平成25年度東京大学大学院入学式　祝辞

式辞・告辞集　平成25年度東京大学大学院入学式　祝辞

CHALLENGES OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY WORLD

It is an honor and pleasure to speak today at the entrance ceremony of the University of Tokyo. It is a special occasion because you are entering the next phase of your life, an important and critical time for all of you. You are living in a "golden era" of scientific discovery, where breakthroughs are occurring almost daily and virtually in every field, from astronomy to material science to genetics to engineering. Today's research moves so seamlessly into application that it is sometimes difficult to notice the transition.
Across the science and engineering enterprise, boundaries are increasingly difficult to distinguish between and among disciplines, especially information technology, nanotechnology, and the many areas embracing biocomplexity, the complexity of life itself. But it is true also for the social and behavior sciences in this new era of "big data", when computational capacity reaches beyond imagination. The most exciting areas are in these "blurred connections", these fuzzy connections between disciplines where knowledge in one field answers questions in another field.

New tools have opened up breathtaking vistas for molecular and biochemical scientists, enabling discovery of microbial life at the most unexpected frontiers on Earth. For the first time we have within our grasp the intellectual construct---to understand complexity of life and of the human brain---and the technical tools, from computers to genomics, to bring to light the mysteries of an heretofore unseen complex world of microorganisms all the way up to the human brain. The challenge is to provide imaginative education and training for the unknown future. In shaping the educational experience for your generation, your university education should match this dynamism of discovery and should also reflect responsibility to your global society. You are in the vanguard, the front line, of an exciting new era. Science, engineering, and technology are moving beyond the descriptive and the quantitative---into an unprecedented arena of simulation, visualization, and prediction.

Human health and medicine have, without question, benefited from advances in molecular biology, fundamental chemistry, physics, and mathematics, but a new frontier in scientific exploration provides the next major advance for the health sciences, namely the integration of the ecological sciences, conservation biology, systems engineering, and medicine. Ecosystems analyses are proving insightful. Most striking is merging of what were considered very different data bases and making them integrated and inter-operable by using advances in information science and technology. Very large data sets accumulated by ecologists, toxicologists, public health scientists, climatologists, and atmospheric scientists are now being merged and mined to yield new understanding and discovery of fundamental principles previously unrecognized because of limitations in the past from disparate and unlinked systems, the best example is in understanding the function of the brain. And most fortunately, these advances are being made at a time when the most of pressing problems face human civilization and these include poverty, climate change, and conflict among nations.

It is appropriate at this important milestone in your life, to focus your energies on thinking about what lies ahead of you. I can anticipate a future in which you will make your unique and collective contributions in serving and leading your country and the world. Leaders have a vision of the future and a capacity to create that future, no matter what obstacles block the way. Those among you with ambition to be writers and artists will create stories and paintings and music that will enrich our lives. Breaking new ground is imagination in action. It is important to have a generation, your generation, of pioneering leaders who can meet the challenges that face our global society.

Let me give you a brief example from the realm of science. Contemporary society is increasingly rooted in, and dependent on, science, technology, and engineering. We need scientists and engineers to continue the momentum of discovery and development. The twenty-first century world needs an educated and well-trained workforce to run the complex societal engine and maintain the global marketplace of the future. You are the next generation of productive, innovative workers and specialists. Your skills will be essential to the economic momentum of industries and institutions in the future.

At the same time, we are a "world neighborhood" of seven billion people, most of whom are disadvantaged. Yet the poorest of the poor still maintain hope for the future. We will need leaders of vision who can find ways to realize that hope. I cannot predict the future, but I can readily see the trends. We will need citizens literate in both science and the humanities---in the twenty-first century and beyond. We need articulate and ethical leaders with good judgment who can help navigate an increasingly complex world. Those will be the leaders in the classroom, in government, and in the business community.

This entrance ceremony today, then, is a major step toward creating a better personal future for yourselves. You are ready to work hard to succeed in whichever fields you have chosen to enter. Therefore, I challenge you to "change the world". I know that sounds like a lofty and unrealistic, ambitious goal. But each of you here today has a passion…some of you want to write novels, some want to heal others, and some of you want to uncover new knowledge, perhaps win a Nobel prize. But do not forget service to others. Your passion is uniquely yours, with your own vision, your own versatility, and your passions, you possess what will start a quest to change the world.

We all can acknowledge that we live in a time of change. New scientific theories, new forms of music and literature, new technologies, cures for disease, new psychologies, and new visions …these benefits come from those who dare to take risks and challenge conventional wisdom. Each of you has a unique contribution to make and your contribution can help to make our world safer, kinder, and more compassionate.
You are beginning your university studies in a world few could have imagined a hundred years ago, at the dawn of the twentieth century. Social and career choices were more limited then. Few women worked. Those who did were usually limited in their careers. To the women entering the University of Tokyo today, I would like to provide a special message. Today women have an important role to play in the "knowledge society".
Countries of the world thriving economically, like Brazil, are those with the greatest participation of women in science and technology and the greatest number of women in the workforce. It is important that, as women, your educational and professional aspirations be fulfilled. To the women and the men entering graduate studies at the University of Tokyo today, I urge you to seek a flexible education and training opportunities that allow you to make choices and decisions about your own lives. Japan is a leading knowledge based economy of the world and it is a knowledge society that must include both women and men to an equal extent to maintain its leadership among nations.

Let me share one story. In my career, I have had the privilege and satisfaction to help understand where in the aquatic environment the bacterium causing the infectious disease, cholera, makes its home. I have studied the bacterium, Vibrio cholerae, for more than thirty years. Eventually my students and I were able to prove that cholera is caused by a bacterium that occurs naturally in rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters. And the bacterium has a dormant stage that fooled researchers. It literally hides between epidemics. We found that the cholera bacterium is associated with plankton found in virtually all rivers and streams. But purifying water is an elusive goal in poverty-stricken countries like Bangladesh, where boiling water to obtain safe drinking water is not an option. There simply isn't enough firewood to burn.

A least expensive option is filtering out the plankton to lessen, and possibly curb the disease. We found that simple cloth filters made an excellent and affordable filter for impoverished remote villages. Our team of researchers taught the women in those remote villages of Bangladesh how to filter their water. And we have learned in a follow up study that they continue to filter and the cholera rate is significantly lower, reduced by nearly 50%.

Our work is a small step toward reducing the number of people, especially children, who die each year from cholera. We were ordinary people committed to our passion and able to make a difference. There are few things more gratifying in life than helping others help themselves.

There is an African proverb that says, "the lack of knowledge is darker than night." There is a lot of darkness remaining in the world. There are still many things to change for the better. And simple solutions derived from understanding the complexity of nature can be powerful.

This brings me to my conclusion. Living in a global society rooted in science and engineering brings many benefits, and it also brings important responsibilities. It is not just up to scientists and engineers to decide how we apply these new capabilities. All of us must be engaged. And it is no longer enough for scientists and engineers alone to generate new knowledge. We need a partnership with social scientists, philosophers, artists, and musicians. Our task as a global society is to understand the issues and to be informed partners in the debate about how knowledge is used.

Your studies at the University of Tokyo, with its fine reputation earned over more than a century of excellence, are the beginning of a life long journey in learning and in changing the world to become a better place.

You will not lack for challenges, for excitement, or for gratification, and I know that you will change the world.

Congratulations and my best wishes for every success and happiness in your years at Todai and in your future careers.

平成25年（2013年）4月12日
Dr. Rita R. Colwell