Tokyo Tech Strategic Research Field SSI Next-generation Social Infrastructure We Envision 3rd Session
Listen to the voices of the Earth to create a sustainable human environment
Assoc. Prof. Tsubasa Okaze, Asst. Prof. Shuto Miyashita
School of Environment and Society
SSI has established four themes, “Building a Resilient Society,” “Designing Voices of the Earth,” “Creating Smart Cities,” and “Innovation,” to move toward the future society that we want to create. For this issue, we asked Associate Professor Tsubasa Okaze and Assistant Professor Shuto Miyashita of the School of Environment and Society to talk about the topic of “Designing Voices of the Earth.” We spoke with them about their current research and other activities at SSI.
Recommending effective countermeasures against snow accumulation and blowing snow through simulations
- First of all, what kind of research do you do, Associate Professor Okaze?
Okaze: I use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate wind fields and wind-related phenomena such as heat transport, concentration dispersion and drifting snow. I focus on understanding the mechanisms behind these phenomena and developing strategies to mitigate their adverse effects. Growing up in a snowy region, Yamagata, I have firsthand experience with its impact. This personal connection, combined with the real-world challenges posed by snow, has inspired me to dedicate my career to snow-related research.
For example, snow can be transported by the wind around buildings and cause snowdrift formation in unexpected places. The unexpected snowdrift sometimes leads to blocked paths and uneven snow accumulation on roofs, causing snow to fall from the eaves in to living environments. In addition, there are cases in which driving is impeded by poor visibility due to blowing snow.
Snow is a major challenge for people living in areas with heavy snowfall Although the problems from snow have long been recognized, there is still much to be solved. Therefore, I aim to analyze how wind carries snow and where it accumulates with CFD in order to develop effective countermeasures.
Assoc. Prof.Okaze
- I have heard that one of your strengths is simulations based on computational fluid dynamics.
Okaze: CFD originally came from the field of mechanical engineering related to the prediction of flow around aircraft and automobiles in engineering research fields. CFD was introduced into the field of architecture and building science in the 1980s, and is now widely used to predict wind load on building facades and strong winds around buildings. One of the pioneering researchers in Japan who introduced CFD into the architectural research field was my advisor, Professor Emeritus Akashi Mochida of Tohoku University.
When I was assigned to the Mochida Lab as a thesis student in 2005, Mochida was focusing his research on heat island countermeasures using CFD. Before joining to Tohoku University, he taught at the Niigata Institute of Technology, where he began to work on snow dispersion and snowdrift prediction with CFD. The topic of snow had laid idle for a while after he came to Tohoku University. Although he probably wanted me to research heat islands, I immediately gravitated towards studying snow, marking my first encounter with CFD. CFD is fascinating because it allows us to visualize the flow of air, which is invisible to the eye.
- Associate Professor Okaze, you have recently received the Hirata Award from the Japanese Society of Snow and Ice in 2022 as well as the Paper Award from the Heat Island Institute International in 2019.
Okaze: I am very happy to receive the Hirata Award, which honors individuals who have achieved outstanding results in snow and ice research and whose future growth deserves encouragement. The Paper Award I received was a collaborative effort with Professor Mochida and his students. This research was conducted during I was an assistant professor after receiving my doctorate, and aimed to address not only winter issues but also those of summer. The judges praised our estimates of how many people will be transported by ambulance for heatstroke in the 2050s if global warming continues at its current rate, based on meso scale meteorological simulations and past emergency transport data due to heatstroke.
While many researchers are focusing on issues in large cities, such as the heat island phenomenon, I plan to continue to focus on snow, which is a topic that holds special significance for me.
- I have heard that SSI plans to address the topic of “Creating a Sustainable Human Environment” with young researchers across disciplines as part of “Designing Voices of the Earth.”
Okaze: I am strongly interest in how global warming will change snowfall and blowing snow in the future. Studies in meteorology indicate that, although rising temperatures due to global warming would reduce the total amount of snowfall, the increase in water vapor in the atmosphere increases the frequency of heavy snowfall, not heavy rainfall, when there is precipitation.
For this reason, we are currently conducting joint research with researchers in a wide range of fields, including architecture, civil engineering, and meteorology, with the aim of creating a society that is resilient to snow. We are also exchanging ideas with researchers in Norway, Switzerland, and other countries, as Japan is not the only country with snow-related problems. SSI also hopes to work toward a sustainable future society through information exchange and joint research with researchers in SSI.
Supporting “transdisciplinary research” for social implementation
Asst.Prof.Miyashita
- Next, what kind of research do you do, Assistant Professor Miyashita?
Miyashita: My area of expertise is Management of technology (MOT). Management of Technology is a branch of management science that studies the methodology for commercialization and industrialization of technologies created through research and development. The goal of Management of Technology is to create new value through innovative technologies and ideas, and to deliver innovations that bring about impactful changes in society. My research topic is “Management of Science,” which focuses on the management of scientific research. In contrast to Management of Technology, which focuses on technological development, the area covering the management of basic research is called Management of Science.
- Assistant Professor Miyashita, what made you decide to join SSI?
Miyashita: I would like to talk about the relevance of my research to SSI. The part of SSI that is most relevant to my research is “transdisciplinary research.”
There are three main stages of research conducted by researchers from different research areas. The first stage is “multidisciplinary research.” There are several research fields, each of which is independent of the other. The second stage is “interdisciplinary research.” It is conducting research with a combination of approaches, theories, and methods from different research fields. The third stage is “transdisciplinary research.” The idea is to integrate knowledge from multiple research fields to create wisdom that can solve complex societal challenges, involving industry and the public sector.
There is a metaphor in which each research field is replaced by a vegetable. First, multidisciplinary research is a salad. Multiple vegetables are cut and mixed together, but each vegetable retains its original flavor and texture. Next, interdisciplinary research is a curry or stew. To some extent, the vegetable still retains its shape, but it has become a single dish. And transdisciplinary research is a cake. Multiple ingredients are fully integrated. In my recognition, we are aiming for this third stage (transdisciplinary research) at SSI.
For example, the collaborative research that Associate Professor Okaze is conducting with researchers in various fields is interdisciplinary research. If this leads to the creation of a sustainable human environment through social implementation, it will become transdisciplinary research.
Through its activities, I would like to provide support and suggestions to help researchers in diverse fields think about how their research can lead to transdisciplinary research, with the goal of “Creating a Sustainable Human Environment.”
Okaze: I think of myself as a vegetable with a strong flavor, and Assistant Professor Miyashita as an excellent chef. A delicious dish needs the successful combination of strong-flavored vegetables. Likewise, a flag bearer is essential to creating a sustainable human environment. Assistant Professor Miyashita has a bird's eye view of SSI while accurately picking up on social needs. When SSI members wish to collaborate with researchers in other fields, I believe Assistant Professor Miyashita is the perfect person to make those connections and boost the chances of innovation.
Visualizing the network structure of researchers
- What kind of activities do you plan to conduct within SSI?
Miyashita: Usually, in my research on Management of Science, I examine and visualize the structure of collaboration and knowledge in basic research with software.
Specifically, based on the researcher's name and the words that appear in the title or abstract of the paper, a network is created and visualized that represents the structure of collaboration and knowledge. As new researchers are added to this network, new connections emerge within the network of collaboration and the network of knowledge. We are considering how to manage this kind of network structure to lead to innovation.
For example, by creating a network for each project and color-coding it according to university or company affiliation, or by research field, the characteristics of the network structure for that project can be more easily understood.
For this issue, I downloaded the data of Associate Professor Okaze's paper from a scholarly literature database called Web of Science and visualized the network structure. The color-coding by research field revealed that Associate Professor Okaze collaborates with researchers in a truly wide range of fields, including civil engineering, construction engineering, architecture, meteorology, and sustainability science.
Okaze: Cool! If the network structure can be visualized, there are possibilities to expand your knowledge further in ways you are not aware of. In particular, if we can see not only human networks but also networks related to knowledge, it helps us find more of the collaborators we seek. It is very interesting because I feel like I know what field to explore when I feel stuck.
Example of visualizing network structure
- Please tell us about your future goals at SSI.
Okaze: My strength is simulations. I believe that I can contribute to society by using these strengths to create living spaces where people can live comfortably, safely, and with peace of mind. For this reason, SSI would like to work actively with researchers in various fields to conduct research that will help improve living environment.
Currently, we, at SSI, are in a salad state, so we would like to start to be a curry state. The most difficult part of conducting collaborative research with other researchers is sharing the same awareness of the problem. If each vegetable is placed in a bowl without knowing what kind of dish it will be, each vegetable will just assert itself. So, first of all, we, vegetables, would like to share the same awareness of the problem based on the map of network structure that Assistant Professor Miyashita showed us.
Miyashita: The challenge at this stage is that the network structure can only tell us “this is the current state.” In “Designing Voices of the Earth” that we work on at SSI, we can use this method up to the point where we hear the voices of the earth. At SSI, however, the topic is how to translate transdisciplinary research into innovation. In order to create a sustainable human environment, it is necessary to be able to make suggestions such as “the collaboration between here and there is weak, so if we increase the collaboration in this area, it will increase the likelihood of social implementation.” I would like to continue my research so that I will be able to make suggestions on that level.
- Thank you very much for your valuable remarks.
Tsubasa Okaze
Associate Professor, Department of Architecture and Building Engineering,
School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology
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2006.3 Graduated from Department of Architecture, School of Engineering, Tohoku University
2008.3 Completed the Master program, Department of Architecture and Building Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University
2008.4 NTT FACILITIES
2009.3 Research Assistant, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University
2010.4 Transfer admitted to the Doctoral program, Department of Architecture and Building Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University
JSPS Research Fellows for Young Scientists (DC1)
2012.3 Completed the Doctoral program, Department of Architecture and Building Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University（Recieved Ph.D.(Eng.)）
2012.4 JSPS Research Fellow for Young Scientists (PD), Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University
2013.4 Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture and Building Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University
2016.3 Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology
2016.4 Current position
Shuto Miyashita
Assistant Professor, Technology and Innovation Management / Department of Innovation Science, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology
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2013.3: Graduated from Department of Control and Systems Engineering, School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology
2015.3: Completed the Master Program, Department of Mechanical and Control Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology
2018.3: Withdrawal from the Doctoral Program, Department of Mechanical and Control Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology
2018.3: Completed the Master of Management of Technology Program (Dual Degree), Technology and Innovation Management, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology
2021.9: Completed the Doctoral Program, Department of Innovation Science, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology
2021.11: Researcher, Department of Innovation Science, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology
2022.1: Researcher, Institute of Innovation for Future Society, Nagoya University
Since 2022.4: Current position.
Published: August 2024