[No. 108] Takanori Suzuki

When I look back on my life at my alma mater, Keio University, I realize that I spent a long period of 11 years commuting to the Hiyoshi and Yagami campuses for the Faculty of Science and Technology. I spent my high school, undergraduate, and graduate school years here, and I remember having the time and the environment to do what I wanted to do, and that many talented people had gathered there. The various experiences from my student days are now a great asset to me, and I would like to share some of my experiences from my undergraduate and graduate years, focusing on my memories of the laboratory.

Life presents us with various turning points, and for me at the Faculty of Science and Technology, these were choosing my department in my second year and my laboratory in my third year. I feel that choosing my laboratory was particularly important, and joining the Tsuda Laboratory in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering has become my starting point. I had planned to choose a laboratory based on its research theme and atmosphere, but at the time, I also had a strong desire to have a different experience from others, so I deliberately chose a newly established laboratory with no alumni. It may sound like an exaggeration now, but I felt like I was launching a startup. Furthermore, Professor Tsuda had just arrived from NTT, and I saw it as a great opportunity to learn from both academic and corporate perspectives.

Life in the laboratory started with four of us from the same year. Our research subject was "optical devices for optical communications," which was a timely theme as the internet and mobile phones were just beginning to spread. Research on devices is fundamentally a cycle of design, prototyping, and evaluation, but our new laboratory had no traditions or culture, of course, nor did it have any model research styles or know-how. Because of this, I have memories of various struggles when we were setting up the lab. From learning how to use simulators and CAD for design to building evaluation systems for evaluation, we studied everything from scratch and built our research equipment and style ourselves. Of course, there were many things we couldn't do on our own, so we received help from many people, including those from other laboratories and companies. Looking back, I have had a connection with Hitachi, where I work now, since my student days. For example, since our laboratory did not have the environment to prototype optical devices, we outsourced it to Hitachi Cable, Ltd. (at the time). We also once purchased an evaluation system from the Hitachi, Ltd. Central Research Laboratory (Hitachi CRL). I went with Professor Tsuda to the laboratory at Hitachi CRL in Kokubunji to pick up the evaluation system and learn how to use it. I never dreamed that I would later get a job at Hitachi CRL and work in that very same laboratory.

Being involved in the launch of the laboratory gave me a good opportunity to learn both the joy of being able to do things freely and the difficulty of that freedom. On the other hand, regarding the research itself, I wanted to pursue a little more academic depth, which ultimately led me to advance to the Doctoral Programs.

One of the assets from my time in the Doctoral Programs was meeting researchers from various fields. At Keio University, research for the 21st Century COE Program, "Research and Education on Advanced Optical and Electronic Device Technology for Access Networks," started in fiscal year 2002 in the fields of information, electrical, and electronic engineering, and I participated in this program as an RA (Research Assistant) while I was a doctoral student. Many doctoral students from not only the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering but also the Department of Information and Computer Science and the Department of System Design Engineering participated in this program, which served as a place to deepen academic discussions and build networks. Globalization is in demand these days, and the COE Program promoted global human resource education through overseas internships and international workshops held abroad. The international workshop held in San Jose was a great opportunity to deepen my knowledge through lectures by famous overseas researchers and poster sessions among students. Furthermore, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit a startup company in San Jose, and although it was for a short period of one month, I experienced exposure to cutting-edge technology.

I am currently working at Hitachi CRL. While searching for companies related to my research theme from my student days, I had the good fortune to connect with Hitachi CRL. I am still engaged in work related to optical devices, and by experiencing "monozukuri" (manufacturing) myself, which I could not do as a student, I have realized a complete research style of design, prototyping, and evaluation.

Twelve years have passed since I began my research on optical devices in the Tsuda Laboratory in 2001. I am fortunate to be able to consistently conduct research in the same field, but this is also the result of always being conscious of the importance of continuation and seeking an environment where I could continue. People seek various things, but in writing this article, I was reminded once again that Keio University had an environment that would always respond to what one seeks. For all of you who are about to enter Keio University, I hope you will also seek various things from Keio University and lead fulfilling days.