Koji Ioku (Retiring in AY 2025)

I arrived at Keio University in April 2012 and was in charge of the classes "Chemistry I & II (including experiments)" and "Economy and Environment." My career as a university faculty member began in April 1989 at the Faculty of Science, Kochi University, followed by the Faculty of Engineering and the Graduate School of Medicine at Yamaguchi University, and then the Graduate School of Environmental Studies at Tohoku University, where I worked on science and technology education and research for science students. On March 11, 2011, just as my research was getting on track, I was affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake at the Aobayama Campus of Tohoku University. While living in fear of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, I envisioned a negative future for science and technology. I was painfully reminded that to utilize science and technology in society, one must not neglect the human element, and that relying solely on science and technology would sooner or later reach its limits. I strongly wished to provide science education from an interdisciplinary perspective to excellent humanities students who could become future leaders, even if only for a moment in their lives, and I was truly fortunate to realize that.

"Chemistry I & II (including experiments)" is a unique subject where lectures and experiments are held bi-weekly for two consecutive periods. The starting line for students varied from those with almost no memory of studying chemistry to those who loved it and studied it until high school graduation. I had to think about what level the class should be and how to evaluate it appropriately. Therefore, instead of an orthodox class building up from the basics of chemistry, I decided to present challenges for the coming future society—themed around the environment, energy, life sciences, and medical sciences, where a turbulent 30 years are expected—and explain science and technology from an interdisciplinary perspective. I designed the course so that by completing it, students could study a full range of important chemistry topics, such as atoms, molecules, chemical bonds, the three states of matter, acids and alkalis, oxidation and reduction, amino acids, proteins, genes, light, radiation, and quantum chemistry. However, since no such textbook exists, all lecture materials were handmade. In the experiments, we worked on creating the first artificially synthesized medicines and synthetic fibers in human history, and I had students think about them in connection with historical backgrounds, the words left by giants of knowledge, economics, and law. Even students who had a negative impression of chemistry actively researched the Industrial Revolution, the modern chemical industry, and amendments to the Organ Transplant Act, and seemed to find the chemistry classes interesting. Once, at the beginning of a class on my birthday, students set off party poppers and celebrated by saying, "Professor, happy birthday!" I was so surprised I almost fell over, but I couldn't help but feel a lump in my throat. I never would have thought of doing such a thing during my own student days, and I was truly impressed by their rich ideas and ability to take action.

Meanwhile, "Economy and Environment" was co-taught with Mizuki Kawabata for 14 years, and we reached the goal of perfect attendance without missing a single session. In this lecture, I handled topics such as earthquakes and disaster prevention, global warming, ocean acidification, plastic pollution, endocrine disruptors, asbestos, renewable energy, nuclear power generation, and nuclear waste, conveying raw information from surveys conducted across Japan to the students. Perhaps my enthusiasm was contagious, as after class, there were not only questions in the lecture hall and via K-LMS or email, but some students even visited my lab on weekends. At the final lecture on January 19, 2026, about 10 students came up to me afterward and said things like, "This was the most interesting class I've had since entering university," "Things I usually never thought about were introduced one after another, and it really made me think," and "Please continue to give us advice even after you retire." My heart was full. After retirement, I will work on science education at another university, but I intend to use my experience at Keio University to continue thinking about the future of science and technology with young people from both the humanities and sciences from an interdisciplinary perspective. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone at the Keio University Faculty of Economics for providing me with such fulfilling days, and I offer a cheer and my best wishes for the success of the Keio students!