My current main research interest is to understand the mechanisms of super-eruptions that caused global-scale environmental changes. By analyzing the chemical compositions of volcanic ejecta in detail, I am investigating how huge amounts of magma were prepared, what triggered the eruptions, and what unique factors were present to have caused the catastrophic eruptions.

Our lab boasts to have the most complete equipment for the observation and geochemical analysis of volcanic rocks among any research and educational institutions in Japan. The students in my lab are supposed to work on research themes independent of the supervisor (i.e. me), and I provide guidance with the goal of having their research results during the master course published as full papers in international journals.

My hobby is making wooden models of things like five-story pagodas. Since I was a child, I often visited temples in Nara and Kyoto, but since I started working at Hokkaido University, I have not been able to go there as often, so I thought, “In that case, I’ll make them myself and display them in my house.” I use commercially available kits, but I add many parts that are not included in the kits, refine them, and paint them myself, spending more than 1,000 hours to finish each one.