Geography JDP student named to 2024 Shida Scholarship Program

Doctoral candidate Ryoko Araki in the Joint Doctoral Program has been selected as a recipient of the Shida Scholarship Program offered by Friends of Kyoto University North America Branch (dba/Kyodai Collaborative, a 501(c)3 organization) for 2024-2025 distribution.

The Shida Scholarship Program was established in August of 2023. Dr. Mitsuzo Shida (1935-2018), a graduate of Kyoto University's Faculty of Engineering, wanted to establish a scholarship to provide students and researchers enrolled in the Faculty of Engineering at Kyoto University, with opportunities to support their advanced studies and research in the United States. Dr. Shida earned his Ph.D. in the U.S., and achieved significant success in the field of polymer science, obtaining more than 50 patents. The Shida Scholarship Program is made possible by a generous donation from the family of the late Dr. Shida.

Ryoko, also a graduate of Kyoto University’s Faculty of Engineering, moved to the U.S. to pursue her Ph.D. degree. Her career path exemplifies the mission of the scholarship. She is poised to benefit from the advances in science and engineering in both the U.S. and Japan. She focuses her research on hydrology, specifically on soil moisture, to improve flood and drought modeling, aiming to mitigate climate-related disasters worldwide.