the University of Tokyo
| JAPANESE |
Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo
Access & Campus Map
Education & Research
Introduction of IST
Departments and Faculty
 
Computer Science
  Mathematical Informatics
  Information Physics & Computing
  Information & Communication Engineering
  Mechano-Informatics
  Creative Informatics
International Center for Information Science and Technology (ICIST)
International Cooperation
Admissions
Home > Professors
Professors
2010/06/02

Unraveling the molecular world using information technology

Professor Masami Hagiya
(Department of Computer Science)

The world of science is a mystery ---- full of unknowns and veiled in enigmas. Researchers have unraveled such enigmas one after another, made useful contributions to society and life, and will continue to strive for those challenges in the future. Professor Hagiya' s current interest is molecular computing, aspiring to solve the mysteries of the molecular world using information technology (IT).

Molecular computing is a research field that crosses the boundary between disciplines such as computer science, chemistry, and biology. It attempts to realize information processing mechanisms through chemical reactions of biomolecules based on DNA, design of biomolecules, and control of their chemical reactions by IT. Professor Hagiya dedicates his efforts especially to the advancement of a new research field, synthetic biology, in which cells (living organisms) are designed as systems such as DNA-based nanosystems, while searching for how IT can contribute to the development of nanotechnology and cell technology.

Professor Hagiya' s research encompasses a broad range of areas including making proposals of a new computation model based on logic, work on semantics, and software research and analysis. In general, research falls into a field that pursues “security and safety” such as security technology and an “enigmatic and uncertain” field that pursues unexplained phenomena in the natural world. Molecular computing definitely originates from “enigmatic and uncertain” research, however, it has potential to be applied to security and safety such as healthcare and information security. In its early days in Japan, a great number of researchers from computer science, molecular biology, mathematics, physics, and system engineering worked in collaboration beyond their own disciplines to drive research on the design of information processing mechanisms at molecular level. This was regarded as a model of interdisciplinary research, and Professor Hagiya led the project.

His hobby is writing essays and some of them have been contributed to magazines. His unique perspectives are shared in the essays including “Can The University of Tokyo win Novel Prizes?” and “Riddling Answer to Molecule and Computation.” There is no precarious story and the titles reflect his earnest and yet playful personality. He respects students' independence and is popular and reputable for his teaching.


Graduate School of Information Science and Technology
the University of Tokyo