Laboratory tour of the Graduate School of Agriculture
On August 6th, Kyoto iUP undergraduate students, who have just entered summer vacation, visited the laboratories of the Graduate School of Agriculture.
This visit to the laboratory was planned to give students an opportunity to experience the atmosphere of the laboratory at an early stage of undergraduate course, to increase their motivation for leaning and to shape their image of going on to graduate school.
Firstly, Prof. Miyagawa, director of the Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences, who is also a professor at the Graduate School of Agriculture, gave an overview of the history of the Faculty of Agriculture, each department, and on-campus facilities.
After that, the first laboratory they visited was Prof. Tohru Matsui's Laboratory of Nutritional Science of Animals. Here, in order to improve the productivity and health of animals, they are studying the functions of nutrients in the food of livestock and pets and the effects of their excess and deficiency on animals. Prof. Matsui gave students an opportunity to look the fat cells of livestock beef with a microscope and showed them the analytical equipment used in the lab.
Students looking at fat cells under a microscope
Next, Prof. Ryutaro Tao from Laboratory of Pomology introduced his research and guided Kyoto iUP students to the orchard with a wide variety of fruit trees. Prof. Tao explained that some fruits are suitable for seedless and some are not, and in what country the fruits sold in Japan are produced, while answering the students' questions.
Prof. Tao answering the students' questions
Lastly, Kyoto iUP students visited Prof. Takaaki Daimon's Laboratory of Insect Physiology. Prof. Daimon talked about the research contents while showing the insects raised in the laboratory. Hearing that studying the diversity of insects and its evolutionary mechanisms will lead to solving global issues, we were able to think about the hidden potential of familiar insects.
Prof. Daimon explaining about insect physiology
Students looking into insects in the breeding room
All the guidance was in Japanese, but the 1st and 2nd year students of Kyoto iUP listened to the explanation very enthusiastically and had a fulfilling time! It was a great opportunity for students to come into contact with research environment at Kyoto University, and we will conduct such laboratory tours continuously.