MIT Club of Japan
Breaking the Barriers in STEM and in Leadership
As part of the series of events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the first female graduate from MIT, MIT Club of Japan brings you a Keynote Speech as well as a Panel Discussion on "Breaking the Barriers in STEM and in Leadership" on August 7th, 2023.
The Keynote Speech titled "Science and Technologies for Environmental Resilience and Equitable Development" features Dr. Haruko M Wainwright, Assistant Professor in Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. She will be touching upon her current work as well as her life trajectory on how she became an Assistant Professor at MIT coming from a small town in rural Japan.
Together with Dr. Wainwright, the Panel Discussion will feature MIT alumna Dr. Noriko Endo, who is currently an invited researcher at Kyoto University and an entrepreneur, and Dr. Hitomi Taguchi, Certified Life and Career Coach and Director of Special Programs in Japan for Epistimi, a non-profit organization that offers leadership training programs for women in STEMM (STEM + Medicine) based on an original program developed by MIT. Moderated by Sawaka Romaine, the first female President of the MIT Club of Japan, the panelists will discuss possible ways to build a world where anyone regardless of gender can pursue a career in STEM or can be encouraged in assuming a leadership role.
Details of the event:
Date: Monday, August 7th, 2023
Time: 7:30pm - 9:30pm (JST)
Venue: Hybrid
*Simultaneous interpretation in English will be provided via zoom.
Event Agenda:
7:30pm-8:30pm (JST) Keynote Speech and Q&A
8:30pm-9:30pm (JST) Panel Discussion and Q&A
To register for the online event, please do so via the below link:
https://japan.alumclub.mit.edu/s/1314/bp19/interior.aspx?sid=1314&gid=155&pgid=64707&cid=105756&ecid=105756&crid=0&calpgid=49711&calcid=78489
If you would like to attend the event in person please register via Peatix:
(Website only in Japanese):
https://peatix.com/event/3631500/view
For inquiries please contact:
stemjapan@mit.edu
Keynote Speech Description
Title: "Science and Technologies for Environmental Resilience and Equitable Development"
Rural communities often bear increased environmental risks, hosting potentially hazardous facilities, such as mines and waste disposal sites.
Recent technological advances including sensors, simulations and AI have a great potential to improve environmental resilience, providing assurance, detecting anomalies, and keeping operators accountable.
These monitoring activities can also be integrated into STEM education to enhance environmental literacy as well as to close educational gaps in rural communities.
Speakers Bio
Dr. Haruko Wainwright is a Mitsui Career Development Professor in Contemporary Technology and Assistant Professor in Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Civil and Environmental Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
She received her BEng in Engineering Physics from Kyoto University, Japan in 2003; her MS in nuclear engineering in 2006, MA in statistics in 2010 and PhD in nuclear engineering in 2010 from University of California, Berkeley.
Before joining MIT, she was a Staff Scientist in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Her research focuses on environmental modeling and monitoring technologies for nuclear waste, nuclear contamination and climate science.
Dr. Noriko Endo works at the intersection of environmental engineering and public health, both in academia and the private sector.
She had worked at a MIT-spinoff company, Biobot Analytics, as the first employee, and helped implement wastewater epidemiology--a new public health tool--in the US and grow the company to have 100+ employees.
She is currently an invited researcher at the Kyoto University, assisting in the implementation of wastewater surveillance in Japan from various aspects. PhD and Masters in Environmental Engineering at MIT. Bachelors in Civil Engineering at the University of Tokyo.
Dr. Hitomi Taguchi is a Certified Life and Career Coach with a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Waseda University, Japan.
She was appointed as the first female tenure-track faculty in the Chemical Engineering department at the University of Rochester (New York) in 2011.
During this time, she created a STEAM (STEM + Art) program to share the importance and excitement of leading-edge science with local high school students. After transitioning to work at a biotech service company for a few years, she started her own business as a professional coach in 2021.
She currently also serves as the Director of Special Programs in Japan for Epistimi, a non-profit organization that offers leadership training programs for women in STEMM (STEM + Medicine) by women in STEMM.