College of Engineering signs Exchange Agreements with the School of Engineering at Tohoku University, Japan

July 24, 2005 On May 16th , Dr. Kouris (Mechanical Engineering) and Dr. Yamamoto (Modern & Classical Languages) visited the Division of International Education & Exchange (DIEE), Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University. The DIEE staff` and Prof. Iwakuma discussed the possibility of an exchange agreement between the University of Wyoming and the School of Engineering at Tohoku University. After the meeting, Dr. Kouris and Dr. Yamamoto met Prof. Iguchi (Dean of the School of Engineering) and also visited the International Student Center at Tohoku. Following the visit of the UW faculty, two agreements were signed between the two engineering schools. The first is designed to facilitate the exchange of undergraduate students (see Junior Year Program in English below). This agreement provides an opportunity to our students to spend up to a year taking classes at Tohoku. The second is designed to promote joint research activities and short term visits of faculty and graduate students.

Engineering at TohokuUniversity

Tohoku University was founded in 1907. It is located in Sendai, in the heart of the beautiful northeastern (Tohoku in Japanese) region of Japan. This academic City of Forest has long been a center of learning in Japan. The Faculty of Engineering at Tohoku Imperial University was founded in 1919 with three departments: Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Applied Chemistry. Four other departments, Metallurgy, Aeronautics, Electrical Communications, and Mining and Mineral Engineering were added in 1923, 1939, 1941 and 1944, respectively. With the introduction of the new school system in 1949, four new schools were established. The new schools later merged to form the College of Foundation Studies, which was responsible for teaching introductory disciplines, common to their respective core curricula. At the same time, the School of Engineering was restructured in a merger with the Sendai Polytechnic, which added departments related to Civil Engineering and Architecture. The rapid development of Japanese industry in the late 1950's and 1960's brought increasing demand for engineers and researchers in a variety of existing and newly developed interdisciplinary fields. In order to respond to these demands, the Departments of Electronic Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Applied Physics were added between 1958 and 1965; Metal Processing and Information Engineering was added in 1984. In 1991, Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering II and Precision Engineering were reorganized into three new departments with specific objectives, namely, Intelligence and Systems Engineering, Mechatronics and Precision Engineering, and Aeronautics and Space Engineering, respectively.

In 2001 the University Council established three fundamental policies:

• Research-intensive university as its mission,
• Open university to the world and community as its principle, and
• Development of leading human resources as its educational goal.

Tohoku university aims to remain a world leader in the field of engineering. Frontier research has lead to original inventions, discoveries and many international achievements. The university has produced many distinguished and talented researchers including, Kotaro Honda, Kinjiro Okabe, Hakaru Masumoto, Takejiro Murakami, Hidetsugu Yagi, Junichi Nishizawa and Koichi Tanaka who is a graduate of Department of Electrical Engineering and received the Novel Prize in Chemistry in 2002.

In order to ensure that global outstanding standards are maintained in research, education and learning, the university has developed a network of collaborative programs with many foreign institutes. At present, Tohoku University has academic exchange agreements with more than 250 foreign universities and research institutes. In addition, Tohoku University has 1,124 foreign students from 77 countries (as of May 2004) and hosts more than 1,000 foreign academic visitors every year. At the Graduate School of Engineering, several 21st Century Center of Excellence programs and joint research projects with industry in every field are ongoing. Eight donated research units supported by industry have either been established or are planned for the next couple of years. The school is also very active in international exchange of students, researchers and cooperative research projects. In order to provide an opportunity for foreign students to take education, science, and engineering courses, the university offers theTohoku University Junior Year Program in English. A number of courses at the Graduate School of Engineering are also given in English.

Junior Year Program in English (JYPE)

This program was implemented to promote and support international cultural exchange at Tohoku University. The program benefits only students from institutions which hold a formal exchange agreement with Tohoku University. The JYPE was designed for international exchange students who are interested to take courses in education, science and engineering at Tohoku University without having Japanese language proficiency. The program also offers courses on Japanese language, history and social study aiming the promotion and better understanding of Japanese cultural and social customs. Social and cultural exchange with Japanese students is an integral part of the program. This is usually accomplished through participation in classes as well as in activities of Tohoku University research groups to which the students are assigned. Complementary social events are organized throughout the year to provide further opportunity for social and cultural exchange. Applicants are strongly recommended to take an one-year course, however, students may be admitted for one semester only. The students in this program are registered as special non-degree students. The tuitions fees are waived by Tohoku University in accordance with formal academic agreement. Although the students should bear the cost of living, they are entitled to apply for a financial aid from the Japanese Government.

Division of International Education & Exchange at Tohoku University

The Division of International Education (http://www.ied.eng.tohoku.ac.jp/index_e.htm) was established in 1985 as part of the Faculty of Engineering to support its academic mission, offering services and programs to over 350 international students and their families. Services included Japanese language education, orientation, personal and academic advice and arrangement of social meetings.

Division of International Education & Exchange School of Engineering,Tohoku University, 6-6-04 Aramaki aza aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8579,Japane-mail: office@ied.eng.tohoku.ac.jp

Tohoku University International Student Center

The International Student Center (http://insc.tohoku.ac.jp/main_e.html) was established in April 1993 as a joint facility for the campus-wide education and academic research in Tohoku University. It was renamed as the Center for International Exchange on April 1st, 2005. We are living in a global society and many of us are required to interact with people from all over the world. The main purposes of the Center include, but are not restricted to, teaching international students the Japanese language, society, and culture with a particular emphasis on communication, providing international students with guidance and support and thereby helping them to enjoy their lives in and outside Sendai, promoting interchanges between international students and Japanese students, and providing support for Japanese students who are planning to study abroad.

For more information:

Prof. Demitris Kouris Dept. of Mechanical Engineering 307-766-2122
kouris@uwyo.edu