Theme: Allure of Adventure

Mission for TEDxHokkaidoU
– We want to hold TEDx event that’s attracting and exciting in Hokkaido University –
Through TEDxHokkaidoU, we want to make a place where people can share ideas over the partitions of faculties, and to spread the talk that only Hokudai can spread.
TEDx has communities all over Japan and the world. You can connect to all the people who participated in TEDx held anywhere in the world. We want to spread new finding and excitement from Hokudai to the world.

Messages in the Theme
Adventure – Be true to your curiosity. Don’t fear. Challenge.
Allure – There are tons of choices around you. It is you that grab one.
We want to make a community where students in Hokkaido University can be active.
TEDxHokkaidoU, as one of such a community, aims to hold conferences that inspires the adventure spirits and energy within the students in Hokkaido university.

Center for Food & Medical Innovation
11choume, Kita21-jonishi, Kita-ku
Sapporo, Hokkaidô, 001-0021
Japan

Akira Suzuki

A university professor and honorary professor of Hokkaido University, Suzuki was born in Mukawa, Hokkaido in 1930. He graduated from the Doctoral Course of the Graduate School of Science at Hokkaido University in 1960, earning his doctorate of science. He worked as an assistant in the Department of Science, as an assistant professor (later on as a full professor) in the Department of Engineering, and has been an honorary professor since 1994. He was honored with the Japan Academy Prize in 2004, the Cultural Achievement Award, the Japanese Order of Culture, and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2010. Suzuki now gives lectures all over the world, aiming to deliver the splendor of science to a wide range of people, though he focuses on generating youth interest.

Elizabeth Tasker

Assistant Professor in the Departments of Physics and Cosmoscience at Hokkaido University

Elizabeth Tasker is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Physics and Cosmoscience at Hokkaido University. She is also the creator of Hokudai’s ‘Spotlight on Research’ blog that highlights research topics from across the university. Elizabeth received her undergraduate degree in Theoretical Physics from Durham University in the UK, and went on to a doctorate in Astrophysics at the University of Oxford. She then left the UK for her postdoctoral research, holding positions in the USA, Canada and Japan. In 2011, she took up her current position at Hokkaido University. Elizabeth’s research focuses on using large computer simulations to explore how the Universe works. She is particularly interested in star and planet formation, modelling how cold gas clouds in our galaxy collapse into stars and how gas giant planets like Jupiter are affected by collisions with asteroid-sized rocks. She is a keen science communicator and her articles have appeared in a number of publications.

Hiroyuki Matsushiro

Born in 1962 in Otaru, Hokkaido, Matsushiro graduated from Hokkaido University with a degree in engineering. When he was a child, Matsushiro loved playing in the snow, but always hated shoveling it. After working at Tokyo a few decade, out of his determination to contribute to the revitalization of his home city, Matsushiro left the IT business in Tokyo at the age of 50 to establish Otarumaru Ltd. It was during this process that he met Mr. Kenichi Mamitsuka--the host of “Sports GOMI hiroi”, an event dedicated to addressing various social challenges through sports. Matsushiro empathized with these ideals, and with the drive to help “elderly people who can’t remove snow on their own” came up with competitive snow shoveling - or Yukikaki - in addition to founding the Japan Sports Yukikaki Federation alongside Mamitsuka.

Marina Kubo

Born on 1992/11/11. Graduated Sapporo Asahigaoka High School. Majoring in Political Philosophy. For her being a university student, she wants to go abroad as many times as possible. She lacks in money, though, and is seeking for opportunity to do so at a low cost. She applied for as many scholarship program as possible, which enabled her to visit several country to be stimulated a lot. She visited India using the scholarship called “Tobitate! Ryugaku Japan” (she was one of the 1st students to use it.) She treasures those words which she heard there: “Do as many thing you like as possible while you are a student,” “If you can’t find what you want to do, meet 100 great persons.” She even spent several month on the bed just because she had a strong will to “do nothing.” Since her main point of view changed through the experience of living abroad, she is now true to her own curiosity.

Mitsuki Matsuda

Founder of Sapporo Parkour Krew / Chairman of Japan Parkour Association

Born in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Matsuda Graduated from the Department of Science, at Hokkaido University. He started parkouring in 2008 in Canada, where he was studying at the time. Since 2009, Matsuda has been holding a parkour practicing event where ordinary citizen can participate in Sapporo. He was involved in spreading the parkour scene in Sapporo by founding JIN, the first ever parkour team in Hokkaido, the Sapporo Parkour Krew, the first parkour circle at Hokkaido University, and by holding various parkour workshops for the average citizen. He’s been running a blog where he has been broadcasting news pertaining to parkour both in and outside of Japan since 2008, aiming to make information about parkour available in Japanese online. In April of 2014, he founded Japan Parkour Association with the philosophy of “making Japan a place where everyone can enjoy parkouring without pressure” and “establishing the culture of parkour in Japan.”

Robert Thomson

Second term in Behavioral System Science Seminar, Department of Behavioral Science, Literal Laboratory of Hokkaido University

Born in Invercargill, South Island of New Zealand. In the age of 13, he made a Japanese classmate his friend, and studied in Chikushino, Fukuoka Prefecture as an exchange student for a year when he was 16. He then majored in Japanese in the Faculty of Letters of University of Canterbury, and worked in Ohita Prefecture and Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University for 2 years and a year respectively, using JET program provided by Japanese government. However, he was not satisfied with those officeworks and wanted an adventure. He decided to cross the Eurasian Continent from Japan to UK by bicycle. After reaching Switzerland, where he had travelled across 18 countries, 12,000km in 9 month, he switched from his bicycle to a skateboards - and also changed his goal to go around the world, which means he would cross Europe, North America, and China by skateboards.12,159km skateboard travelling, which has been put into the Guinness Record.