Message from the President

“Kyoto University of Advanced Science is evolving into a comprehensive university, which is engaged in the wide range of academic activities.
Each faculty and graduate school of the University will play important roles in addressing various problems that confront modern society in the immediate and near future, as well as the needs of society as a whole.
The evolution of robots and automated machines will bring about interactions with human beings not only in factories and workplaces but also in urban environments and households. Consequently, we are required to focus on real-world implementation, based on a full understanding of human behavior. The diverse academic disciplines we offer will help achieve that goal.
We will develop human resources who have the expertise, practical English ability, and fundamental skills required to become global citizens. As a university devoted to creating knowledge and developing human beings in response to global needs, we, the academic and administrative staff, along with students, will combine our collective strengths to establish the brand of Kyoto University of Advanced Science, while supporting you to achieve your dreams, hopes, and future.”

Profile of Professor Masafumi Maeda

Professor Masafumi Maeda, a prominent expert and an accomplished academic leader in Materials Engineering, is President of Kyoto University of Advanced Science.

In the area of sustainable energy, Professor Maeda’s research focuses on resource recovery and waste treatment. He has played a leadership role in the field since he became founding Head of the International Research Center for Sustainable Materials at the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS) of the University of Tokyo in 2004, where he served until 2009. With its team of internationally renowned researchers, the Center has become an international hub for research on recycling and processing critical materials. During this period, he served as Director General of the IIS of the University of Tokyo, where he initiated a wide range of administrative reforms aimed at energizing research activities that explore new research fields, as well as optimally managing external funding.

Between 2008 and 2010, Professor Maeda chaired the 69th Committee on Materials Processing and Applications under the University-Industry Cooperative Research Program of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, developing a forum for collaborations between academic researchers and industry leaders. He was a member of the Science Council of Japan between 2008 and 2014, during which he chaired its Materials Engineering Committee between 2011 and 2014.

Between 2009 and 2015, Professor Maeda was Executive Vice President of the University of Tokyo. His primary responsibilities were to oversee the operation and management of the university’s finances, estates, administration, teaching hospital, and libraries, and so seek out synergies. Externally, as chair of the Mining and Materials Processing Institute of Japan, in 2016 he co-hosted the world’s largest international conference on Copper Industry and Sustainability, which was held for the first time in Japan.

Professor Maeda holds a number of key industrial advisory roles. Between 2012 and 2018, he was a Non-executive Director of JFE Holding, one of the world’s largest steel manufacturers and, since 2016, has been Non-executive Director General of Nidec Center for Industrial Science, which is a R&D center of Nidec Corporation―a leading manufacturer of electric equipment including precision motors, for which it has the largest market share in the world―promoting advanced research and cutting-edge technologies.

He was awarded BSc., MSc., and PhD. from the University of Tokyo, where he read Materials Engineering. He joined the university as a faculty member and was awarded a professorship in 1996. He was a visiting postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto between 1982 and 1984. He has authored numerous books and academic papers, including “Advanced Physical Chemistry for Process Metallurgy” published in 1997.