[No. 144] Toshihisa Sato

Thank you for this opportunity to write for the Keio University Alumni Relay Column. I graduated from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in 1999 and received my doctorate in 2005. Currently, I work as a researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), one of Japan's largest research institutions. I was by no means an outstanding student and chose this path simply because I wanted to see if I could make it as a researcher. I am where I am today thanks to the many fortunate encounters I had as a student.

I'm not sure if this will be helpful to prospective students aiming for the Faculty of Science and Technology, but I would like to share my story.

When studying for entrance exams, I liked chemistry and it was my best subject, so I was aiming for a chemistry-related department. However, at Keio, I took the exam for "Gakumon 2," which has a high percentage of students advancing to the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, a field completely different from chemistry. Just like many of you reading this column, I also read these kinds of articles during my exam preparation period, thinking about my future. I came across an article that suggested it was wise to choose a career path with an eye on future trends, and the idea sounded cool to me. At the time, Windows was becoming widespread and personal computers were entering daily life. I predicted that information-handling technology would become essential, which is why I chose the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, as it included paths to information-related laboratories.

In my first and second years of university, I was a typical student who wasted opportunities by neglecting my studies, often hanging out at friends' houses and having low attendance in lectures. Neglecting my liberal arts courses meant I lacked a fundamental academic foundation, which caused me a great deal of trouble after being assigned to a laboratory. I thought it was okay because I could make up for my lack of academic ability later, albeit with some effort. However, when I applied for various scholarships after entering graduate school, I was often rejected due to my poor undergraduate transcript. I have never regretted anything more than not attending my classes properly back then.

At the Faculty of Science and Technology, students join a laboratory in their fourth year, so we choose one in the fall of our third year. Although I hadn't attended many lectures up to that point, I found the basic laboratory exercises very enjoyable, and I was particularly interested in the human factors engineering experiments. Therefore, I wanted to join a human factors engineering lab and chose the Kawashima Laboratory (Professor Hironao Kawashima), which dealt with the familiar topic of automobile driving.

In fact, there was only one lecture series I attended every single session of throughout the year, and it was Professor Kawashima's. I felt a sense of destiny about it. In one of his lectures, he explained how a mathematical method called time-series analysis is applied in everyday life. It felt like the first time I was truly shown how the subjects I learned in school were useful in the real world, which made me feel that I could do interesting research in his laboratory. (Incidentally, I couldn't follow the content of any of his other lectures at all. My apologies, Professor.)

The Kawashima Laboratory handled themes not only in human factors engineering but also in traffic engineering and OR (operations research), and was engaged in joint research with various companies. As I had hoped, I chose a joint research theme in human factors engineering with Fuji Heavy Industries (now SUBARU Corporation). What I did was evaluate a driver assistance system designed to reduce the driver's burden. I conducted experiments to see what kind of information, when provided in advance, could reduce tension and stress when passing through narrow spaces, such as "next to a parked vehicle on a narrow road."

Based on demographic forecasts of an aging population, I gained intensive experience by conducting experiments with elderly drivers as participants, targeting not only driving situations but also information appliances that might become common in the future, and trying out multifaceted evaluation methods that looked at human cognition, behavior, and physiological states.

I still remember what Professor Kawashima told me in a meeting: "It's no good just worshipping theory. You have to use theory as a stepping stone." It didn't click with me at the time, but recently I've come to truly understand what he meant.

Securing a position after obtaining a degree was a narrow gate back then, as it is now. Fortunately, I was invited by Principal Researcher Mikiyuki Akamatsu (then a research group leader), who is an alumnus of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and was Professor Kawashima's junior. With additional support from Professor Tatsuru Daimon, who was a full-time lecturer in the Kawashima Lab at the time, I was able to get an opportunity to conduct research as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) after graduation. I was then successfully hired as a researcher, which brings me to the present.

In recent years, the practical application of automated driving technology has been gaining attention. Even when using automated driving for transportation, research focusing on people—such as the driver's state during automated driving—is crucial. The research center I belong to is conducting national projects and joint research with numerous companies. Although the approach is completely different, the research themes I'm working on are, on the surface, unchanged from my time in the laboratory. The multifaceted evaluation methods I learned back then and the experience of conducting joint research with people from various companies are still being put to good use today.

A researcher with a Ph.D. is considered a professional with a high degree of expertise, but at the same time, they are required to have the ability to maintain diverse perspectives without being confined to a single specialty. I have never been one to fixate on a single thing, and even during my time in the laboratory at Keio, I worked on expanding my focus to various subjects. I feel that these experiences have unexpectedly led to the qualities required of professionals today.

Looking back, I see that I have made a series of inconsistent choices, but I believe it has all worked out for the best. If any of you reading this are unsure about your future path, I suggest you try taking the approach of "just give it a try without getting too hung up on it."