Department of Earth Science and Technology

General Information

   The department was originally established in 1910 along with the Akita Mining College as the Department of Mining Engineering. Since then the department has been modified several times to meet the changing needs of the society. With the reorganization and renaming of the Mining College in 1998, the Department of Earth Science and Technology was created by the incorporation of the former Department of Mining Engineering and the Institute of Mining Geology.

   The Department is unique and covers a wide variety of fields from fundamental earth sciences to engineering related to resources such as minerals and energy. Students in the Department specialize in either "Earth Sciences and their Application" or "Geo-technology and Resources Engineering". The curriculum of these specialities is designed to meet the need of our modern scientific and technological society.

   There are 16 academic and 5 technical staff members in this department. A Bachelor of Engineering degree or Resources Science degree is granted to approximately 60 students annually. More than 15 students are annually enrolled in the Graduate program, which grants both a Master of Engineering and a Master of Resources Science degree. Students who wish to do further study and research can apply to the Doctoral program of the Department of Geotechnology in the same Graduate School.

Research Divisions

   The Department is composed of two research divisions: the Division of Applied Earth Sciences and the Division of Geo-Engineering.

   The Division of Applied Earth Sciences is subdivided as follows: 1) Petrology and Applied Geology, 2) Mineralogy and Economic Geology, 3) Stratigraphy, Paleontology and Petroleum, Coal and Natural Gas Geology, 4) Geophysics and Applied Geophysics, and 5) Quaternary Geology. Research is carried out on earth sciences and their applications to various fields. The Division offers subjects from fundamental to applied earth sciences. Students are educated to become active earth-scientists and geo-engineers with a broad outlook on the interaction between the earth and human society.

   The research fields of the Division of Geo-Engineering are 1) Mining Technology for Coal, Metal and Non-metallic Materials, 2) Petroleum, Natural Gas and Geothermal Technology, 3) Rock Mechanics, 4) Technology for Groundwater Assesment and Treatment, 5) Systems Engineering for Mineral Resources, and 6) Hydraulic Transport. This Division also conducts research in Submarine Mineral Deposits and Utilization of Underground Space.

Educational Courses and Curriculum

   The Department offers two courses: A) Applied Earth Sciences and B) Geo-Engineering.

   The Applied Earth Sciences Course is for students who wish to become earth-scientists or geo-engineers, and the curriculum includes several field practice-courses such as geological field survey. The Geo-Engineering Course is designed to produce engineers who not only specialize in mining and petroleum engineering but also in construction and production engineering areas.

   The curriculum of the Department has been carefully designed to provide not only the major subjects in each course, but also fundamental science and engineering knowledge in a variety of fields. The Department curriculum for the first and second years covers physics, chemistry, mechanics, geology and mathematics, with courses in foreign languages to enable students to work anywhere in the world. Any student should be able to find a field of interest in our broad academic curriculum.

More Information

   The Department's home page (URL : http://dips11.akita-u.ac.jp/) can be used to gain access to upgrade on Department activities and e-mail addresses of the staff.

Geological Excursion (Thailand) Computer Simulation
Geological Excursion (Thailand) Computer Simulation