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Josai Hosts Lecture by Nobel Prize for Physics Recipient Makoto Kobayashi as Part of Mikio Mizuta Memorial Global Lecture Series for University’s 50th Anniversary

Dr. Kobayashi sits below a portrait of Mikio Mizuta before his lecture

Dr. Kobayashi sits below a portrait of Mikio Mizuta before his lecture

On July 9, 2015, the Josai University Educational Corporation (Noriko Mizuta, Chancellor) hosted a lecture by Nobel Prize for Physics Recipient and Director of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science’s Research Center for Science Systems, Makoto Kobayashi, entitled “Antimatter―From Elementary Particles to Space” at Josai University’s Sakado campus in Saitama.

This event was organized as part of Josai’s 50th anniversary festivities and the Mikio Mizuta Memorial Lecture series, which invites distinguished guests with exceptional academic accomplishments as well as domestic and global influence to speak about global human resource cultivation. Dr. Kobayashi is the third speaker of this series, with former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammad having given a lecture on 5/21 and Harvard Professor Emeritus Ezra F. Vogel on 6/13.

Dr. Kobayashi was born in Aichi prefecture in 1944. As a physicist specializing in particle physics, has worked as a Professor at the National Laboratory for High Energy Physics (now the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, or KEK) and the Director of the Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies for the KEK. Dr. Kobayashi and his collaborator Toshihide Masukawa (director general of Kobayashi-Maskawa Institute for the Origin of Particles and the Universe at Nagoya University) were jointly awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2008 for their work on explaining CP-violation within the Standard Model of particle physics, with the other half going to Professor Emeritus Yoichiro Nambu at the University of Chicago.

Chancellor Mizuta gives opening remarks

Chancellor Mizuta gives opening remarks

Chancellor Mizuta provided opening remarks at the lecture that took place in Seiko Hall, saying, “It is a great honor to have Dr. Kobayashi here today, whose extraordinary scholarly accomplishments have been acknowledged not just in Japan but worldwide. His lecture here will prove to be both extremely significant and a valuable reference tool for the future.”
  Dr. Kobayashi began by stating that, “[Antimatter] is a material that we have trouble putting to practical use, but that nonetheless bears a critical connection to our fundamental existence.” He then went on to explain the structure of matter from particles as well as the basic principles and history concerning antimatter, before discussing his theory of “CP-violation” that led to his Nobel Prize nomination. Dr. Kobayashi also touched on issues surrounding the Big Bang. In the high temperature and density that marked the beginnings of space, particles and antiparticles coexisted, but as temperatures cooled, antiparticles were replaced by particles only. As Dr. Kobayashi stated, hinting at the future direction of his research, “In current scientific models, the evolution of space cannot be fully explained. This implies the existence of some unknown mechanism of violation.”

Dr. Kobayashi explains the structure of matter

Dr. Kobayashi explains the structure of matter

The lecture was followed by a short conversation between Dr. Kobayashi and former MEXT Vice-Minister and current director of the Josai Center for Graduate Studies, Motoyuki Ono, during which Dr. Kobayashi described a few behind-the-scenes episodes from the Nobel Prize award ceremony. Dr. Kobayashi concluded the conversation by commenting on the future of basic research in Japan: “The young population of Japan has decreased significantly. As a result, if the rest of us don’t continue to work hard, our high standards of research will not be maintained. I would urge you to believe in yourself and your endeavors and continue to move forward.”

Dr. Kobayashi (left) and Mr. Ono in conversation

Dr. Kobayashi (left) and Mr. Ono in conversation

During the Q&A session that followed, Dr. Kobayashi responded respectfully to each student inquiry, with the audience of 600―including Tsurugashima city mayor Yoshiro Fujinawa, members of the local community and industry representatives, high school teachers, and Josai University students and faculty―listening with intent curiosity.

The event carried over to the reception in the Faculty of Business Administration media area, where participants surrounded Dr. Kobayashi in casual conversation. Dr. Kobayashi gracefully responded to each student request for a commemorative photo with a big smile.

Commemorative photo with students

Commemorative photo with students


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