[No. 33] Kazumasa Nomoto

If I were asked, "What has had the greatest influence on your life?" I would answer, "The Keio Department of Physics."

Since I was a child, I have always loved and excelled at science, but I was not good at subjects like arithmetic and mathematics. However, I had a great interest in mathematics and even held a youthful admiration for the certain mystique emanating from complex strings of symbols, its integrity that does not pander to practical benefits, and the stoicism in anecdotes about otherworldly mathematicians. At the Faculty of Science and Technology, students took classes in their first year without being divided into departments, and each student chose their department when they became second-year students. Thanks to this system, I was able to greatly expand my interest in physics, which uses mathematics to unravel nature, during my first year, and I had no hesitation in choosing the Department of Physics in my second year.

When it came time to decide on a laboratory for my fourth-year graduation research, my desire to conduct research close to mathematics remained unchanged, and I requested a theoretical research laboratory. However, the theoretical labs were very popular, and there were more applicants than available spots. In such cases, the number of students was adjusted by a "terrifyingly fair" rule of rolling a pencil like a die to determine who got in. I don't know if God plays dice, but the die kept rolling against my will, and I was finally assigned to the Wakabayashi Laboratory for X-ray diffraction, which was my last choice among my preferred labs. Even though I was sulking, Professor Wakabayashi taught me the fascinating aspects of X-ray diffraction and the physical properties of organic conductors. However, I could not have imagined that I would one day research this theme as my job.

In the master's program, my interest in mathematics grew even stronger, and I audaciously chose theoretical physics, deciding to tackle research in field theory using the mathematics I was supposed to be bad at. I cannot express in words my gratitude to Professor Fukuda, who guided me until I was able to make several conference presentations and submit papers to academic journals. The way I approached research at that time has had a major influence on how I approach research today. I was also blessed with many close friends. Perhaps aided by the backdrop of the bubble era, I was free from all constraints. Some days I would talk with friends all night, other days I would stay up all night at my desk, engrossed in calculations. It was a series of days that were nothing but fun. The ultimate "incident" was when the apartment I was renting suddenly went out of business in November of my second year of the master's program. Thanks to this incident, I literally lived in the laboratory for the last three months of my student life, allowing me to enjoy student life more than anyone else. I think it was truly a dream-like time.

After completing my master's degree, I joined Sony Corporation in 1991. There, I was assigned to research semiconductor devices that utilize quantum mechanical effects. Initially, coming from a "pure science" background, I was a so-called "useless guy" who knew nothing about device manufacturing or evaluation technologies. However, thanks to having the fundamentals of physics drilled into me during my student days, I gradually began to produce results in the field of engineering as well. For one year starting in 1998, I had the good fortune to be given the opportunity to conduct research as a visiting researcher at the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Being temporarily freed from corporate life and spending time in a university research environment again with researchers from all over the world was extremely stimulating. At MIT, interactions among researchers were very open, and I had opportunities to talk with researchers from various fields. In the world of science and technology, physics is something of a common language that spans various fields. Therefore, it was often easier for me to communicate about complex research topics than to have everyday conversations, where the differences in natural language were greater. Taking the opportunity of my move to the US, I compiled the research I had been conducting since joining the company, had it reviewed at Keio University, and was awarded a Ph.D. in Science. The reason I insisted on "Science" at that time was because it was a dream I could not fulfill during my student days.

After that, I was temporarily involved in development for the commercialization of semiconductor devices, but for the past three years, I have returned to the field of research and am now conducting research on organic semiconductor devices. This is the research theme I worked on for just one year after drawing the short straw 17 years ago. This time, I started it of my own volition. It took me 17 years to understand the appeal of this theme. However, it's not that I've gone back to where I was 17 years ago. I now have 17 years of experience built upon a foundation of physics. Also, while I was researching alone back then, I now have many young, "capable guys" working on the research with me. Recently, I received an award from the ISSCC, a prestigious international conference on semiconductor devices and circuits. Currently, I am working hard to apply organic materials to electronics, aiming to create amazing products that are not possible with conventional inorganic materials and will wow the world.

In this way, despite being just a company employee, I have always been blessed with opportunities related to physics, and I believe that the reason I can still conduct research with the same dreams I had as a student is thanks to the professors of the Department of Physics who taught me the fun and importance of physics, and to my friends in the Department of Physics with whom I enjoyed and struggled to learn it.

And so, if I were asked, "What has had the greatest influence on your life?" my answer would unhesitatingly be, "The Keio Department of Physics."