Specially appointed professor Urabe Jotaro has been appointed to the Institute of Freshwater Biology!

Professor Urabe Jotaro, who is affiliated with the Department of Biology (Head of the Department of Biology) of the Faculty of Science, Tohoku University, has been appointed as a specially appointed professor at the Institute of Freshwater Biology, Nagano University, using the cross-appointment system from the 2022 academic year. Nagano University will be responsible for 30% of the effort and Tohoku University for 70%. At Nagano University, he will be involved not only in teaching and research at the Institute of Freshwater Biology, but also in the management of the university and the establishment of the Department of Biological Environment of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, which is planned to be established.

Professor Urabe Jotaro is a world leader in the field of aquatic ecology. He has conducted research on a wide range of topics, from zooplankton life cycles to communities, ecosystems, and human society, with a focus on freshwater ecosystems such as rivers and lakes, and has clarified the ripple effects of environmental changes on interactions among organisms and matter cycling in aquatic ecosystems. He has a track record in education and human resource development, having trained many undergraduate and graduate students at Tokyo Metropolitan University, Kyoto University, and Tohoku University, where he served as Dean of the Department of Biology in the Faculty of Science and Director of the Asamushi Marine Education and Research Center. He also serves on various committees for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Ministry of the Environment, and is a specialist researcher at the Science Promotion Center for Science Systems, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. He is also active in academic activities both in Japan and abroad, and has held important positions in academic activities, including serving as the 19th president of the Ecological Society of Japan, and currently serving as the president of the Applied Ecology Society and a council member of the Japanese Society of Limnology. He has received awards such as the Ecological Society of Japan Award, the Lake Biwa Award in Ecology, and is a Fellow of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. At our university, he not only served as a member of the Preparatory Committee for the Institute of Freshwater Biology, but is currently contributing to the reform of Nagano University as a member of the Preparatory Committee for the Reorganization of Faculties and Departments.