News

2026.4.24

 Professor Toshio Suga, Director of WPI-AIMEC, Delivers Farewell Lecture

On Saturday, March 14, Prof. Toshio Suga, Director of WPI-AIMEC (Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University), delivered his final lecture at the Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University. The lecture was titled “Enchanted by the Ocean’s Breath: From Mode Waters to Marine Ecosystem Dynamics.”

The venue was filled with approximately 200 attendees, including colleagues who have worked alongside Director Suga throughout his career and students from the university.

The lecture began with a slide showing the view from the window of the office where he worked for around 40 years. He spoke with visible joy about what first sparked his interest in oceanography, the circumstances that led to his career-defining research themes, the trajectory of his work from his student days to the present, and memories of his very first research cruise. The atmosphere was warm and celebratory, with frequent laughter from the audience making it a fitting conclusion to his teaching career.

Director Suga will retire from his faculty position at the Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, at the end of fiscal year 2025, and will continue to serve as Director of WPI-AIMEC from April 2026 onward.