Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Environmental Studies Division

Environmental Studies Division

Overview

The Environmental Studies Division aims to train engineers by acquiring in-depth knowledge and techniques to create and sustainably develop local communities in harmony with nature, working actively in various fields, including: community-based urban development and conservation of the global environment; working within teams to solve problems related to diverse social infrastructures in our presently aging society with declining birthrates; using the ability to transmit information with communication skills and leadership; and with the ability to comprehensively consider the influence of social infrastructures on the global environment from an international point of view.

Laboratory introduction

For faculty member details, please see the staff introductions.

Laboratory Earth sciences
Faculty members Professor KOJIMA Satoru (Disaster Reduction Studies Division)
Professor OHTANI Tomoyuki
Research details Using geological techniques, our laboratory conducts researches on: mitigation of landslide hazards by elucidating the geologic factors of the slides and the development history of deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSD) which are regarding as precursor phenomena of landslides; fault zone formation in active fault based on geological, mineralogical, geochemical studies; and resource assessments of shallow geothermal energy.
Laboratory Geotechnical and Groundwater Engineering
Faculty members Professor KAMIYA Kohji
Associate professor KOJIMA Yuki
Research details We study fluid (water and air), heat, and solutes transfer and behavior in both saturated and unsaturated soil based on soil mechanics, geotechnical engineering, and soil physics. Our research themes include i) technologies to increase the safety of river dikes during floods, ii) proper management of groundwater resources to prevent disasters associated with groundwater such as land subsidence, iii) developing sensors to quantify various soil properties and processes; and iv) remediation of soil and groundwater contaminated by oils, heavy metals, and others.
Laboratory Maintenance engineering
Faculty members Professor KOBAYASHI Koichi
Research details Our laboratory aims to improve the durability performance of steel-reinforced concrete structures, for example: by elucidating deterioration mechanisms such as chloride attack, alkali-aggregate reactions, and frost attack; evaluating the residual performance of existing concrete structures; and developing repair or strengthen methods, including the innovation of new materials.
Laboratory Environmental Hydrology
Faculty members Professor SHINODA Seirou
Research details Our laboratory purposes to suggest specific strategies to improve complicated environmental and social systems that involve human activity and the natural environment on the scale of river basins serving as the basis for water sources and for the transport of materials. In particular, we evaluate the impacts of human activity and climate change on water and material transfers through field observations, GIS (Geographic Information System), numerical simulations, and other methods. Moreover, we study policies to effectively and economically control those impacts, and measures to harmonize human culture with the climate.
Laboratory Management of regions
Faculty members Professor TAKAGI Akiyoshi
Research details With the goal of "creating a society in which everyone can independently work together and live happily," our laboratory conducts research into a wide variety of social infrastructures that support local societies ranging from "hard to soft," or in other words, from the infrastructure to human networks. Our focus is on the realization of disaster-resilient communities and an environmentally friendly society for regional revitalization. In particular, we delve into the economic evaluation of externalities such as safety, comfortability and convenience, and into policy designs based on these evaluations. We also explore the internalization of subordinated social needs into economic systems, that is, incorporating social needs into public policy and businesses, and the mechanisms of regional collaboration.
Laboratory Basin Hydrology Dynamics
Faculty members Professor TAMAGAWA Ichiro
Associate professor HARADA Morihiro
Research details We promote research to clarify phenomena and practical use applications targeting watersheds that extend from a mountainous region to its river estuaries, from the actual dynamics of water and related characteristics of precipitation and evaporation to the flows of a river, based on both hydrometeorology (Professor Tamagawa) and river engineering (Associate professor Harada).
Laboratory Water quality research
Faculty members Professor LI Fusheng
Associate professor HIROOKA Kayako
Associate professor SUZUKI Yuji
Research details The aims of our laboratory are to secure safe water, to improve the comfort of life and to conserve water environments based on water/wastewater engineering and water quality science. We cover a wide range of research topics related with water environment: (1) Understanding water qualities and their behaviors in rivers and lakes; (2) Developing advanced physicochemical and biological water/wastewater control and treatment technology; (3) Recovering resources/energy from waste and wastewater. Furthermore, we study on restoration technologies and countermeasures to address problems emerging as water and soil pollution in developing countries caused by heavy metals, micropollutants and so on.
Laboratory Urban landscapes
Faculty members Associate professor DEMURA Yoshifumi
Research details To realize sustainable and prosperous human activities within cities and local communities, our laboratory explores policies for planning and designing cities and regions from a comprehensive perspective, including the history and culture. For that purpose, we actively practice area management through research of the formation history of cities and regions, and the human connections (social capital) that serve as the foundation of society. We have also established the "Mitonomachi Lab" as a base in the Gifu urban area.
Laboratory River-Hydrology
Faculty members Associate professor KOJIMA Toshiharu
Assistant professor Keisuke Ohashi (Disaster Reduction Studies Division)
Research details The Academic discipline for all water movement on the earth is called hydrology. As narrower sense, the study for terrestrial water, for rivers and for forest water are respectively called limnology, potamology and forest hydrology. We focus on river science, river hydrology and forest hydrology field, and solve problems caused by the movement of water, sediment and materials. Our research activities are observation/surveying and computer simulation. In recent years, heavy rain disasters due to global warming have frequently occurred and the role of disaster prevention has become more important than before.