School of Global Studies Department of Global Studies Taghizadeh Hesaari Farhad Associate Professor, of the University of Tokyo, recently received the "Young Scientist Award of the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology" and participated in the award ceremony, which was broadcast online on April 19 at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) base. The "Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology" honors researchers and scholars who have made outstanding achievements in research and development and in the promotion of understanding. The "Young Scientists' Prize" is awarded to young researchers under the age of 40 (or 42 if the researcher has been unable to devote himself/herself to research for a period of time due to childbirth or child-rearing) who have made outstanding achievements in such areas as budding research or research from an original perspective. 101 researchers were selected from educational and research institutions nationwide this year.
Taghizadeh Associate Professor came to Japan in 2011 as a Monbukagakusho (MEXT) scholar and joined Tokai University as a tenure-track faculty member in 19 years. Together with Iranian and Japanese researchers, he has established joint research projects in various fields such as economics and energy, and the results have been published in many journals and books. In 2010, he received an award from the Embassy of Japan in Iran for his contribution to mutual understanding and friendship between Iran and Japan, and was also awarded "Highly Cited Researchers 2022," which recognizes researchers who have been cited in the top 1% of all papers published in the world.
This year's award was given in recognition of the results of "Research on Green Credit Guarantee and Renewable Energy. Green credits are a system under which the government certifies the introduction of energy-saving equipment by companies and reductions in carbon dioxide and other emissions as "credits," which can be traded among companies. Credit creators can not only reduce running costs by saving energy, but also benefit from the sale of credits and the PR effect of their initiatives, while credit purchasers can also benefit from improved brand image as an environmentally friendly company. Tagizadeh Associate Professor says, "Although the mechanism is in place, there are still very few companies participating. Not only is the concept and knowledge not widespread, but from the companies' point of view, environmental problem measures can also increase production costs and risk the introduction of new energy sources. That is why we need a system in which the government lowers tax rates for companies that take measures to deal with environmental issues or guarantees problems that arise from the introduction of new energy sources," he said. Regarding renewable energy, he added, "In Japan, while solar power and wind power are gaining popularity, there is no attention to geothermal power generation, which is the world's third largest resource. New technologies such as 'binary power generation,' also known as hot spring power generation, are being developed, and if they are introduced more widely, they could be a clue to solving the energy problem," he said.
Regarding this award, he said, "I would first like to thank Naoto Yoshikawa Vice Chancellor for Global Initiatives, Eiji Hosoda Vice Chancellor for Arts and Humanities and Keiko Araki Dean (School of Global Studies) for recommending me for this award. Without the support provided by the faculty and staff of Tokai University, we could not have received the award. I will continue to pursue my research activities with gratitude and the joy of receiving this award".
