The TOMODACHI-Dow STEM @ Rice team has extensive prior experience in the development and management of international education and research experience programs for U.S. and Japanese science and engineering students. See our International Programs page for more information.
Research Director
Dr. Junichiro Kono
Rice University, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Physics & Astronomy, and Materials Science & Nanoengineering
Email: kono[at]rice.edu
Junichiro Kono received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in applied physics from the University of Tokyo in 1990 and 1992, respectively, and completed his Ph.D. in physics from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1995. He was a postdoctoral research associate in condensed matter physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1995–1997 and the W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory Fellow in the Department of Physics at Stanford University in 1997–2000. He joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of Rice University in 2000 as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2005. Since 2009, he has been a Professor in the Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Physics & Astronomy at Rice University.
Prof. Kono has extensive international research collaborations and, from 2006 – 2015, served as the Principal Investigator for a National Science Foundation Partnership for International Research and Education (NSF-PIRE) grant, TeraNano PIRE, which focused on the expansion of a unique interdisciplinary U.S.-Japan research and education partnership focused on terahertz (THz) dynamics in nanostructures. The key educational initiative of this NSF-PIRE grant was the award-winning international research experience program for undergraduates called the NanoJapan: IREU Program.
Under Prof. Kono’s leadership, the TeraNano PIRE Center has also expanded opportunities for Japanese students to conduct research at Rice and strengthened Rice’s relationships with our Japanese partners abroad through the signing of university-level Memoranda of Understanding and Exchange Agreements with Osaka University, the University of Tokyo, Hokkaido University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Osaka Institute of Technology. Dean’s level agreements have also been signed with Tohoku University, Tottori University, and Chiba University.
Education Director
Dr. Naoko Ozaki
Rice University, Center for Languages and Intercultural Communication
Email: naoko.ozaki[at]rice.edu
The TOMO-MACHI Education Director, Dr. Naoko Ozaki received her Ph.D. in Literacy, Culture, and Language Education from Indiana University Bloomington. Her doctoral research focused on issues regarding Arabic-speaking immigrants in the United States. Prior to coming to Rice University, she taught introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels of Japanese, mathematics, humanities, and foreign language teacher education at universities and a community college. At Rice University, Ozaki-Sensei’s students learn not only the language structure but also the cultural background to enhance their ability to use the language they study in the class. Ozaki-Sensei is also a Residential Associate (RA) who lives at Lovett Residential College among undergraduate students. In addition to teaching, she serves on the Board of Global Education Center in Nashville, Tennessee. As the Education Director of TOMO-MACHI Program, Ozaki-Sensei leads discussions that prepare participants for their research and interactions with Rice faculty and students.
Administrative Director
John Marsh
Rice University, Smalley-Curl Institute
Email: john.f.marsh[at]rice.edu or tomodachistem[at]rice.edu
John Marsh joined Rice as an administrator in the Smalley Institute in 2008, in what was then the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology (the Smalley Institute). Mr. Marsh, who has an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, had been in Marketing in the computer industry, with companies like Compaq Computer Corporation and Trend Micro, before moving into academia. Since his start in the Smalley Institute, John has had the opportunity to work in industry relations (e.g. with Lockheed Martin), grant proposals and management, and agency relations (e.g. with the Army Research Laboratory and the Air Force Research Laboratory), as well as department management (with the department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering). Mr. Marsh rejoined what is now the Smalley-Curl Institute in 2023, eager to promote the mission of the institute, which includes outstanding international programs like the TOMODACHI-Dow Women’s STEM Leadership and Research Program.
Administrator
Eda Morita
Rice University, Smalley-Curl Institute
Email: em87[at]rice.edu