About Masa
SE-TO MASA-NORI
Masa was born in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan, where his parents nurtured him to become a responsible and knowledgeable citizen of the world. His father, Masayuki Seto, an environmental microbiologist, instilled Masa with concerns for environmental issues. This influenced Masa's pursuit of a BS Environmental Science (Purdue University, 2002) and MS Environmental Microbiology (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2005) studying ground water contamination and ozone layer depletion.
The lure of Masa's life long enthusiasm for bugs soon attracted him to Cornell University's renown Department of Entomology | Shelton Lab in 2006. Here Masa happily dodged golf balls and fought off black flies and mosquitoes, while on his hands and knees studying bluegrass weevils damaging the turfs on golf courses.
Now working as a postdoctoral associate at Shelton Lab, Masa lives in Geneva, NY with his wife Akiko and son Haru.
His grandfather, who passed away when Masa was 18 years old, taught Masa "what contribution is, contribution to other people, contribution to society." Following his beloved grandfather's principles, Masa has produced charity concerts raising more than $5000 for Japan earthquake relief. He and his wife, Akiko, have shared their passion for Taiko at multiple venues across the region, believing in the power and joy of taiko music to bring diverse people together.