Lab for Innovative Infrastructure Systems

Recently, we held the first seminar of the 2023 academic year in our lab! We’re pleased to welcome three new B4 students, Mr. Uemachi, Mr. Kawasaki, and Mr. Mega, to our laboratory. After three M2 students graduated last year, we were worried about the decrease in the number of lab members. However, we will continue to operate with nine student members for now.

As in the previous year, we will have seminars once a week. In the first semester, we will have a basic seminar and a research progress seminar, each for one hour. The basic seminar will focus on game theory. Last year’s basic seminar covered three topics, it was difficult to thoroughly understand each one as some of the details were skipped. Thus, we plan to focus on just one topic this year to ensure a better understanding of the material.

This year, I (Hasegawa) will primarily provide regular updates on laboratory life, and occasionally, some new members will also contribute. We appreciate your continued support in this academic year.

[Hasegawa]

[7-8 Febraury 2023]

On 7th (Tue.) and 8th (Wed.) Febraury, the face-to-face final defense of bachelor’s thesis was held at Hongo campus. Ms. Nakamura, a B4 student from our lab, made a presentation and passed the final defense.

The title of her presentation is as follows．

• A Model for Optimal Allocation Plan of Disaster Prevention Restoration Public Housing Considering the Built-Lifestyle

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the professors from various fields for their comments and questions.

Following the three master’s students last week, Ms. Nakamura (B4 student) submitted her bachelor’s thesis today! This was her first time to conduct research and write a thesis, and she must have had a hard time getting used to it, but I think she did her best throughout the process. The final defense for the bachelor’s thesis will be held next week, so please take a short break and do your best to present your research results over the last year!
[Hasegawa]

[30-31 January, 2023]

On 30th (Mon.) and 31st (Tue.) January, the face-to-face final defense of master’s thesis was held at Hongo campus. Mr. Arai, Mr. Tabata, and Ms. Hazama (M2 students) presented their theses and all of them had passed the final defense. Moreover, Mr. Arai had received the Furuichi Award.

The titles of each research topic are as follows.

• Mr. Arai: Analysis of Route Choice Behavior Considering Drivers’ Information Acquisition Process
• Mr. Tabata: Influence of Residents’ Cognitive Bias for Disaster Risk on Urban Spatial Structure
• Ms. Hazama: Detection of Niche Sightseeing Spots from Human Flow Big Data and Application to Excursion Management

Today, three M2 students submitted their master’s theses! They had been struggling to get better results until the last minute, but they all made it on time. Congratulations to them!

Although their theses are now completed, they still have to prepare slides and practice their final presentations, let’s wish them all the best in the final thesis presentation!

[Hasegawa]

Today was the last lab seminar for the Year 2022, so we cleaned the student’s room after the seminar. We all worked together to clean every corner of the room, including wiping our desks and organizing the bookshelve.
After the cleaning, we ate ice cream and enjoyed each other’s hard work.

Healthy research activity starts with a healthy environment! With a renewed environment, M2 and B4 students will be able to work even harder on their dissertations!

[Hasegawa]

[17-18 December, 2022]

On 17th (Sat.) and 18th (Sun.) December, the Applied Regional Science Conference held its annual conference at the Kofu Campus, University of Yamanashi, Kofu Campus. (M1 student) Mr. Hasegawa attended the conference as an auditor.

Over the two days, I was able to listen to some presentations of theoretical and empirical research on cities and regions using a variety of methods. In particular, I learned a lot from the presentations on my research field, “spatial economics,” which I have seen in papers and books.

Furthermore, a special session by Prof. Masahisa Fujita, an expert in spatial economics, and the Sakashita Prize-winning lecture by Prof. Fujishima of Hitotsubashi University, were held at this year’s conference. I was inspired that “spatial economics,” which I am currently working on, is one of the hottest fields in economics. It was a great opportunity for me to further my research! Thank you very much!

[Hasegawa]

Mr. Uechi (2nd year master’s student) from University of the Ryukyus visited Fukuda laboratory for a week! Mr. Uechi visited the University of Tokyo during the summer vacation this year, so this was his second visit to our lab. Moreover, at the JSCE Fall Conference held in Okinawa last month, Mr. Uechi and other members from the University of the Ryukyus were very kind to us. (Hereafter, from Mr. Uechi)

I am Uechi, and I am staying here for a week this week.
Thanks to the arrangement of my supervisors, Prof. Kamiya and Prof. Fukuda, I came from Okinawa this time to confirm my master’s thesis following the visit in September.
I am very happy that Professor Fukuda and all the students treated me kindly.
In the seminar, I gave a presentation in English, which I was not accustomed to, and in the discussion with everyone, I was able to reaffirm what I lacked in my research.
I will do my best to complete my master’s thesis when I return to Okinawa!
Thank you for giving us a valuable experience!

A group photo of Mr. Uechi (front row, third from right) and all members of the Fukuda laboratory

[25 – 27 November, 2022]

The 4th Urban Redesign Conference was held at the University of Tokyo from 25th November (Friday) to 27th November (Sunday). (From B4 Nakamura)

On the first day of the conference, an urban redesign field tour was held. There were two tours, one was the Arakawa River Basin Flood Control Tour and the other was the Reconstruction Tour around the remains of the Great Kanto Earthquake. In the morning, we visited the Yokoamicho Park Museum. We then returned to the school for a discussion session in the afternoon after the field tour. It was the route from Ryogoku to Asakusa, which I had traveled many times before, but when I looked at it from the viewpoint of remains, I realized how much the city was lost in the Great Kanto Earthquake, and what we see in our daily lives was formed after that. It was a tour that made me think about what it is. At the discussion session, we had a valuable time to discuss Shinpei Goto’s topic in groups and talk about the pros and cons of urban development.On the second and third days, various lecture programs were held at the university. As I am also working on my thesis on disaster recovery, it was a great honor to meet with the professors whose papers I had read. I was also impressed by the presentations by the Disaster Prevention Geography Department, in which students from elementary school to high school actively proposed what they could do to increase their disaster prevention capabilities in order to raise awareness of disaster prevention.

The theme of this year’s Urban Redesign Conference was “Cities Living between Disasters,” and it stated that phase-free disaster prevention is important, rather than classifying normal times and disasters. In order to achieve this, it is necessary for many people, regardless of their field, to rethink “disaster” from multiple perspectives and on a daily basis. This phrase really stuck with me, and I would like to keep it in mind in my graduation thesis.

Thanks for this learning opportunity!

Please click here for details of the conference.[中村]

[11 – 13 November, 2022]

Mr. Ukai, an alumnus from our lab, presented his paper at the Fall Conference of the JSCE Committee of Infrastructure Planning and Management, which was held at the University of the Ryukyus from 11st (Friday) to 13rd (Sunday) November. The title of his presentation is as follows:

Information Design Based Transportation Management: A Fundamental Study under Fluctuating Demand
(Kenta Ukai and Daisuke Fukuda)

Moreover, six Japanese students from our lab participated in the conference as assistants. We mainly acted as a  timekeeper at the presentation venue, and were able to listen to various research presentations, ranging from areas close to my own research to areas I had never touched before (of course, the role of timekeeper took precedence). Furthermore, I had a chance to meet many people who helped me during my visit to Kanazawa in the summer, and I was able to spend a very enriching time there.

In addition, through this opportunity, I was able to deepen my friendship with the student members of Kamiya Laboratory. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Prof. Kamiya and everyone at the University of the Ryukyus for this valuable opportunity. Let’s keep in touch and inspire each other in the future!

[Hasegawa]