[No. 171] Yusuke Wakabayashi

I currently teach a field called condensed matter physics at Tohoku University. I entered Keio University starting from the Keio Futsubu School (junior high school) and spent 12 years commuting to the Hiyoshi campus through Keio Senior High School, the Faculty of Science and Technology, and the Master's Program. During my Doctoral Programs, while still enrolled at Keio University, I was based at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) in Tsukuba for three years, where I continued to conduct experiments using accelerators. I was asked to write about my memories as a student, so I would like to look back on my four years in the Faculty of Science and Technology.

At the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology, students are not assigned to a specific department in their first year; instead, they enroll in broad fields such as physics, chemistry, or mechanics. The system is different now, but when I was a first-year undergraduate, we had to choose between the Department of Physics, the Department of Electrical Engineering, or the Department of Instrumentation Engineering at the start of our second year. Initially, I was torn between going to the Department of Physics to learn the principles of this world or going to the Department of Electrical Engineering to build robots, but I recall deciding to pursue physics at a relatively early stage.

During my four years at university, I focused on only three things: physics, mathematics, and kendo. Practice for the Athletic Association Kendo Club was held six days a week for an hour and a half each day at the kendo dojo in Hiyoshi. Among my teammates who joined the kendo club upon entering the university, many had competed in the Inter-High School Championships, and the Keio University Kendo Club was ranked among the top eight in the All-Japan championships (and it seems they still are). In my fourth year, I barely made it as a substitute for the Waseda-Keio rivalry, which is a 20-person match. However, I believe that the effort I put in and the experience of competing within the club have been a significant plus in my subsequent life as a physicist.

Let's return to the topic of physics and mathematics. In my first year of university, I made a rule for myself: attend classes from 9 a.m. every day, study in the library during free periods, and after returning home from kendo practice and having dinner around 9 p.m., I would always study at my desk for another three hours. In my second year, I was assigned to the Department of Physics, where I mainly studied classical physics, including thermodynamics, electromagnetism, and analytical mechanics. In my third year, I moved to the Yagami campus and struggled with classes in quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics, as well as solid-state physics and optics. There was something to submit almost every day, and that third year was just tough. I believe it is thanks to that year that I can now work in physics, and while I love physics, I don't think I could go through that third year of university again if asked.

In the fourth year at a science and technology university, all students join a laboratory to conduct their graduation research. In the Department of Physics at that time, a survey of laboratory preferences was conducted after the New Year, and assignments were made. Until the end of the year, I had intended to join a theoretical research lab. However, I thought about it calmly over the New Year's holiday. My goal, even back then, was to make a living from physics. Looking at the 50 students in my year in the Department of Physics, I could easily list several who were clearly smarter than me, and about 10 who were at least on the same level. This was despite the fact that I had never slacked off in my studies. I concluded that I couldn't compete on a global scale if I relied on brainpower alone. On the other hand, if I became an experimentalist, there would be aspects where I could compete with sheer grit. So, I changed course and decided to join an experimental lab. I still believe that this was the right choice for me at the time.

In the end, I joined the laboratory of Professor Nobuyoshi Wakabayashi, who coincidentally shared my last name, and began research on studying the structure of materials and their disorders using X-ray diffraction to understand the origin of their properties. I am still doing that today. Life in the laboratory can be summed up in one word: "fun." I would go to my desk in the lab in the morning and think about or experiment on what I had left from the day before. In the evening, I would go to kendo practice, and after it was over, I would return to the lab to work for a while before going home. There was a time when I would use up all my energy at the university, go straight home with nothing in my hands, sleep, and then go back to the university empty-handed the next morning to sit at my desk with my notebook still open. During my four years at university (and two years in the Master's Program), I grew so much each year that I would think, "How foolish I was last year." The period in one's life where such progress is possible is short, and I feel extremely fortunate to have received appropriate guidance during that time. Now, I see it as my turn to give back to the younger generation, and that is how I approach my work.