Permanent Professor at the Graduate School of Science
| Position: | Professor |
|---|---|
| Research Fields: | Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| Number of Positions: | 1 |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Location: | Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University 6-3, Aramaki Aza-Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan |
| Qualifications: |
・Doctoral degree upon taking up the post ・Distinguished research achievements ・Ability to communicate effectively in English or Japanese |
| Submission: | Submit via the application form https://jotform.com/252640500891453 |
| Application Deadline: | May 31, 2026 |
| Starting Employment: | After August 1, 2026 |
| For questions contact: | jun.muto.a3 * tohoku.ac.jp (Replace * with @) |
Permanent Professor at the Graduate School of Science
As a strategic measure to further strengthen our research and educational capabilities, the Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University is conducting a targeted recruitment of qualified scholars who identify as female for professor positions.
Welcoming outstanding female researchers from Japan and abroad into leadership positions will bring diverse perspectives to our research fields, serving as a driving force for breakthroughs in existing academic disciplines. Furthermore, the presence of diverse role models will have a profound educational impact on fostering the next generation of talent. With the aim of promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) this recruitment is conducted under the provisions of Article 8 of the Act on Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment (Special Provisions Concerning Measures for Female Workers) as a "positive action" initiative. This measure goes beyond merely improving numerical targets; it aims to accelerate the participation of female in research, thereby elevating the University's research excellence and driving its transformation into a worldleading research institution.
The Graduate School of Science at Tohoku University has positioned the promotion of cutting-edge research and the cultivation of the next generation of global leaders at the core of its research strategy. Building on its established research achievements, the Graduate School advances research in its areas of strength, fosters collaborative and interdisciplinary research, and promotes diverse research activities--including industry-academia collaboration--that will serve as the seeds of future core research fields.
Under this call, the Graduate School of Science invites applications for a Professor-level faculty position. The successful candidate will engage in research and education in Earth and Environmental Sciences, with a particular focus on the evolution of the Earth and changes in the environment. While grounding their work in approaches and expertise from geology, geochemistry, and mineral sciences, the candidate is also expected to integrate geophysical data and numerical modeling to elucidate long-term variability and evolutionary processes of the Earth system. Through deepening collaborative research with the World Premier International Research Center Initiative - Advanced Institute for Marine Ecosystem Change (WPI-AIMEC) and the Department of Geophysics, the appointee is expected to contribute to the development of an internationally open and forward-looking research framework in Earth and Environmental Sciences.
In education, the successful candidate will play a key role in doctoral-level training through graduate programs in which the Department of Earth Science is involved, including the International Joint Graduate Program in Earth and Environmental Sciences (GpEES) and the WISE Program for Sustainability in the Dynamic Earth (SyDE). Through these programs, the appointee is expected to contribute to the education and development of a diverse cohort of doctoral students and to the cultivation of highly skilled researchers capable of leading the field globally.
The Department of Earth Science conducts research and education as part of the Core Research Cluster of Earth and Environmental Science, one of Tohoku University's five strategic research pillars. Within this framework, the Department brings together leading international researchers from both inside and outside the University across disciplinary boundaries, with the aim of deepening a comprehensive and fundamental understanding of the Earth and its environment. Furthermore, by strengthening collaboration and communication with research fields closely connected to society, the Department seeks to establish itself as an international research hub that translates advances in Earth and Environmental Sciences into solutions for societal challenges and contributes to the sustainable development of humanity.
Candidates must have a doctoral degree upon taking up the post and be able to communicate effectively in English and/or Japanese. Distinguished research achievements in the field of being applied for will be evaluated favorably by the selection committee.
After registering via the pre-application form below, we will send you a separate application form via email. Please upload the required documents as separate PDF files using this application form.
Using this application form, please select your preferred department and upload the following documents 1 through 9 as separate PDF files. For item 10, please enter the information directly into the corresponding field on the application form.
1. Cover letter
2. Curriculum vitae (with photograph attached)
3. Career History
4. List of achievements
5. Statement on future research plans with reference to the graduate school's goals (2 pages)
6. Statement on future plans in education and teaching (2 pages)
7. Statement on future plans for contributions to the development of others/Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (1 page)
8. Statement on future plans for community outreach/industry collaboration/ application of research results (1 page)
9. References, including contact information, and letters of recommendation
10. Researcher ID Information (Scopus Author ID, ORCID iD, Researchmap *Please enter directly in the application form.)
Application Form: https://jotform.com/252640500891453
Application Deadline: May 31, 2026
The selection committee may ask shortlisted candidates to make a presentation during the selection process. This may include a visit to get to know the candidate in person or online. Shortlisted candidates may also be asked to submit a teaching dossier, including sample course materials and past student evaluations. We will only contact those who pass the document screening for an interview.
After August 1, 2026
Successful individuals will be allocated an office and laboratory space on campus in the Department of Earth Science. There may also be the opportunity to move into university accommodation if there are any vacancies.
The annual salary for the appointment will be determined in accordance with Tohoku University's employment regulations and will be based on the experience and performance of the candidate.
Selected individuals will be provided with a start-up fund as a basis for research operations.
Successful individuals will be enrolled as a member of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Mutual Aid Association which will also provide health insurance for any dependents. Tohoku University will also provide pension insurance, employment insurance as well as industrial accident compensation insurance.
Employees are entitled to twenty days annual paid leave per year. The number of days provided is reckoned as of January 1st. Each year, twenty days are added to any remaining paid leave from the previous calendar year (up to twenty days). Annual leave for the first year of employment is calculated based on the start date (e.g., a start date of April 1st would provide 15 days for the remaining nine months of the calendar year).
・Tohoku University promotes activities to enhance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).
Tohoku University's website about the DEI Declaration can be found here:
・For details on Tohoku University's research support, work-life balance support, and other initiatives related to DEI, as well as collaborative participation efforts, please visit the URL below.
Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Tohoku University Website:
Human Resources and Planning Department website (in Japanese only):
・Tohoku University has the largest on-campus childcare system of all Japanese national universities. This network comprises three nurseries: Kawauchi Keyaki Nursery school (capacity: 22) and Aobayama Midori Nursery school (116), both open to all university employees, as well as Hoshinoko Nursery school (120), which is open to employees working at Tohoku University Hospital. In addition, Tohoku University Hospital runs a childcare room for mildly ill and convalescent children which is available to all university employees.
・Tohoku University has published 'Tohoku University-Live as Who You Are-Guidelines for Gender and Sexual Diversity' to provide explanations and details of how those at the university should respond with respect to diverse sexuality. The purpose of the guidelines is to create an environment in which all students, faculty, and staff respect diverse sexuality in their academic, research, and professional activities.
Please see the Tohoku University Center for Gender Equality Promotion website:
| Position: | Assistant Professor (PI) or Associate Professor (PI) |
|---|---|
| Number of Positions: | 3 |
| Job type: | Tenure-Track (Maximum Term: 7 Years) ・A tenure review will be conducted by the sixth year after appointment. ・Successful candidates will be promoted to Associate Professor or Professor with a permanent position. ・Depending on the candidate's experience and accomplishments, the tenure review may be conducted earlier (early tenure promotion). |
| Location: | Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University 6-3 Aramaki aza Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan |
| Qualifications: |
・Ph.D. at the time of appointment ・Distinguished research achievements in the relevant field of expertise ・Demonstrated interest and capacity for (1) interdisciplinary research, (2) exploration of new research directions, and/or (3) original scientific inquiry ・Experience or strong potential to establish and direct an independent laboratory as a Principal Investigator (PI) with autonomous research leadership ・Strong English communication skills We welcome applications from candidates of all expertise, gender identities, nationalities, and cultural backgrounds. |
| Submission: | |
| Application deadline: | Monday, April 20, 2026, at 12:00 (noon) JST |
| Starting employment: | The earliest date after January 1, 2027 |
| For questions contact: | Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University |
The Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University conducts research into the laws of nature across a broad spectrum of scientific fields, ranging from the microscopic world of elementary particles, nuclei, atoms, and molecules to the macroscopic world of life, the Earth, and the Universe, as well as mathematical phenomena. Through these inquiries, we contribute to the advancement of science and uphold the foundations of scientific and technological innovation.
In light of the future development of scientific research, we are seeking highly motivated individuals for tenure-track positions (Assistant Professor or Associate Professor) who are poised to internationally lead core research areas of the future.
The appointee will be affiliated with one of the departments--1) Mathematics, 2) Physics, 3) Astronomy, 4) Geophysics, 5) Chemistry, or 6) Earth Science--and will manage a laboratory as a Principal Investigator (PI), engaging in pioneering research in their specific field or in interdisciplinary research involving these and other areas.
Upon completion of the tenure-track period, the appointee is expected to have established themselves as an internationally outstanding researcher who fulfills one or more of the following criteria:
1. Interdisciplinary Research: A researcher capable of collaborating with adjacent fields beyond the boundaries of traditional research areas in science.
2. Exploration: A researcher capable of opening up new research fields within science.
3. Originality: A researcher promoting highly original research within their scientific domain.
This recruitment is implemented as part of Tohoku University's selection as a University for International Research Excellence, aimed at strengthening the university's research framework.
Tohoku University's accreditation as a University for International Research Excellence
Candidates for this position must hold a doctoral degree upon appointment and demonstrate strong English communication skills.
The selection committee will evaluate applicants on the basis of distinguished research achievements related to any of the six fields: 1) Mathematics, 2) Physics, 3) Astronomy, 4) Geophysics, 5) Chemistry, and 6) Earth Science. The committee will also assess candidates according to: (1) distinguished research achievements in one or more of the six fields listed above; (2) potential for interdisciplinary research; (3) ability to pioneer new research directions; and (4) capacity for original and creative research.
Target Research Fields: All fields of Science (Including interdisciplinary areas merging with biology/life sciences. However, candidates specializing exclusively in biology/life sciences are excluded.)
Department Websites:
1. Mathematics
2. Physics
3. Astronomy
4. Geophysics
5. Chemistry
6. Earth Science
Target Candidates: This position is intended for Early-to-Mid-Career Researchers (EMCRs). Candidates who obtained their Ph.D. within the last 10 years will receive prioritized consideration during the selection process. However, appropriate consideration will be given to career interruptions due to life events.
All documents must be prepared in either English or Japanese.
Please combine the following two documents into a single PDF file (max 10 MB), named "YourName.pdf".
1) Curriculum Vitae with a list of research achievements and professional activities (free format, A4).
2) Research Activity Plan (up to 5 pages in the free format, A4), including:
a. A summary of past research
b. A plan for future research
c. The intended use of the budget as described in "Special Funding & Duties"
Please apply via the "Application Form" link below. (A Google account is required to complete the submission; if you do not have one, please create an account.) The Application process is as follows:
1. Upload the single PDF file containing both your (1) Curriculum Vitae and (2) Research Activity Plan.
2. Enter the following information directly into the Application Form:
• Applicant's personal information
• Applicant's researcher identification information (e.g., Scopus Author ID, ORCID, researchmap URL)
• Relevant research areas (departments) (Select the department(s) you wish to be reviewed by) *
• Contact information for two referees *
*Refer to the Selection section below for more information
Application FormPersonal information provided through the Application Form will be used solely for the purpose of recruitment and selection at Tohoku University. To ensure fair and expert evaluation, part of the submitted information may be shared with external experts for their opinions. In such cases, all information will be handled under strict confidentiality and appropriate management procedures.
Tohoku University's basic policy on personal information protection
Deadline: Monday, April 20, 2026, at 12:00 (noon) (JST)
The selection process will consist of two stages:
• First stage: Document Screening
⚪︎ All applicants will be notified of the results of the first screening by mid-June 2026.
• Second stage: Interview and References
⚪︎ Applicants who pass the first screening will be invited to the second screening interview.
⚪︎ The interview will take place between July 10 and July 31, 2026.
⚪︎ The interview will be held either on-site at the Graduate School of Science (preferred) or online.
⚪︎ As part of this process, the referees listed in the Application Form will be contacted by the Graduate School to provide reference reports for the second screening.
Employment will start at the earliest date after January 1, 2027.
When applying, please select relevant research areas from the six research areas (departments) listed in Qualifications. Specify these areas in your Research Activity Plan and select them in the "Relevant research areas" section of the registration form.
If your research is interdisciplinary, please select all applicable research areas (departments).
In principle, the review will be conducted across all research areas selected by the applicant, and one of these departments will become the appointee's affiliation. However, the selection committee reserves the right to determine a different research area for review or departmental affiliation if deemed appropriate.
Successful individuals will be allocated an office and laboratory space on campus. If laboratory space and research equipment are deemed necessary based on the research plan submitted with the application, support will be provided for their allocation. Allocated office and laboratory space will generally be located within the Graduate School of Science (Aobayama Campus).
Appointees are eligible to move into university accommodation if there are any vacancies.
The annual salary for the appointment will be determined in accordance with Tohoku University's employment regulations and will be based on the experience and performance of the candidate. The gross annual salary will be approximately:
• Assistant professor: 6 to 8 million JPY
• Associate professor: up to 10 million JPY
This recruitment is part of the university-wide effort to increase research activities on campus as a University for International Research Excellence. As such, selected individuals will be provided with the following funding and are expected to meet the following duties:
• Start-up Fund: To facilitate a smooth research start, a start-up fund of up to 10 million JPY will be allocated in the first fiscal year of employment. The final maximum amount will be determined based on a review of the submitted "Research Activity Plan" in Required Documents.
• Basic Research Fund: From the first to the sixth year of appointment, up to 4 million JPY per year will be provided as a basic research fund, based on the Research Activity Plan. (Please note: The allocation for the fifth and sixth years may be subject to revision following an interim evaluation.)
• External Funding: Application for additional peer-reviewed grants and other third-party funding, including funding and revenue from joint and endowed research through industry collaboration, is required.
• Publications: The selected individual is strongly expected to produce several high impact publications, such as academic papers and books.
• Evaluation (Tenure Track):
⚪︎ An interim evaluation will be conducted by the end of the fourth year of appointment.
⚪︎ A formal tenure review will take place by the sixth year. Candidates who successfully pass the tenure review will be appointed as associate professor or professor (permanent position).
Please note: In cases where the appointee takes leave such as childcare leave, the tenure track term may be extended and the tenure review or term expiration may be postponed within the scope of the leave period, if deemed necessary.
Successful individuals will be enrolled as a member of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Mutual Aid Association which will also provide health insurance for any dependents. Tohoku University will also provide pension insurance, employment insurance as well as industrial accident compensation insurance.
Working Hours: Discretionary labor system for professional work. The standard working day is 7 hours and 45 minutes (basic hours: 8:30 AM to 5:15 PM), with working hours left to the individual's discretion.
Holidays: Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays, and New Year holidays (December 29 - January 3)
Employees are entitled to twenty days annual paid leave per year. The number of days provided is reckoned as of January 1st. Each year, twenty days are added to any remaining paid leave from the previous calendar year (up to twenty days). Annual leave for the first year of employment is calculated based on the start date (e.g., a start date of April 1st would provide 15 days for the remaining nine months of the calendar year).
Appointees will engage in educational duties in mentoring early-career researchers, supervising doctoral theses and providing lectures to undergraduate students.
As a member of the Graduate School, the appointee will also be required to cooperate in some administrative duties for the department or graduate school. However, care will be taken to ensure sufficient time for research, in recognition of the appointee's tenure track status and goal of becoming an internationally outstanding researcher.
Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University
Center for Research and Education cooperation in Science,
Office for Evaluation Analysis / Research Strategy
Inquiry Form：https://forms.gle/4CKA669eamXUtLmf6
Email (if the form is unavailable): sci-bunseki * grp.tohoku.ac.jp (Replace * with @)
・Support for Spouses: Tohoku University has established a support system to assist the spouses of qualified faculty members in finding employment opportunities for academic and non-academic jobs within the university. For more information, please contact the recruiting department.
・Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Tohoku University promotes activities to increase Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and encourages people of varied talents from all backgrounds to apply for positions at the university.
Tohoku University's website about the DEI Declaration can be found here
・Gender Equality: Pursuant to Article 8 of the Act on Securing, Etc. of Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment, Tohoku University shall, as a measure for increasing the presence of women among the academic staff, prioritize the hiring of women deemed qualified for each job opening, based on impartial evaluation.
・Guidelines for Gender Diversity: Tohoku University has published 'Tohoku University-Live as Who You Are-Guidelines for Gender and Sexual Diversity' to provide explanations and details of how those at the university should respond with respect to diverse sexuality. The purpose of the guidelines is to create an environment in which all students, faculty, and staff respect diverse sexuality in their academic, research, and professional activities.
Please see the Tohoku University Center for Gender Equality Promotion website
・Childcare Facilities: Tohoku University has the largest on-campus childcare system of all Japanese national universities. This network comprises three nurseries: Kawauchi Keyaki Nursery school (capacity: 22) and Aobayama Midori Nursery school (116), both open to all university employees, as well as Hoshinoko Nursery school (120), which is open to employees working at Tohoku University Hospital. In addition, Tohoku University Hospital runs a childcare room for mildly ill and convalescent children which is available to all university employees.
・Work-Life Balance and Research Support: See the following website for information on these and other programs that Tohoku University runs to assist work-life balance, to support researchers, and to advance gender equality, including measures to promote childcare leave among male employees.
Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Tohoku University Website
The Faculty of Science has implemented a crucial security measure to prevent unauthorized entry onto the Kita-Aobayama campus during the examination period.
Your cooperation in refraining from any activities that may interfere with the examination, such as speaking loudly, is crucial to maintaining a quiet test-taking environment on campus.
1.Restricted Entry Period
Tuesday, February 25: Until 17:00
Wednesday, February 26: Until 13:30
2.Restrictions on Entry (Examination period)
1)Students who have not yet been assigned to a laboratory: Entry to the campus area willbe prohibited during the examination period.
2)Students assigned to a laboratory: You are prohibited from entering the buildings where the examination will be held (see the attached map) except for unavoidable reasons, such as animal rearing.
Entry will also be prohibited between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., as the period overlaps with the reception hours for examinees.
Please note that students who enter the examination venues for unavoidable reasons must undergo an ID inspection and declare their purpose of entry at the entrance.
They will also be prohibited from entering the area where the examination rooms arelocated, entering and exiting the building, and using the restroom.
3.Research activities during the examination period
To avoid the risk of interruption of the examinations due to fire caused by experiments,
all experimental equipment must be stopped (no experiments allowed),except those that must be kept running during the above period.
As detailed below, the Faculty of Science Campus will have traffic restrictions.
We also ask for your cooperation in maintaining a quiet environment around the
examination rooms, such as refraining from speaking loudly.
1.Entrance Examination Period
Wednesday, February 25: Until 17:00
Thursday, February 26: Until 13:30
2.Traffic Restrictions on the Campus
Please drive slowly to prevent accidents, as examinees will pass through the campus during the examination period.
Additionally, the following locations will be closed to traffic or have parking prohibited
( See the attached map).
○ Places where roads are closed
(1) Passage between the Physics Lecture Hall and the Chemistry Students Laboratory
(2) Passage in front of the Chemistry Building
(3) South side of the Central Plaza
○No Parking Areas
(1) Entire roads on the Faculty of Science Campus
(2) Parking lot in front of the Science Administration Center
(3) Parking lot the Standard Lecture Room for Earth Science and Biology
For example, carbon forms very stable π-electron compounds (compounds linked by pi bonds, or π-bonds, which affect a molecule's reactivity) called benzene and fullerene. In comparison, silicon cannot readily form these compounds, as the π-bonds forming π-electron compounds are not strong in this element. Synthesizing such silicon-based π-electron compounds consequently becomes increasingly difficult as the number of silicon atoms increases. However, researchers at Tohoku University found a way to overcome these limitations.
A research group led by Professor Takeaki Iwamoto, Graduate Student Tomoki Ishikawa, and Associate Professor Shintaro Ishida at the Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, has successfully synthesized π-electron compounds with a pentagonal silicon framework, 'pentasilacyclopentadienide', and elucidated their molecular structures.
How to prepare 'pentasilacyclopentadienide.' ©Takeaki Iwamoto 'Pentasilacyclopentadienide' is a compound characterized by a nonplanar pentagonal skeleton. Despite its nonplanarity, it has delocalized π-electrons and aromaticity similar to a carbon-based planar molecule called cyclopentadienide. Given the utility of cyclopentadienide, this resemblance is reassuring.
"Cyclopentadienide is a highly useful molecule used widely in catalysts that speed up reactions and materials science research," remarks Iwamoto, "We are very excited to have created a similar, stable molecule using silicon."
Quantum chemical calculations were used to determine the underlying mechanism behind how this compound remains stable. The research team found that the delocalization of π-electrons on the silicon skeleton and the protecting groups on the silicon skeleton are the secret to stabilizing this compound.
The new silicon compounds emerging from this research may have the potential to unlock the latent physical properties, functions, and novel applications inherent in silicon - an abundant element with no risk of depletion.
And in a neat twist of fate, the very same compound was discovered almost simultaneously in Professor David Scheschkewitz's laboratory at Saarland University in Saarbruecken, Germany. By mutual agreement, the research teams in Japan and in Germany have published their findings side by side in the same issue of Science on February 6, 2026.
(a) Crystals and (b) molecular structure of a 'pentasilacyclopentadienide.' ©Takeaki Iwamoto
Publication Details:
Title: Silicon Cyclopentadienides Featuring a Nonplanar 6π Aromatic Si5 Ring
Authors: Takeaki Iwamoto, Tomoki Ishikawa, Shintaro Ishida
Journal: Science
DOI: 10.1126/science.aed0168
Contact:
Takeaki Iwamoto
Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science
Email: takeaki.iwamoto * tohoku.ac.jp (Replace * with @)
Website: https://www.ssoc.chem.tohoku.ac.jp/en_index.html
As nearly fifteen years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake, this seminar aimed to understand how people have perceived disasters and processed their experiences. Mr. Sato delivered a lecture and engaged in a deep discussion with SyDE students, emphasizing the importance of transforming these past experiences into valuable lessons for the future.
For more details, please visit the official website (Japanese text only) of the WISE Program for Sustainability in the Dynamic Earth (SyDE).
（Written by Tatsuki Mizuno）
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Figure 1. Composite images of Mars taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2024. Thin clouds of water ice, visible in ultraviolet light, give the Red Planet an icy appearance. The frigid north polar ice cap was experiencing the beginning of Martian spring. ©NASA, ESA, STScI
A new study from an international team of researchers published in Communications: Earth & Environment on February 2, 2026, has brought us a significant step closer to solving this puzzle. For the first time, researchers demonstrated that an anomalous, intense, but localized dust storm was able to drive the transport of water to the upper layers of the Martian atmosphere during the Northern Hemisphere summer - a time when this process was previously considered to be irrelevant.
"The findings reveal the impact of this type of storm on the planet's climate evolution and opens a new path for understanding how Mars lost much of its water over time," says Adrián Brines, a researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC) and co-lead author of the study along with Shohei Aoki, a researcher from the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences at the University of Tokyo and the Graduate School of Science at Tohoku University.
Figure 2. Daily MRO-MARCI global map images of the initial growth of a rare regional dust storm in northwestern Syrtis Major, observed on August 21, 2023, at Ls = 107.6° (left) and August 22, 2023, at Ls = 108.0° (right), reaching an extent of 1.2 × 10⁶ km². ©Brines, Aoki et al., 2026, Communications: Earth & Environment
While dust storms have long been recognized as important for Mars' water escape, previous discussions have mostly focused on large, planet-wide dust events. In contrast, this study shows that smaller, regional storms can also strongly enhance water transport to high altitudes, where it can be more easily lost to space. Furthermore, previous research has focused on the warm, dynamic summers of the Southern Hemisphere, since it is typically the main period of water loss on Mars.
This study detected an unusual increase in water vapor in the middle atmosphere of Mars during the Northern Hemisphere summer in Martian year 37 (2022-2023 on Earth), caused by an anomalous dust storm. At these altitudes, the amount of water was up to ten times greater than usual, a phenomenon not observed in previous Martian years and not predicted by current climate models.
Shortly afterward, the amount of hydrogen in the exobase--the region where the atmosphere merges with space--increased significantly to 2.5 times that of the previous years during the same season. One of the keys to understanding how much water Mars has lost is measuring how much hydrogen has escaped into space, since this element is readily released when water breaks down in the atmosphere.
Figure 3. Diagram illustrating the atmospheric response to a localized dust storm in the Northern Hemisphere during the local summer season. High dust concentrations significantly increase the absorption of solar radiation, leading to greater atmospheric warming, especially in the middle atmosphere. Furthermore, the increased atmospheric circulation associated with the dust storm enhances the vertical transport of water vapor from the lower atmosphere, promoting water injection at higher altitudes and increasing hydrogen escape from the exobase. ©Brines, Aoki et al., 2026, Communications: Earth & Environment.
"These results add a vital new piece to the incomplete puzzle of how Mars has been losing its water over billions of years, and shows that short but intense episodes can play a relevant role in the climate evolution of the Red Planet," concludes Aoki (University of Tokyo and Tohoku University).
This study is a collaborative, international project combining data across multiple Mars exploration missions such as the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) of the ESA's ExoMars mission (2016) and its NOMAD instrument with observations from other active missions in Martian orbit, such as NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM).
Publication Details:
Title: Out-of-season water escape during Mars' northern summer triggered by a strong localized dust storm
Authors: Adrián Brines, Shohei Aoki, Frank Daerden, Michael Chaffin, Samuel Atwood, Susarla Raghuram, Bruce Cantor, Yannick Willame, Loïc Trompet, Geronimo Villanueva, Michael Wolff, Michael Smith, Christopher Edwards, Ian Thomas, Giuliano Liuzzi, Lori Neary, Manish Patel, Miguel Angel Lopez-Valverde, AnnCarine Vandaele, Armin Kleinboehl, Hoor AlMazmi, James Whiteway, Bojan Ristic, Giancarlo Bellucci
Journal: Communications Earth & Environment
DOI: 10.1038/s43247-025-03157-5
Contact:
Shohei Aoki
Department of Complexity Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo
The University & Department of Geophysics, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University
Email: shohei.aoki * edu.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp; shohei.aoki * tohoku.ac.jp (Replace * with @)
Website: https://researchmap.jp/shoheia
Application period: February 9, 2026－February 12, 2026
For further information, please refer to the website of SyDE program.
https://syde.tohoku.ac.jp/english/student/application/
The JSPS Ikushi Prize aims to foster young researchers by formally recognizing outstanding doctoral students who are expected to contribute to the future development of academic research in Japan, thereby enhancing their motivation for study and research.
The award ceremony is scheduled to be held at the Japan Academy on March 3, 2026.
■ Recipient:
Susumu Ito, 3rd-year doctoral student, Department of Physics (Condensed Matter Theory Group)
■ Award Title:
The 16th (FY2025) JSPS Ikushi Prize
■ Doctoral Research Theme:
Statistical Physics of Schooling Behavior and Collective Motion in Fish
■ Remarks:
The recipients of the 16th (FY2025) JSPS Ikushi Prize were announced
A distinguishing feature of a glass is that its atoms freeze into an irregular, disordered arrangement. This stands in contrast to crystals, where atoms sit in a regular pattern. This disorder gives glass many of its unique and useful properties, but scientists still struggle to understand how atomic-scale disorder produces the properties we observe in everyday glasses.
Many material properties are governed by how atoms vibrate when the temperature is not very high. In ordered crystalline materials, atomic vibrations take the form of waves that extend over very large distances. Glasses, however, do not support only wave-like vibrations. In recent years, it has become clear that glasses also host disorder-induced atomic vibrations that are localized in space, and that these vibrations significantly affect their thermal properties. Moreover, recent research indicates that when a glass is deformed strongly enough, the same localized vibrations give rise to glass flows--a phenomenon termed yielding. That is, large deformations force glasses to flow like a fluid, but in a way that is distinctly different from the yielding of crystalline solids.
Strikingly, repeated deformation can even "train" a glass to store mechanical memories--information about past forcing--which can later be read out from its response. Bringing these pieces together--vibrations, yielding, and memory--within one coherent theory has remained difficult. A recent model, published in Physical Review Letters, shows how such unification can be achieved.
In the study, Makoto Suda (a doctoral student at Tohoku University), Edan Lerner (University of Amsterdam), and Eran Bouchbinder (Weizmann Institute of Science) extended a theoretical model that had previously been shown to reproduce spatially localized vibrations in glasses. Earlier works suggested that when a glass is deformed, these vibrations align to form flow-like patterns, potentially giving rise to yielding and memory. To test this scenario, the team set out to analyze the model under controlled external forcing.
The researchers applied repeated back-and-forth forcing, known as cyclic loading, while varying the strength of each cycle. At small forcing amplitudes, the system quickly stopped accumulating new deformation and, after a few cycles, settled into a repeatable loop. In this stable regime, the model also developed a memory of the forcing strength, which could be extracted at a later time. At larger forcing amplitudes, the behavior changed qualitatively: the system continued accumulating new deformation patterns and never returned to previous states--a hallmark of yielding in glasses. In this regime, the memory of the forcing strength became increasingly obscured.
Yielding behavior in the theoretical model.
(Left) Relationship between the applied force strength and the potential energy, which indicates the system's stability. When the force strength exceeds a threshold (indicated by the dashed line), yielding occurs and the structure tends to become unstable.
(Top right) Deformation per cycle under repeated forcing. At small force strengths, deformation gradually decays to zero.
(Bottom right) At large force strengths, yielding occurs and deformation continues indefinitely.
These results support the idea that "how glass shakes" and "how it starts to flow" are not separate mysteries, but rather two outcomes of the same underlying physics rooted in glasses' disordered nature. This connection is captured here by a single predictive model.
Looking ahead, the team aims to pinpoint the precise mechanism that sets the yielding threshold and to explore whether other hallmark properties of glasses can be traced within the same theoretical framework. By testing the model's predictions against atomistic simulations and experiments on real glasses, this approach could deepen scientists' understanding of the glassy state of matter and help establish more reliable routes for durability assessment and, ultimately, materials design.
These findings were published in Physical Review Letters on 18 December 2025.
Publication Details:
Title: Yielding and memory in a driven mean-field model of glasses
Authors: Makoto Suda, Edan Lerner, Eran Bouchbinder
Journal: Physical Review Letters
DOI: 10.1103/vpmn-sw7n
Contact:
Makoto Suda
Department of Earth Science, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University
Email: makoto.suda.q4 * dc.tohoku.ac.jp (Replace * with @)
Website: http://dges.es.tohoku.ac.jp/kozo/
January, 2026
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