Disclaimer: machine translated by DeepL which may contain errors.
The 37th Public Lecture of the Faculty of Science
Kazuo Enomoto (Director, Public Relations Office / Professor, Department of Biological Sciences)
Scene of the Public Lecture
Top: Associate Professor Chihiro Matsui, Middle: Associate Professor Natsu Katayama, Bottom: Professor Satoshi Ide
On Monday, March 10, 2025, the 37th Public Lecture titled "Exploring the Future with Science" was held in a hybrid format (on-site participation at Koshiba Hall and live streaming on the Faculty of Science YouTube channel). The event is held at the end of each academic year to convey the excitement of science to a broad public audience.
Following the opening address by Dean Shinichi Okoshi of the Graduate School, three lectures were given. Associate Professor Chihiro Matsui of Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences gave a lecture titled "Drawing the Macroscopic World with Microscopic Laws," in which he explained the approach of statistical mechanics that attempts to describe the macroscopic world with microscopic physical laws, citing familiar thermal equilibration phenomena such as "coffee cooling" and "ice cream melting" as examples of the "macroscopic world. Natsu Katayama, Department of Biological Sciences Associate Professor Natsu Katayama, Department of Biological Sciences, presented "Wonder of Plants: Strange Shapes of Aquatic Plants. Using a wealth of images, he introduced species that were able to survive in harsh environments because of their "strange shapes," which are far from what is generally imagined when one hears the word "capsid plant. The dynamism of evolution was evident. Professor Satoshi Ide of the Department of Earth and Planetary Science concluded the session by asking the question, "Why is it so difficult to predict earthquakes? He responded from a wide range of viewpoints, from the mechanism of earthquakes to physical phenomena at the epicenter, referring to the difference between "prediction" and "forecasting" of earthquakes and its relation to the national disaster prevention plan. The participants listened to the lecture with serious faces.
The number of participants on site was 132, and the highest number of simultaneous viewers of the YouTube live-streaming was 144. The Public Relations Office and Information Technology Team managed the event. We would like to express our gratitude to all those who cooperated with us.