2000xfukushima Power Plant Through Screen

In May 2023, a Notre Dame research team of three faculty members, five undergraduate students, and an engineering alumnus visited Fukushima, Japan to examine resilience from multiple perspectives—business, engineering, culture, science, economics and more.

With sponsorship from the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, the team interviewed Fukushima residents who have returned to their homes; small business owners who are hoping to revitalize the area; mental health professionals who are helping families cope with the lingering trauma of the disasters; and many others who are invested in the renewal of the area.

The team also had the opportunity to tour the Daiichi Nuclear Plant, which is still in the process of being decommissioned, and the evacuation zone of abandoned homes, businesses, and communities.

Participants

FACULTY

Jessica McManus Warnell
Rex and Alice A. Martin Faculty Director of the Notre Dame Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership
Management & Organization Teaching Professor, Mendoza College of Business

Noriko Hanabusa
Japanese Language Teaching Professor
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures

Anna Geltzer
Assistant Director
Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values

UNDERGRADUATES

Bianca Feix, neuroscience and behavior major

Daniel Miranda-Pereyra, accountancy and economics major

Colin Linnen, finance and global affairs major

Maya Malackowski, finance and industrial design major

Carter Powers, environmental engineering and Asian Studies major

ALUMNUS

Robert Wachter III ’21
Assistant Consultant and Water Resources Engineer
WSP USA, a civil engineering firm

Photos

Shown here are (top to bottom, left to right) the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant; the Notre Dame research team with farmers Yoshitomo and Hiroko Yokota, who formerly grew pears and plums, but now grow flowers; the Notre Dame research team on a tour outside the Daiichi plant; the team at Deloitte Japan, which supported the region after the disasters; piles of bags containing radioactive soil; and alumnus Robbie Wachter, a water resources engineer, on a seawall on the Fukushima coast.

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
Fukushima Flower Farmers With Team
Fukushima Students In Hard Hats
Fukushima Team At Deloitte
Piles Of Bags In Fukushima
Robbie On Fukushima Sea Wall

Read the ND Story

From left to right: Anna Geltzer, assistant teaching professor of science, technology, and values; Noriko Hanabusa, teaching professor of Japanese language and culture; and Jessica McManus Warnell, teaching professor of management and organization.

Fukushima firsthand

In examining resiliency after the 2011 Fukushima triple disaster, a Notre Dame team of students and professors encounter hope, innovation, and even fields of roses.

Listen to the Podcast on ThinkND

Photography by Barbara Johnston, University of Notre Dame, 2023.