These Profiles of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering are intended primarily to give high school students and University students a general reference touching on the face of the Department, spreading their parents, alumni and the general public.

The gate of the new millennium has been opened to the future. The excellent accomplishments in the field of science and engineering have been made in the last 20th century. As typical examples, the spread of handy telephone, internet network over the world is beyond our expectation. The field of materials science and engineering supports strongly the developments of the practical technology.

A new age of information technology requires further functional progress on the materials science and engineering; expansion of memory capacity, high speed information processing and information retrieval, peripheral equipment. In particular, biotechnology and nano (10^-9 m)-technology, which are some subjects you learn in our Department, will be in the spotlight in the near future. Activity range of our Department expands from the most fundamental physical and chemical sciences to applications-oriented programs in the environmental science with biotechnology. A substantial part of research is performed by young undergraduate and graduate students.

What is the scientific world in 21 century? Somebody will ring a warning bell for serious problems which confront us now. We must do everything to solve these problems; bio-ethics (public morality of the life science), environmental issues, energy source and consumption, food shortage, the peaceful applications of science and engineering, and so forth.

The technical renovation in industry has its source in the materials engineering. The difficulty of issues may be solved peacefully with only one discovery of new functional material. The versatile capability of solutions for the issues originates, sometimes, from the new materials. You can create the useful materials for the people in the world. The study of the materials science course enables you to pursue your dream of the fruitful technical renovations.

You learn languages, social sciences, cultural and human sciences, natural science, and technology at our University, furthermore, physical exercise, literature, and arts. Please become deeply interested in what you want to do, sport, arts and education-related events: also make friends with a person and love nature. You will have rich humanity through the good experiences.

Although the winter is long in Hakkaido, the climate is fairly moderate around the city of Muroran. We enjoy the university way of life, at the foot of Mt. Washibetsu with rich green surroundings and the northern Pacific Ocean. The favorable opportunities for university recreation or outside organizations are in the several vacations periods during the academic year. Let us get together to study hard and to enjoy your university way of life. We hope that your association with us will be both pleasant and rewarding. We will certainly continue the efforts for our Department of Materials Science and Engineering.