Jun 11, 2022

Let’s Read! Learning Japanese through Science & Technology-2

This is the second part of our Japanese language learning courses. It focuses on improving Japanese reading comprehension through vocabulary and expressions retention, with a theme of Science and Engineering research at the University of Tokyo. In addition to reading, illustration videos and interview videos allow you to practise "listening" and "writing" skills. You can also broaden and deepen your knowledge in the related areas.

FURUICHI Yumiko (Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo)

Nov 18, 2015

Welcome to Game Theory

This course provides a brief introduction to game theory. Our main goal is to understand the basic ideas behind the key concepts in game theory, such as equilibrium, rationality, and cooperation. The course uses very little mathematics, and it is ideal for those who are looking for a conceptual introduction to game theory. Business competition, political campaigns, the struggle for existence by animals and plants, and so on, can all be regarded as a kind of “game,” in which individuals try to do their best against others. Game theory provides a general framework to describe and analyze how individuals behave in such “strategic” situations. This course focuses on the key concepts in game theory, and attempts to outline the informal basic ideas that are often hidden behind mathematical definitions. Game theory has been applied to a number of disciplines, including economics, political science, psychology, sociology, biology, and computer science. Therefore, a warm welcome is extended to audiences from all fields who are interested in what game theory is all about.

Jun 6, 2024

The Power of Words

This course examines how words retain power amidst crises, focusing on Japanese and English literature. It explores how words aid in resilience and self-renewal. Emphasis is placed on understanding the role of form in texts and socia interactions to deepen comprehension of expression mechanisms. Students of this course can learn the history of English and Japanese literature, particularly in terms of form as well as how the forms work in written texts and human relationships.

Sep 25, 2015

From the Big Bang to Dark Energy

We have learned a lot recently about how the Universe evolved in 13.8 billion years since the Big Bang. More than 80% of matter in the Universe is mysterious Dark Matter, which made stars and galaxies to form. The newly discovered Higgs-boson became frozen into the Universe a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang and brought order to the Universe. Yet we still do not know how ordinary matter (atoms) survived against total annihilation by Anti-Matter. The expansion of the Universe started acceleration about 7 billion years ago and the Universe is being ripped apart. The culprit is Dark Energy, a mysterious energy multiplying in vacuum. I will present evidence behind these startling discoveries and discuss what we may learn in the near future.

MURAYAMA Hitoshi (Professor, Kavli IPMU, The University of Tokyo)