Tohoku University

This course presents basic concepts and information of plate tectonics and the tectonic history of the Asiatic continent and the Japanese islands, active faults and earthquakes, and volcanoes. The lectures include how past and recent environment influence human livelihood.

The course covers the following topics:
- Introduction of the course
- Basics of Plate tectonics
- Plate margin and Japan island arc
- Rock structure beneath surface
- Geology and natural resources
- History of earth and geological timescale
- Earthquake and active faults
- The Great East Japan earthquake
- Rheology of rocks and subduction zone earthquake cycles
- Volcanoes
- Advancement in geodynamics with space geodesy
- Advancement in geodynamics with InSAR and machine learning

The material world is surrounded by a large number of chemical products manufactured with various types of materials including organic, inorganic and their composite materials. Even in the human body, biological materials are constantly being produced with the help of specialized enzymes and biochemical reactions. This coures provides chemistry-oriented topics concerned with the development of functional materials in various areas of engineering.

This course covers basic aspects of chemical production, with special emphasis on environmentally friendly methodologies for the synthesis of fine chemicals and advanced materials.

 

In addition to the 160 basic kanji characters taught in K150, students will learn to read, write and type 160 new characters. They will become familiar with various methods of kanji learning and expand their vocabulary of words that contain kanji.
Eligibility: Students who have learned about 160 kanji characters and are at least A1 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education (N5 in the JLPT).
Learning Objectives:
・Understand the meanings and readings of 320 kanji and words using those kanji.
・Write 320 kanji vocabulary words with the help of example models.
・Type short sentences containing the 320 kanji on a smartphone or PC.

This course studies basic concepts of biochemistry and chemistry of food as well as the basic principles of food science and natural products chemistry.  The course covers the following topics: food allergens; novel functions of dietary vitamins and its contribution to our health; food and bioactive natural products for human health; beneficial health effects of dietary lipids; chemistry and biochemistry of marine toxins; application of high pressure to food processing; protein chemistry; bioactive molecules and their application for drug discovery; medicinal chemistry of antibacterial and antiviral agents; synthetic and medicinal chemistry of marine natural products, and nutrient-inspired biomaterials and its applications for the health purposes. 

This course introduces eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrices, leading to diagonalization of matrices. Furthermore, vector spaces with inner product are treated and applications of linear algebra to various specialized topics are discussed.

Upon completion of the class, students are expected to:

• Compute eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrices, and diagonalize real symmetric matrices; 
• Understand inner products, orthogonality, and to be able to find orthogonal bases; and,
• Learn applications of linear algebra and perform computations to solve explicit problems.

The course offers a solid basis of the Italian language, beginning from its phonetics and fundamental grammar. The course begins with students becoming familiar with names; their number and gender; articles; verb grammar (present and past), and pronouns. The study then progresses through conversation, games and the production of simple texts.

The course teaches correct application of the basics of Italian language; focuses on apprehending expressions used in everyday context, and instructs on beginner level reading comprehension.

This course covers the minimum, basic abilities in conversation and reading/writing necessary for everyday life in Japan. 

Eligibility: Students who have studied no Japanese. Students who will be eligible for C250b/c after taking C150.  

Learning Objectives: A1 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education. 

By the end of this course, students are expected to: 

 ・ Understand and correctly use basic greetings and set phrases.

 ・ Speak about things around you and interact with others using combinations of simple phrases.

 ・ Understand simple informative texts and brief passages about familiar topics.

"I want to make people laugh, but it's too difficult." "Everyone else is laughing, but I don't find it funny."... Are these difficulties related to "humor" due to personal preference, language ability, or socio-cultural background? This course explores thinking about the Japanese language and culture using funny stories, learning about the differences and commonalities between Japan's and other countries' senses of humor through comparing with other cultures and translation activities. (This course is conducted in Japanese.) 

Eligibility A2.1 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education (N3 in the JLPT). 

Learning Objectives 

-Deepen understanding of the Japanese language, culture, and values. 

-Deepen understanding of the language, culture, and values of the students' home countries and regions. 

-Cooperate with Japanese and international students in group work and group presentations. 

-Improve communication skills in Japanese. 

This course covers the basics in geophysics, particularly the following three specific sub-areas: solid earth physics, fluid earth physics, and space physics. 

(1) Solid Earth Physics: Selected topics from seismology, volcanology, and plate tectonics for the purpose of learning basic knowledge on the structure and dynamics of the solid Earth. 

(2) Fluid Earth (atmosphere and ocean) Physics: Selected topics from meteorology, global warming, and physical climatology for the purpose of learning basic knowledge on climate change and related global environment problems. 

(3) Space Physics: Selected topics from solar physics, interplanetary physics, magnetospheric physics, and upper atmospheric physics for the purpose of learning basic knowledge on the electromagnetic environment of the Sun, the Earth, and planets.

This course covers Chinese pronunciation, greetings, and simple daily conversation through blended learning, which combines on-demand and face-to-face classes.

By the end of this course, students are expected to: 

• Acquire Chinese pronunciation, introductory-level vocabulary and grammar.
• Participate in simple daily conversations such as greetings and self-introduction.
• Foster interest in Chinese society and culture.