Sugiyama-Badr Laboratory

Eri Amasawa

Assistant Professor

Room: 5C04

Mail: aamasawa(at)pse.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp (Replace (at) with @.)

Tel: 26876 (Add the last 4 digits to +81-3-5841.)

Short C.V.

2017 -

Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical System Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo

2014 - 2017

Doctoral course, Graduate Program on Sustainability Science-Global Leadership Initiative,
Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo

2010 - 2013

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington

2009 - 2010

Technical Staff, LCA and Sustainability Group, Institute for Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

2005 - 2009

Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington

Research

I am interested in answering this simple question in a holistic manner: "Would technology reduce environmental impact after all?" I have been involved in environmental impact assessment of technology such as e-book readers. Key topics are described below:

 Understanding changes in consumer behavior upon adoption of technology (e.g. Do consumers end up reading more when they read e-books?)
 Understanding changes in consumer experience upon adoption of technology (e.g. Is the reading experience of paper books better than that of e-books?)
 Sustainability assessment (e.g. Is e-book reader a sustainable technology?)
 Environmental impact assessment methodology of emerging technology (e.g. What are the ways to estimate energy consumption of technology that is yet to be introduced into the market?)

Other than that, I also have interests in science communication and ways to present research effectively.

Peer-reviewed papers

Naoki Yokokawa, Eri Amasawa, Masahiko Hirao "Design assessment framework for food packaging integrating consumer preferences and environmental impact" Sustainable Production and Consumption, accepted

Hirokazu Sugiyama, Norikazu Harada, Eri Amasawa, Masahiko Hirao, Naohisa Yahagi "A prototype method for selecting interventions for enhancing medication adherence in medicine taking processes" Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan, accepted

Eri Amasawa, Tomoki Yamanishi, Jun Nakatani, Masahiko Hirao, Shunsuke Sato "Climate Change Implications of Bio-Based and Marine-Biodegradable Plastic: Evidence from Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate)" Environmental Science & Technology, 55, 3380–3388 (2021)

Dami Moon, Eri Amasawa, Masahiko Hirao "Consumer Motivation and Environmental Impact of Laundry Machine-Sharing: Analysis of Surveys in Tokyo and Bangkok" Sustainability, 112, 9756 (2020) [open access]

Naoki Yokokawa, Yutaro Masuda, Eri Amasawa, Hirokazu Sugiyama, and Masahiko Hirao "Systematic packaging design tools integrating functional and environmental consequences on product life cycle: Case studies on laundry detergent and milk" Packaging Technology and Science, 33, 445–459 (2020)

Felix M. Piontek, Eri Amasawa, Koji Kimita "Environmental implication of casual wear rental services: Case of Japan and Germany" Procedia CIRP, 90, 724–729 (2020)

Eri Amasawa, Mikiaki Hasegawa, Naoki Yokokawa, Hirokazu Sugiyama, and Masahiko Hirao "Environmental performance of an electric vehicle composed of 47% polymers and polymer composites" Sustainable Materials and Technologies, 2020, 25, e00189

Eri Amasawa, Tsubasa Shibata, Hirokazu Sugiyama, Masahiko Hirao "Environmental potential of reusing, renting, and sharing consumer products: systematic analysis approach" Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020, 242, 118487

Dami Moon, Eri Amasawa, and Masahiko Hirao. "Laundry habits in Bangkok: Use patterns of products and services" Sustainability 2019, 11, 4486

Naoki Yokokawa, Emi Kikuchi-Uehara, Eri Amasawa, Hirokazu Sugiyama, Masahiko Hirao "Environmental analysis of packaging-derived changes in food production and consumer behavior" Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2019, 23(5), 1253–1263

Eri Amasawa, Yurie Suzuki, Dami Moon, Jun Nakatani, Hirokazu Sugiyama, and Masahiko Hirao. "Designing interventions for behavioral shifts toward product sharing: The case of laundry activities in Japan" Sustainability 2018, 10, 2687

Eri Amasawa, Tomohiko Ihara, and Keisuke Hanaki. "Role of e-reader adoption in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of book reading activities" The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2018, 23(9), 1874–1887

Eri Amasawa, and Tomohiko Ihara. "The right place to grow for the Japanese market: comparative analysis of greenhouse gas emissions of rice cultivation in Japan and the United States" International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 2017, 15(4), 406–417

Eri Amasawa, Tomohiko Ihara, Takashi Ohta, and Keisuke Hanaki. "Life cycle assessment of organic light emitting diode display as emerging materials and technology" Journal of Cleaner Production 2016, 135C, 1340–1350

Eri Amasawa, Naoki Sasagawa, Mutsumi Kimura, and Minoru Taya. "Design of a new energy-harvesting electrochromic window based on organic polymeric dye, cobalt couple and PProDOT-Me2" Advanced Energy Materials 2014, 4, 1400379

Proceedings and book chapters

Eri Amasawa, Moon Dami, Jun Nakatani "Sharing economy from the perspective of life cycle thinking", Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Japan, 15(2), 161–173, 2019

Eri Amasawa "Sustainability science approaches to consumption pattern and lifestyle", Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Japan, 13(4), 370–377, 2017

Eri Amasawa, Heng Yi Teah, Joanne Yu Ting Khew, Izumi Ikeda, and Motoharu Onuki "Drawing lessons from the Minamata incident for the general public: exercise on resilience, Minamata Unit AY2014", Sustainability Science: Field Methods and Exercises, Springer, pp. 99–113, 2016

Shogo Kudo, Heng Yi Teah, Eri Amasawa, Huma Mursaleen, Niranji Satanarachchi, and Motoharu Onuki. "Comparative study on the program design of three sustainability science programs based on the CIPP framework", Conference Proceeding of 22nd International Sustainable Development Research Society Conference, Lisbon, July, 2016

Conferences (English presentations only)

Eri Amawasa, Dami Moon, Masahiko Hirao "Environmental Performance of Sharing Economy: Case of Household Laundry in Tokyo and Bangkok" The 11th International Symposium on Environmentally Conscious Design and Inverse Manufacturing (EcoDesign2019), Kanagawa, November 2019

Eri Amawasa "Report from Diversity in chemical engineering" 18th Asian Pacific Confederation of Chemical Engineering Congress (APCChE 2019), Sapporo, September 2019

Eri Amawasa, Kotaro Kawajiri "Life cycle assessment of organic light emitting diode: comparative analysis of fluorescent, phosphoresent, and thermally activated delayed fluorescent materials" 18th Asian Pacific Confederation of Chemical Engineering Congress (APCChE 2019), Sapporo, September 2019

Eri Amawasa, Dami Moon, Masahiko Hirao "Classifying products to gain strategic environmental insights based on the product's life cycle characteristics",The 9th International Conference on Life Cycle Management (LCM 2019), Poznań, September 2019

Eri Amasawa, Dami Moon, Jun Nakatani, Masahiko Hirao "Environmental potential of sharing economy from life cycle perspective", The 4th International Conference of the Global Research Forum on Sustainable Consumption and Production (GRF 2019), Hong Kong, June 2019

Eri Amasawa, Tomohiko Ihara, Keisuke Hanaki "Comparative Analysis of Reading Experience in Paper Book, E-reader, and Flexible E-reader Based on Kano Model", The 25th International Display Workshops(IDW 18), Nagoya, December 2018

Eri Amasawa, Kotaro Kawajiri "Life cycle assessment of emerging material for organic light emitting diode: 100 % liminous efficacy with Indium-free molecules", The 13th Biennial International Conference on EcoBalance (EcoBalance 2018), Tokyo, October 2018

Eri Amasawa, Tsubasa Shibata, Dami Moon, Masahiko Hirao "Environmental potential of renting, leasing, and sharing of products", The 13th Biennial International Conference on EcoBalance (EcoBalance 2018), Tokyo, October 2018

Eri Amasawa, Mikaiki Hasegawa, Masahiko Hirao "Approaches for viable life cycle assessment of emerging materials and technologies", 1st Life Cycle Innovation Conference (LCIC 2018), Berlin, August 2018

Eri Amasawa, Tsubasa Shibata, Yurie Suzuki, Dami Moon, Masahiko Hirao "Should we buy, borrow, or share the product? A categorization approach to deduce sustainable consumption styles of products", 9th International Sustainability Transitions Conference (IST 2018), Manchester, June 2018

Eri Amasawa, Tomohiko Ihara, Keisuke Hanaki "(Invited) Are e-books actually green? The role of e-reader in changing reading patterns and environmental impact in book reading activities", The 24th International Display Workshops (IDW 17), Sendai, December 2017

Eri Amasawa. "[Review lecture] How I assess environmental potential of technologies: information integration approach that reflects the current and future technological impacts", Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan (SCEJ) 49th Autumn Meeting, Nagoya, September 2017

Eri Amasawa, Tomohiko Ihara, Keisuke Hanaki. "Application of absolute consumption and consumer satisfaction as a unit of measurement in eco-efficiency: a case with book reading activity", The 8th International Conference on Life Cycle Management (LCM 2017), Luxembourg, September 2017

Eri Amasawa, Tomohiko Ihara, Keisuke Hanaki. "Environmental impact assessment of annual e-book and paper book reading activity: A case with readers in the United States", The 9th biennial conference of the International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE) and the 25th annual conference of the International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISSST), Chicago, June 2017

Eri Amasawa, Tomohiko Ihara, and Keisuke Hanaki. "Integration of consumer satisfaction in assessing environmental impact: case of e-book reader", The 12th Biennial International Conference on Ecobalance, Kyoto, October 2016

Eri Amasawa, Naoki Sasagawa, Soo Jin Lim, Soo Yeun Kim, Minoru Taya, and Mutsumi Kimura. "Durable and highly efficient energy-harvesting electrochromic window based on organic dye, cobalt couple, and PProDOT-Me2" 8th Pacific Rim International Congress on Advanced Materials and Processing, Waikoloa, August 2013

Other presentations (English presentations only)

Eri Amasawa, "Environmental potential of sharing economy from life cycle perspective", Invited lecture at Australian National University, Canberra, December 2019

Eri Amasawa, "Life cycle assessment of organic LED display"、JISSE-16 Satellite Meeting, Symposium on bioinspired design of advanced materials, Tokyo, October 2019

Eri Amasawa, "Technology assessment of e-book reader in reducing environmental impact of book reading activities", The 9th HOPE Meeting with Nobel Laureates, Tokyo, March 2017

Heng Yi Teah, Eri Amasawa, and Huma Mursaleen. "Reflexive evaluation of educational program in sustainability science." The 4th GPSS-GLI International Symposium, Kashiwa, November 2015

Awards

Dean’s Award for Outstanding Achievement Doctoral Course, March 2017

"Best Presentation Award", Young Researcher's Meeting of the 12th Biennial International Conference on Ecobalance, Kyoto, October 2016

Research Fellowships of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists (DC2), April 2016 – March 2017

Best Oral Presentation Award, The 11th Annual Meeting of the Institute of Life Cycle Assessment, Japan, March 2016

"Poster Award", Progress Review Session of GPSS-GLI, October 2015, April 2016

"Graduate Program on Sustainability Science - Global Leadership Initiative Fellowship", The University of Tokyo, April 2014 ~ March 2016

"Graduate Research Assistant Fellowship", September 2010 ~ June 2011; September 2012 ~ December 2013

Eri Amasawa, Nishita Anandan, Alex Constant, Bryan Ferguson, Yasuhiro Sakaue (Team name: Upcycled) “SNC Lavalin Honorable Mention ($2500) ”, University of Washington Environmental Innovation Challenge, April 2013