Tohoku University Science Ambassadors 2025
The name of the program was changed to “Science Ambassadors” in April, 2022
Building the skills of researchers in the cultivating their sense of mission and responsibility
Tohoku University Science Ambassadors are a program for nurturing future generations of female researchers by having women university students serve as “Science Ambassadors” (SAs)※, accessible role models who communicate the fascination of science to students in primary to high school. It was launched under the Tohoku Women’s Hurdling Project, which was conducted AY 2006–2008 using funding from the Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology. Since the conclusion of that project, the SA program has been continued as a Tohoku University initiative that annually recruits SAs from among Master’s and doctoral students. Those accepted into the program are commissioned by the university president.
※self-identified female students are included.
SA Activities
Selected from among women graduate student at Tohoku University, the Tohoku University Science Ambassadors (SAs) are tasked with reaching out to female junior/senior high school students considering future careers in research.
As role models, their goal is to convey the message that there are a variety of female researchers and that studying at higher levels is fun. They take part in seminars and other events aimed at communicating the fascination and the joys of doing research.
They are working on research in the each areas.
Visiting seminars at high school
SAs visit mainly high schools to talk about their experiences in studying their field and university life. They visited Miyagi No. 1 HS and No. 2 Girls’ HS in Miyagi Prefecture, Yamagata Higashi HS and Yamagata Nishi HS in Yamagata Prefecture, and Ryugasaki No. 1 HS in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Science Events
SAs join in science events held in Sendai to conduct easy-to-follow experiments and show how science is connected to our daily life . Examples of past events include “Fun Talks on Science” and “Gakuto Miyagi Science Day.”
Open Campus at TU
As part of Tohoku University Open Campus, SAs offer advice and answers to high school students interested in studying at college.
Recent SA Activities
SA Mascot Character “Tamaka”
In July 2025, the mascot character “Tamaka” was created to enhance the visibility and outreach of the Science Ambassadors (SA) program, in celebration of “Women College Students’ Day” on August 21.
In 1913, Japan’s first three female university students were admitted to Tohoku Imperial University. One of them, Chika Kuroda, made a groundbreaking discovery: the onion-skin pigment quercetin has a blood pressure–lowering effect.
“Tamaka” is a new mascot character for Science Ambassadors named by combining “tamanegi” (onion) and “Chika.” Designed as a sprouting onion, the green shoot on her head symbolizes the growing strength and potential of women.
SA’s Past Acticities
SA Annual Reports
SAs’ activities and events
Total Numbers of SAs
data collected by department
| Year／Dept | Arts & Letters | Education | Economics | Science | Medical | Dentistry | Pharmaceutical Science | Engineering | Agriculture | Info Science | Life Science | Enviro Science | Medical Engineering | Total | Master Students | Doctoral Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H18 | – | – | – | 10 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 | – | 39 | 19 | 20 |
| H19 | – | – | – | 8 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 4 | – | 52 | 21 | 31 |
| H20 | – | – | – | 8 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 50 | 26 | 24 |
| H21 | – | – | – | 4 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 39 | 23 | 16 |
| H22 | – | – | – | 8 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 44 | 35 | 9 |
| H23 | – | – | – | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 41 | 30 | 11 |
| H24 | – | – | – | 10 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 57 | 42 | 15 |
| H25 | – | – | – | 9 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 63 | 44 | 19 |
| H26 | – | – | – | 9 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 71 | 62 | 9 |
| H27 | – | – | – | 12 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 15 | 1 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 90 | 72 | 18 |
| H28 | – | – | – | 9 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 61 | 51 | 10 |
| H29 | – | – | – | 8 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 16 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 69 | 58 | 11 |
| H30 | – | – | – | 5 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 60 | 53 | 7 |
| R 1 | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 56 | 43 | 13 |
| R 2 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 48 | 37 | 11 |
| R 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 65 | 48 | 17 |
| R 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 53 | 39 | 14 |
| R 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 41 | 24 | 17 |
| R 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 29 | 18 |
| R7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | – | 8 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 2 | – | 47 | 30 | 17 |
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