SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, TOHOKU UNIVERSITY Driving Force THE POWER TO MAKE TOMORROW INTERVIIEW REPORT
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, TOHOKU UNIVERSITY Driving Force THE POWER TO MAKE TOMORROW INTERVIIEW REPORT

Evidence-based,
resilient urban development
through the power of simulation.

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Graduate School of Engineering,
Tohoku University
Ciara Galvin REPORT #40

© School of Engineering, Tohoku University

Presenting a future grounded in evidence.
That responsibility lies with us.

In August 2025, the Cabinet Office released a simulation video entitled “The Impact of a Large-Scale Mt. Fuji Eruption and its Fallout.” The video uses CG and actual footage to show what kind of phenomena would occur and what kind of impact there would be if Mt. Fuji were to erupt on a large scale. Amidst concerns about the possibility of a Nankai Trough earthquake or an earthquake with an epicenter directly beneath the Tokyo metropolitan area, the Cabinet Office has also released similar simulation videos for such earthquakes.

“The CG imagery depicting eruptions, fallout, and the destruction of buildings and roads in such simulation videos may serve as a warning for new natural disasters. However, such images are merely imaginary. As a researcher, I aim to develop simulations based on physics and to present what could actually happen,” says Ciara Galvin, a graduate student at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University.

As a member of the Mathematical System Design Laboratory that works on forecasting and assessing the strength and deformation properties of materials and structures using mathematical methods, Ms. Galvin has been developing simulation techniques for damage caused by debris flow that includes driftwood. She says, “In recent torrential rains, debris flow that contains driftwood has occurred in several areas. I believe that if we can predict the damage caused by the accumulation of driftwood or by river channel blockages through simulation, such predictions could help local governments prepare for disasters.”

Ms. Galvin describes the laboratory she belongs to as a “place where we can conduct analyses based on physics while utilizing mathematics to the fullest extent.” She says, “Those of us working in university laboratories have the responsibility to present to society a future grounded in evidence.”

Bringing physics-based simulation to civil engineering
where empirical rules count.

Ms. Galvin’s research has focused on “fluid-rigid body coupling analysis using the particle method.” Because this method simulates how the flow of fluid (substances such as liquids and gases that continuously deform and flow when subjected to outside forces) and the movement of rigid bodies (objects that are presumed to maintain their shape and size when subjected to force) influence each other, it is particularly suited to the analysis of complex physical phenomena and free surface flows (flows with liquid-gas boundaries like river currents) which were difficult to analyze using conventional analysis methods. In experiments of L-shaped objects settling underwater, the validity of simulations using this method has already been proved. The challenge going forward is how to simulate the behavior of driftwood that occurs in the event of disasters caused by heavy rain.

Ms. Galvin says, “In such a simulation, a factor that must be considered is the unique pliancy of trees. A tree would be a mere rod if there were no pliancy. For my master’s thesis, I am working on how to mathematically express the pliancy of trees. Trees come in various shapes, and modeling these differences is a challenge. Based on such a model, I hope to progress to the point where we can visualize how trees behave when water (a tsunami) hits places where they grow. The more complex a model becomes, the greater memory and computation time it requires. There should be no problem in establishing the simulation method, but the development of future research may depend on the computational power of computers.”

“In civil engineering, empirical rules often count,” she adds. “The thinking that ‘when this much rain falls, this much water will flow’ is based on experience, but it is not always supported by sufficient evidence. This is precisely why the physics-based simulations will continue to grow in importance,” she says.

School of Engineering, Tohoku University Driving Force, The Power to Make Tomorrow. INTERVIIEW REPORT

Work for a wider good
in the world of
civil engineering.

Ms. Galvin, who grew up in Sendai City in Miyagi Prefecture, was in the second grade when the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake struck. After the disaster, learning more about earthquakes and tsunamis, she became interested in civil engineering, and she began to think about what should be done to make cities more resilient to natural disasters. When she became a high school student, she had yet another experience that brought her closer to the world of civil engineering. It was a research-based class on water issues faced by floating villages in Cambodia.

In this year-long class, she researched and investigated issues faced by people living in the floating villages from the vantage point of “water.” During her summer break, she actually visited Cambodia and conducted fieldwork. She says, “We were split into groups such as the “Rainwater Group” and the “Clean Water Group.” I chose the “Rainwater Group” because making rain gutters out of PVC pipes seemed interesting.” During the two-week fieldwork, they installed gutters on houses and interviewed residents. However, she did question whether what they did was purely for their own satisfaction. She explains, “Looking at how the locals lived, we thought we had to change their unsanitary conditions. But if they were satisfied with the way they were living, weren’t we just imposing our values on them? I mentioned this to our teacher, and I was told that that was exactly what the class was meant for us to discover.”

She adds, “While I wanted to learn more about earthquakes and tsunamis at university, I thought about studying them not only through civil engineering — I also thought I could learn about them through other fields, such as materials science. I’ve always been the kind of person to be interested in many things, and to me all of the university’s departments looked interesting.” Undecided which course to major in, the deciding factor was the Cambodian research-based class. “The class touched on water environments and international issues which allowed me to broaden my horizons. Through that experience, my desire to be useful to a wide variety of people became stronger. Civil engineering has this image of being an unsung hero. I want to have a job in civil engineering that’s beneficial to people, so I chose to study civil engineering at the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture. That research-based class encouraged me to make the decision.”

As someone who struggled to choose a major herself, Ms. Galvin offers this advice: “It will be good for you if you can find a deciding factor from among all the experiences you have had up until high school. And even if you don’t find it right away, that’s okay. Whichever major you choose, the School of Engineering at Tohoku University will give you the environment to find what you want to do.”

Reaffirming an interest in water
Through the job search.

The School of Engineering consists of five departments and has more than 3,000 students. Ms. Galvin looks back on her undergraduate days, saying, “In the beginning, I had the opportunity to study with students from other departments. The differences in interests, knowledge, and experiences among students in various departments gave me realizations and perspectives I would never have gained if I were to study only with students from my department. The friendships I made at the time continue to this day as graduate students and are one of the important aspects of my university life. Also, in my early undergraduate years, I took classes that allowed me to learn a broad range of subjects, such as physics and math. While I did not fully appreciate their significance at the time, looking back now, I feel that those classes broadened my potential.”

Ms. Galvin says she tended to be more passive during her undergraduate years, but after being assigned to a research lab in her fourth year, her attitude clearly changed. “The Mathematical System Design Laboratory values student initiative. If you volunteer, you will be given various opportunities such as presenting at academic conferences and writing papers. I’ve attended three academic conferences in Japan, and I’ve also had opportunities to give presentations. In December 2025, I also had the pleasure to give a presentation at an international academic conference in Australia. The perspective I have now, after being assigned to a lab, is completely different from what I had during my first three undergraduate years,” she says.

After completing her master’s degree, Ms. Galvin hopes to join a civil engineering firm. To date, she has completed internships at two firms. She says, “Through my internships and job hunting, I’ve realized I’m drawn to firms that focus on “water” such as rivers and ports, and I’ve reaffirmed where my interests lie. With the rise in water-related disasters in recent years, my desire to work in fields related to water has only grown stronger. I want to be involved in planning where I can make analysis-based proposals to the national and local governments.”