the 1st Research Units Exploring Future Horizons

Creating New Academic Fields

the 1st Research Units Exploring Future Horizons

The International Research Unit of Advanced Future Studies

With 15 institutes, centers, and graduate schools of Kyoto University participating under the leadership of the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, the unit expands inter- and multidisciplinary, intellectual adventures, searching for universal laws and emergent principles that are common to life, materials, kokoro (mind), humanity, society, education, economics, medicine, nursing, ecosystems, and space, and aiming at a paradigm shift that directs the future.

Institutions belonging to the unit (20 institutions )

Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Institute of Economic Research, Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Institute for Research in Humanities, Kokoro Research Center, Institute for Integrated Radiation and Nuclear Science, Center for Ecological Research, The Kyoto University Museum, Graduate School of Education, Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability (Shishu-Kan), Graduate School of Science, Graduate School of Informatics, Graduate School of Engineering, Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Letters, Hospital, Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences, Institute of Advanced Energy, Center for the Promotion of Interdisciplinary Education and Research (Unit of Synergetic Studies for Spece)

Human & Nature Interlaced Life Science

Life on the earth is characterized by its enormous diversity. One of the goals for this unit is to establish life science theories that integrate humans and nature based on the concept of the ‘life chain’ to explain that all organisms on the earth are connected, with infectious diseases as a starting point. It aims to create new interdisciplinary academic fields in pursuit of the physical, mental, and social health of humans, as well as to realize sustainability <Global Society and Coexistence in Harmony>, involving animals and plants other than humans. It searches for a new paradigm of life science from the perspective of the spiral hierarchy of the life chain.

Institutions belonging to the unit (8 institutions )

Primate Research Institute, Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Wildlife Research Center, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Division of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Graduate School of Biostudies (Radiation Biology Center), Kokoro Research Center

Research Unit for Development of Global Sustainability

We are currently facing globally progressing resource depletion and environmental degradation as a serious issue, and it is our urgent task to appropriately manage the situation toward the establishment of sustainable living infrastructure for humans. The logics of the high economic growth period are no longer valid. In order to develop sustainable living platforms, it is necessary to immediately shift to balanced contraction approaches. This unit promotes research projects that aim to resolve global issues by coordinating advanced and highly specialized research methods and outcomes, which have been individually pursued by each member in a wide range of academic fields related to natural environments, humanity, society, life, and materials.

Institutions belonging to the unit (7 institutions )

Institutions belonging to the unit (7 institutions ) Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Institute for Chemical Research, Institute of Advanced Energy, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Institute of Economic Research, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies

Unit of Academic Knowledge Integration Studies

This unit conducts advanced research on digital humanities, a boundary area between information science and humanities/social sciences, aiming at the creation of an academic big database adapted to cloud environments, as well as the innovative development of interdisciplinary studies in the fields of humanities/ social sciences and natural sciences using big data. The database will be created by coordinating academic materials accumulated in the libraries and museums of Kyoto University and related data that are extensively available on the web, using semantic web technologies. In interdisciplinary research areas, the unit addresses various issues related to human security assurance. It efficiently searches for related research papers, historical materials, and statistical and observation data using the semantic technologies, and analyzes them based on visualization, machine learning, and simulation to clarify current statuses, propose political measures, and predict future trends.

Institutions belonging to the unit (15 institutions )

Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Institute for Research in Humanities, Institute of Advanced Energy, Institute of Economic Research, Center for Ecological Research, Academic Center for Computing and Media Studies, Field Science Education and Research Center, Kokoro Research Center, Graduate School of Medicine, Graduate School of Agriculture, Graduate School of Energy Science, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, The Kyoto University Museum, Kyoto University Library, Center for the Promotion of Interdisciplinary Education and Research