On August 7, 8, the 8nd "Resources, Materials, and Environment" Technology and Research Exchange Meeting (sponsored by the Kanto Branch of the Society of Resources and Materials Science) was held at the Hongo Campus of the University of Tokyo.
At the social event, 63 student presentations were given, and one of the five outstanding poster awards was given to graduate student Asano Suzuo of our university. Asano also won the outstanding poster award at the same conference when he was a fourth-year undergraduate, this marks his second consecutive year of receiving the award.
As an award recipient, he was also invited to present his research results at the "Resources and Materials 9 (Sapporo) - 2 Joint Autumn Conference of Resource and Materials-Related Academic Societies" held at Hokkaido University from September 9nd to 4th.

【Winner】
Ryoo Asano (1st year master's program, Department of Marine Resources and Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Marine Science and Technology)

[Title of award-winning research]
Investigation of the effects of different cementitious material compositions on cementitious materials and sessile organisms in deep-sea environments

[Details of award-winning research]
As the need for effective utilization of the seabed increases, there is an urgent need to conduct actual environmental surveys of cementitious materials, which are essential for building marine infrastructure. In recent years, it has been pointed out that certain microorganisms have physicochemical effects on cementitious materials, but there have been no studies on this in marine environments, especially in deep-sea environments.
In this study, to investigate the types of microorganisms that affect deep-sea environments and how they affect them, we created specimens with different compositions using several types of cement and thickeners and conducted long-term immersion experiments at a depth of 3,500 m. After immersion for one and two years, we performed community structure analysis using the 1S rRNA gene to clarify the microbial flora on the surface of each specimen.
As a result, significant differences in the microbial flora were observed depending on the composition, and it was confirmed that the addition of a thickener in particular had a significant impact on the microbial flora. Furthermore, although changes in the composition ratio of microbial species were observed depending on the immersion period, no significant differences were observed in the dominant species. These results indicate that the microbial flora that thrive in deep-sea environments may change depending on the material composition, and that this may have a long-term impact on the material. We believe this is important knowledge for the future development and selection of marine infrastructure materials.

Asano-san (photo left)

<Related links>
The 22nd "Resources, Materials, and Environment" Technology and Research Exchange Meeting
Resources and Materials 2025 (Sapporo) - 2025 Joint Autumn Conference of Resource and Materials-related Academic Societies -