks of Dialogue Series: UTokyo-Cambridge Voices will be unveiled.
UTokyo-Cambridge Voices is a series of two-way discourses between researchers of UTokyo and Cambridge on a specific aspect of their discipline. Themes of these research talks include; future technology for sustainability;the future of therapeutic development against neurodegenerative diseases; advanced materials for energy; robotics; global risk and public policy; and more are to come.
Moderator
Michael Handford
Professor of Applied Linguistics at Cardiff University
Adviser to the University of Tokyo
Michael Handford (PhD) is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Cardiff University, and Adviser to the University of Tokyo on internationalisation. He has published on discourse in professional settings, stereotyping and cultural identities at work, engineering education and communication, and internationalisation in higher education. From 2004-2015 he worked at the University of Tokyo, where he was Professor of International Education.
Speakers
David Cardwell
Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Strategy and Planning
Professor of Superconducting Engineering, Department of Engineering, School of Technology,
University of Cambridge
David Cardwell is the former Head of the Department of Engineering in Cambridge, where he founded the Cambridge Bulk Superconductivity Research Group – it was here that a world record for a trapped field in a superconductor was set in 2014 (17.6 Tesla).
He was elected to a Fellowship of the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering in 2012 in recognition of his contribution to the development of superconducting materials for engineering applications. He is also a Fellow of the UK’s Institute of Physics and the Institution of Engineering & Technology.
He holds a Doctor of Science degree from the University of Cambridge, and an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Warwick. He is a Fellow of Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge, where he has served as Tutor to undergraduates and as Admissions Tutor for Sciences.
Research Interests
The processing of bulk high temperature superconductors, which can be used to generate very high magnetic fields, and their applications in a range of fields.
Mamoru Mitsuishi
Executive Director and Vice President
Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering
The University of Tokyo
Prof. Mamoru Mitsuishi was appointed as an Executive Director and Vice President of the University of Tokyo in 2017. Prior to this he was the Dean of the School of Engineering. He graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science in Physics. Following this, he earned a second bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1981. He received his Master’s and doctorate degrees in 1983 and 1986, respectively from the University of Tokyo. He became a professor in 1999, and his areas of interest are biomedical robotics, and manufacturing systems. He is a member of various internationally renowned societies, such as the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP), where he is the president and fellow, and the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society.
Graham Virgo
Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Education Professor of English Private Law
University of Cambridge
Professor Graham Virgo QC (Hon) is Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education) at the University of Cambridge and Professor of English Private Law in the Faculty of Law.
Professor Virgo is a Fellow of Downing College, where he was previously Senior Tutor and Director of Studies in Law. He was previously Deputy Chair of the Faculty of Law. He is a barrister and Academic Bencher of Lincoln's Inn. His main research interests are in the fields of the Law of Restitution, Equity and Trusts and the substantive Criminal Law.
Tatsuya Okubo
Executive Vice President
Professor at the School of Engineering
The University of Tokyo
Okubo was appointed as Executive Vice President of the University of Tokyo in April 2020. As Executive Vice President he is responsible for matters concerning Education, Student Support and Facilities in the university. He graduated from the Department of Chemical Engineering in 1983 and subsequently received his Master’s and doctorate degrees in 1985 and 1988, respectively from the University of Tokyo. Having worked as a research associate at Kyushu University and the University of Tokyo, he spent one year at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) as a visiting associate. He returned to the University of Tokyo in 1994, and has been a professor at the Department of Chemical System Engineering since 2006 (after the appointments of an assistant and associate professor). He served as Vice Dean from 2014 to 2017, and Dean of the School of Engineering from 2017 to 2020. He is well known in the field of zeolite science and engineering. He served as a council member of International Zeolite Association from 2010 to 2016, and also served as President of Japan Zeolite Association from 2018 to 2020.
Richard Prager
Head of Department of Engineering, School of Technology
University of Cambridge
Richard Prager founded the Medical Imaging Group in Cambridge’s Department of Engineering in 1992. Significant projects have included new fast and accurate calibration systems for tracked 3D ultrasound, the development of a high definition tracked 3D ultrasound system, innovative work on image-based freehand 3D ultrasound without an external tracking device, real-time 3D ultrasound deconvolution for image enhancement and three-dimensional elastography. He also led a project to develop a hybrid scanner that combines the benefits of both tracked and mechanically-swept 3D ultrasound. He is currently working on novel algorithms for high-resolution ultrasonic beam-forming, resulting in images that are in focus at all depths from a single ultrasound transmit-receive sequence.
In addition to research and teaching responsibilities, he is editor of the https://i-want-to-study-engineering.org/ website that is designed to make high quality preparatory material available to school students applying to read Engineering at university. He also led the project that created a smartphone application to teach the problem-solving part of school mathematics: https://maths.builders/ and an educational game to teach electrical circuit theory: https://wiredthegame.com/ .
He is the Senior Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor on Online Education. He is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institution of Engineering & Technology, and of Queens' College Cambridge.
Takao Someya
Professor and Dean, Graduate School of Engineering
The University of Tokyo
Takao Someya was appointed dean of Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo in April 2020, where he has been member of the faculty since 1997 after earning his doctorate in engineering there. After serving as research associate and lecturer, he conducted research as visiting scientist at Columbia University’s Nanocenter and concurrently as visiting scholar at Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies. At the University of Tokyo, he became associate professor at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology in 2002 and professor at the Graduate School of Engineering in 2009. He is also Team Leader at the Center for Emergent Matter Science in RIKEN since 2015. His area of expertise is soft electronics using organic semiconductors, developing the world's first electronic artificial skin with qualities resembling human epidermal which can measure temperature and pressure distribution. His achievements have been widely recognized and the 16th Leo Esaki Prize in 2019 is among the many awards he has received.
Eilis Ferran
Pro-Vice Chancellor for Institutional and International Relations
University of Cambridge
Professor Eilís Ferran, FBA PhD is Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Institutional and International Relations and Professor of Company & Securities Law at the University of Cambridge, and a Professorial Fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge.
Eilís has written extensively on UK, EU and international financial regulation, company law and corporate finance law. She has advised UK Parliamentary committees and served as an academic member of Stakeholder Group of the European Banking Authority. She is a non-executive director of Euroclear SA/NV.
Eilís is a Fellow of the British Academy and an Honorary Bencher of Middle Temple.
As Pro-Vice-Chancellor she has strategic responsibility for Cambridge University’s staff policies and significant international academic partnerships.
Naoto Sekimura
Vice President
Professor at the Department of nuclear Engineering and Management, School of Engineering
The University of Tokyo
Dr. Naoto Sekimura has been serving as a Vice-President since April 2017 with a focus on international affairs. He is responsible for the Strategic Partnership Project of the University of Tokyo and Japanese language education for international students.
He is also a Professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Management, School of Engineering. He completed his Ph.D degree in 1986 at Department of Nuclear Engineering of the University of Tokyo, and became a full professor of the University of Tokyo in 2000.
Research Interests
His research interests include safety and maintenance engineering for complex systems, ageing management of nuclear reactors, codes and standards for structural design and inspection, and effects of radiation in solid materials. He is also serving as a Chairperson of the Nuclear Safety Examination Committee in the Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan.