Hiroshi Kitazato, Co-Chair

Affiliation:

Senior Research Fellow of the Danish Center for Hadal Research (HADAL) of South Denmark University, Satellite Office at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo; and Adjunct Scientist of the Department of Earth Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan

Biography:

Born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1948.

B.S., Geology, Tohoku University (1971);

M.Sc Geology and Paleontology, Tohoku University (1973);

D.Sc. Geology and Paleontology, Tohoku University (1976);

Postdoc researcher at the University of Tokyo (1976-78);

Research Associate, Lecturer, Associate Professor, and Professor at Graduate School of Science, Shizuoka University (1978-2002);

Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of the University of Tokyo (1999-2001); Program Director / Director of Earth Science Research and Biogeoscience Institutions at Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (2002-2016);

Professor by special appointment of Tohoku Ecosystem-Associated Marine Sciences at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (2016-2021);

Senior Research Fellow of Danish Center for Hadal Research (2020- present);

Adjunct Scientist of Department of Earth Sciences, Waseda University (2021- present).

My research goals are to understand the evolutionary biology and adaptive ecology of marine eukaryotic microbial lives and their relation to the geologic evolution of the Earth. For this purpose, I use both geological and biological approaches. In particular, I have actively introduced experimental methods.  Up to the present time, I have published more than 275 papers. The Palaeontological Society of Japan awarded me the Yokoyama Medal in 2010, the Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research awarded me the 2016 Joseph A. Cushman Award and Japan Geoscience Union elected me the 2019 JpGU Fellow in recognition of this scientific output.

In parallel to my purely scientific activities, I have taken on a variety of service responsibilities at both domestic and international levels.

In Japan: President of the Palaeontological Society of Japan (2005-2007); Council member / Member of Science Council of Japan attached to the Cabinet Office of Japan (2005-present); Section President / Founder President of Biogeosciences, Japan Geoscience Union (JpGU) (2009-present); Representative of the Union of Japanese Societies for Natural History (2012-2018); Co-project Leader, Tohoku Ecosystem-Associated Marine Sciences, MEXT supported research project (2012-2021).

At a global level: Member of the Science Planning Committee and Science Advisory Structure Executive Committee, of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (2004-2011); Councilor and vice-President of the executive committee of the International Paleontological Association (IPA) (2006-2018); Associate editor of EGU journal, Biogeosciences (2010-present) and Executive Committee of the International Union of Geological Sciences as Treasurer (2016-present).

Statement:

Since becoming involved in service duties, I have learned that scientists should work with and for society at the same time as working for the science community.  In 2011, a huge earthquake and associated tsunamis struck northern Japan and inflicted great damage to coastal material cycles and ecosystems and local communities. I have established a research project with colleagues to monitor the recovery processes of marine geological systems in connection to land-sea material cycles impacted by these events.  During this research, I learned a lot from not only natural scientists but also social scientists, and even from local citizens.  Our results will contribute to the scientific community, but should also help coastal lives and economies to recover from this disaster.  This is an active example of “Science for Society”.  Geosciences should provide not only basic knowledge, but also contribute to the sustaining of stable human lives on Earth.  I believe that the ISC Interunion Disaster Risk Reduction activities should work for both science and society.   I also had sessions both at 3^rd UN Disaster Forum at Sendai (2015) and IDRC World Bosai Forum in Sendai (2017).  Chair’s Summary at the end of WBF 2017, integration of ecosystem principles to disaster risk reduction (eco-DRR) was highlighted as an interesting and new approach of DRR by the chair.  Since then, I continually have been presenting our research activities at international congress such as EGU Natural Hazard Division, ICOM and others.  As a council member of Science Council of Japan, I also had committed conceptual discussion of Sendai Framework.  Even though I have not sitted in the center of DRR topics, I continuously gives new ideas for the integration of different disciplines to construct multi-disciplinary Disaster Risk Reduction.  I believe that my experiences may play some roles to widen DRR framework.