[No. 38] Shigefusa Chichibu

To all the students in high school, junior high, and elementary school, Keio University is a very fun place. Study hard and get into Juku! And of course, aim for the Yagami Campus of the Faculty of Science and Technology. (And for graduate school, please consider applying to the Chichibu Lab at a certain university. Just kidding.)

I attended Juku for a total of 16 years, from Chutobu Junior High School through graduate school. Since I didn't have to worry about entrance exams, my memories from junior high through university (and grad school?) are more about playing basketball than studying. At university, I joined the basketball team of the Faculty of Science and Technology and remained an active player until the fall of my fourth year, even after being assigned to a lab. A mischievous friend from my junior high days was with me, and I can still vividly recall our training camps and drinking parties. I was blessed with great friends. I also loved motorcycles, so I got my license restriction lifted at the test center. In my third year, there were many times when I would run into a friend in the morning at the Yagami bicycle parking area, and instead of heading to the lecture building, we would just ride out to Shonan... well, maybe not... Anyway, I had a lot of fun. Of course, I also studied until I was sick of it, so please just assume I got good grades.

Now, when I entered the university, there was a system where students from affiliated schools would be assigned to a department in their third year. In high school, I had vaguely thought about "studying internal combustion engines in the mechanical engineering department and joining Nissan Motor," but for some reason, I chose the Department of Electrical Engineering, which I wasn't particularly fond of, and joined a semiconductor lab related to "solid-state physics," which I didn't understand well. Maybe it was because I hate to lose. This is something I realized later, after quitting my job, returning to the Doctoral Programs, and earning my degree: there's a rule that "challenging yourself makes you grow." In any case, I believe the greatest education I received from Keio University was learning the fundamental spirit of "independence and self-respect," which means gaining freedom by fulfilling duties and taking responsibility. To all the young people out there, let's try anything and everything (starting with the Keio University entrance exam!).

I had lived in Setagaya Ward from kindergarten through my master's degree, so after completing my studies, I joined Toshiba's Corporate Research & Development Center (in Kawasaki). In my second year, I got married and moved to Yokohama. The workplace was comfortable, and I thought I would stay at Toshiba forever. That is, until I mistakenly decided to make a fresh start.

Once I got used to my work at the company and could handle it to some extent, I started to feel dissatisfied with myself for doing a job that anyone else could do. I'd impertinently think things like, "Is this really okay?" Once I started thinking, "I want to do something no one else is doing, or something challenging that I don't even know if I can do," there was no stopping me. I recklessly began to think, "Maybe I can do it too." I was young. My apologies to everyone at Toshiba. In the spring of '90, I quit the company and returned to the Doctoral Programs, choosing a research theme that wouldn't progress unless I thought and acted on my own: the study of a certain difficult-to-synthesize material (chalcopyrite-type semiconductors).

It's supposed to be that "challenging yourself makes you grow," but it's by no means an easy path. At first, I had to live a life of, so to speak, continuous defeat. The days of frustration and humiliation continued. I felt discouraged. It hurt. But I had cut off my own retreat, as if my future wouldn't open up unless I took on the challenge and overcame it, so I had no choice but to do it. When it came to this, even someone as naturally lazy as me would work my slow brain twice as long as others and rack my brains to do my best. Even after quitting my job with no money, with drafts blowing through my old apartment, worrying about money for my unborn child's milk, and getting no results for over two years, I could keep going with sheer willpower as long as I had a dream. It was in May of my third year that I experienced firsthand that "as long as you don't give up, your dream will never end." By November, I was able to create what was, in its own way, the world's best crystal, and I managed to get my degree, a lap behind everyone else.

At this point, I left Tokyo and became a fixed-term research associate at Tokyo University of Science (in Noda, Chiba). Fixed-term positions have become common recently, but an unstable position with an uncertain future puts constant mental pressure on you, for better or worse. I'll skip the details since it's not related to Juku, but from '95, I also started collaborative research with Shuji Nakamura of blue LED fame and Takayuki Sota of Waseda University, and I also spent time researching in Berlin and Santa Barbara. I was blessed with many colleagues. However, in October '98, I was notified that I would not be promoted to lecturer the following year and faced the crisis of my term "expiring." I immediately declared "free agency" and was hired by the University of Tsukuba in April '99. For the first time in nine years, I was able to have my own lab in a position with a visible future, which brings me to the present. Having moved seven times by then, I had become a rolling stone, so I'm not afraid to be anywhere anymore. I've challenged myself in many ways and applied for numerous public positions, so I've lost a lot. I believe this large number of losses is something to be proud of. To all the students: lose a lot while you're young. It's proof that you're challenging yourself. Don't limit yourself and crush your potential; believe in yourself and enjoy life!

* After this article was published, Mr. Chichibu transferred to the Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials at Tohoku University as a professor in February 2007. (HP Editorial Committee)