[No. 121] Yukari Tadokoro

I am very honored to have been asked to write for this Keio University alumni column. By writing here about my student days and my professional life, I hope it will be of some help to all of you as you think about your future.

For me, not having decided what I wanted to do in the future, the *gakumon* system at the Keio Faculty of Science and Technology, which allows students to choose their department after enrollment, was very appealing. Interested in biology and physics, I chose Gakumon 3, which allowed me to advance to either the Department of Biosciences and Informatics or the Department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics. Then, when choosing my department in my second year, I selected the Department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics, which has a wide range of research fields including information, energy, and medicine. Later, as I took classes, I became interested in semiconductor physics. Attracted also by the professor's generous personality, I joined the laboratory of Professor Eiji Ota (now Professor Emeritus) when choosing a lab in my fourth year. For my graduation research, I worked on the theme of "Electron Emission Characteristics of Gold-Doped Amorphous Carbon Thin Films."

While living my life as an undergraduate, I was inspired by the international students and acquaintances studying abroad around me, and my desire to study abroad grew stronger. So, in my fourth year, I gathered information from the bulletin board at the university's International Center, found a program that matched my interests, and decided to apply.

After graduating from the Faculty of Science and Technology, I participated in the "Transport and Sustainable Development" Master's Program sponsored by the foundation of the major French automaker, Renault. I chose this program because I had long questioned crowded trains and was conscious of transportation issues. This program is a course where you attend three of France's leading higher education institutions for science and engineering (equivalent to Japanese graduate schools)—École Polytechnique, École des Ponts ParisTech, and Mines ParisTech—for one year, followed by a six-month corporate internship to work on a master's thesis topic and obtain a Master of Engineering degree.

In France, there are two types of master's courses. One is the Academic Master, where, like in a Japanese graduate school, you belong to a laboratory and write a thesis. The other is the Professional Master, which, like the program I participated in, focuses on solving corporate challenges.

In graduate school, along with 20 classmates from 12 different countries, I studied a wide range of subjects on the theme of transportation and the environment, including public transport, logistics systems, climate change, environmental economics, finance, and engine structure. Classes were centered on group work, and my days were filled with assignments, gathering with team members after school and on weekends to prepare reports and presentations.

For my internship, I worked in the Energy Management Group of Renault's Advanced Automotive Technology Department on the theme "Creation of a physical model using Matlab Simulink to improve the drivability of EV (electric vehicle) powertrains." After graduation, as fate would have it, I was assigned to a department at Nissan Motor that had dealings with the Renault department where I had interned, and I still interact professionally with the people from Renault who helped me back then.

The EV Energy Development Department, where I was assigned after joining Nissan Motor, is responsible for developing batteries for electric vehicles like the Leaf. In my first year, I was involved in designing battery packs for Renault vehicles. From my second year, I was involved in developing second-life applications for batteries used in EVs. Due to their high capacity, EV batteries still have sufficient performance to be used as power sources for homes and businesses even after their service in a vehicle has ended. In my work, I was consistently involved in everything from system design, controller and structural component design, to the evaluation of the finished product.

After that, I was engaged in battery cost management. This job involves coordinating with purchasing, development, and production departments both in Japan and overseas to consolidate battery component and production costs and consider how to create competitive products.

Currently, I am involved in strategic planning for electric vehicles in the EV & Powertrain Strategy Department. I drive a Leaf myself, and I feel that its unique appeal, which internal combustion engine cars lack, lies in the fact that it is vibration-free and not tiring even on long drives, and that it regenerates and doesn't waste energy during deceleration or on downhill slopes. Through my work, I hope to contribute to making more people aware of these charms of electric vehicles.

In my work, I feel that every single class I took at the Faculty of Science and Technology has been useful. I believe that because I have a foundation learned through the well-thought-out curriculum of the Faculty of Science and Technology, I am able to apply what I've learned to tackle new fields. Furthermore, the subjects I studied in France that went beyond the scope of science, the teamwork skills, and the practical abilities I learned through my internship are things I could only have gained by studying abroad in France, and they are extremely helpful for the project management required to advance my work.

When I entered the Faculty of Science and Technology, I never imagined I would earn a master's degree in France. I am grateful for being given such an opportunity to study abroad, and I am truly glad that I chose to attend Keio University, which offers so many options.