The robustness and diversity of our planet's ecological system has enabled humankind to attain the unparalleled degree of development which it now enjoys. The prosperity which flows from this development, however, has its costs. The enormous consumption of energy and materials, which our prosperity depends on, has begun to impact the environment negatively, not only locally, but globally. It is incumbent on humankind and its educational institutions to develop programs to study and to develop solutions to the ecological problems we now confront.
The Ecological Engineering program at Toyohashi University of Technology is one such program. This unique program integrates the study of the biological basis of life and the ecosystem with more traditional engineering disciplines. The program was conceived as a means to bring about the harmonization and coexistence of human activities with the environment. Accordingly, architecture and regional planning, the twin foundations of modern life, are studied from an interdisciplinary perspective. The symbiotic relationship which they must maintain with the environment is emphasized. Hence, new technologies are explored with the aim of reconciling the economic and life-style requirements of modern life with the sometimes harmful effects they have on the environment and the planet's ecosystem.
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