We are studying volcanic eruptions caused by the release of magma from the Earth’s interior to the surface. Our current research focuses on the physical properties of magma, the factors that control the temporal evolution of explosive eruptions, and the impact of explosive eruptions on the surface environment. To explore these issues, we are investigating eruptive materials and performing laboratory experiments and numerical simulations to reproduce parts of the eruption.

Volcanic eruptions are relatively short timescale phenomena in Earth's history and may be experienced several times in a human lifetime. We may be able to evaluate whether our understanding is correct by comparing it with actual observations. I am very interested in this aspect, and I learned this during my undergraduate and graduate school, by collaborating with senior colleagues. Therefore, the encounter with those colleagues is the reason why I have continued the research on volcanology for a long time.

In recent years, many problems related to earth science such as natural disasters and resource problems have emerged and society is expecting that the earth scientist resolves these problems. Under these circumstances, the importance of fundamental research to clarify the problems remains unchanged. On the other hand, our society needs human resources with a variety of knowledge and abilities to solve new problems that arise one after another. For young people who live in the future, it will be important to understand the problem in depth and develop various abilities (e.g., the ability to look at the whole picture and foresee the future).