August 22, 2018
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU)
On August 20, the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU) was delighted to host a visit by Chancellor George Blumenthal of University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC). He was accompanied by Associate Chancellor Ashish Sahni and Assistant Vice Provost of Global Engagement Becky George. UCSC is one of the premier institutions in the US in astronomy, astrophysics, and physics. They are interested in closer collaborations and exchanges with the university of Tokyo, and Kavli IPMU in particular.
Kavli IPMU Director Hitoshi Murayama introduced the history, mission, and research being carried out at the institute. Chancellor Blumenthal is an astrophysicist, and was fascinated by the research activity at Kavli IPMU. This was followed up with more in depth discussions with several Kavli IPMU researchers, exchanging ideas about how the two institutions could work more collaboratively in the future. The common areas of interest include wide-field surveys called SuMIRe on the Subaru telescope, the Fermi gamma-ray satellite mission launched by NASA, the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) being planned on the summit of Mauna Kea, and in theoretical particle physics and astrophysics. There was an agreement for boosting exchanges of researchers at all levels, from undergraduate students to faculty.
At 3pm, Blumenthal, Sahni and George were invited to join in Kavli IPMU's daily tea time, and met many more Kavli IPMU astronomers, physicists, and mathematicians over tea and coffee.
After tea time, Murayama gave a tour of the institute, including a visit to the experimental physics laboratories on the ground floor. Here, Kavli IPMU Associate Professor Takeo Higuchi introduced the Belle II project work carried out Laboratory A, and Project Associate Professor Tomotake Matsumura introduced the cosmic microwave background research being carried out in Laboratory B.
