Kyushu Institute of Technology

Kyushu Institute of Technology is one of the 87 national universities in Japan. Located in Fukuoka Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, it is dedicated to education and research in the fields of science and technology. It is often abbreviated to KIT and sometimes to Kyutech. The founder was Matsumoto Kenjiro, second son of Yasukawa Keiichiro, and the links with the Yaskawa Electric Corporation (founded in 1915) remain strong to this day. The centenary of the opening of the Tobata campus is being celebrated in 2009, with Founder&s;s Day on May 28, 2009. One of its famous alumnus is "Mr. Tornado", the severe storms researcher Tetsuya "Ted" Fujita. He graduated in 1943 and was an associate professor until 1953 when he was invited to the University of Chicago.