[No. 214] Yasuyuki Tanaka

When I was in high school, I didn't have a dream for the future. Even after becoming a university student, and in fact, even now, I don't have an image of what I want to be in five or ten years. Yet, even someone like me was able to lead a fulfilling university life, discover the joy of research, work with a sense of purpose, and even earn a doctorate.

I think it's wonderful to move forward toward a dream. I wanted to be like that too, but at some point, I realized I wasn't that type of person. After that, I stopped worrying about not having a dream and began to feel the strength in not having one. I'll share my university life and what came after, which led to this realization. I hope this article can be of some help to those who feel impatient or anxious about not having a dream for the future.

My reason for going to university as a high school student was to find something I wanted to do. My father accepted this reason, simply telling me, "At university, do things you can only experience at university." And so, I enrolled in the Faculty of Science and Technology at Keio University.

After the entrance ceremony, I was invited to join an American football club. I had never played a contact sport like American football, and the only exercise I got during my three years of high school was in physical education class. Still, I somehow became interested in American football, there were upperclassmen who seemed fun to be around, and above all, I thought American football was something I could only experience at university, so I ended up joining the club.

The American football club's practices were tough and painful, but I enjoyed eating and hanging out with the team's upperclassmen, and those fun times helped me endure the practices. As I continued practicing with the motivation of wanting to hang out with the upperclassmen, I gradually started playing in games and came to know the joy of winning and the frustration of losing.

It was precisely because I had nothing I wanted to do on the day of the entrance ceremony that I found the courage to join the American football club that had piqued my interest. Thanks to that, I was able to spend fulfilling days in the club, filled with experiences unique to university, and I met wonderful upperclassmen and teammates. I also gained the successful experience of learning that proactively trying new things can lead to something wonderful.

Sometime after the entrance ceremony, around the time I decided to join the American football club, I was taught how to use a computer in a class or something. The university's computers were connected to the internet through the campus network. This was the moment I first encountered the internet. On days when there was no club practice or between classes, I would go to the library, sit in front of a computer, exchange emails with friends, and look at the "homepages" that were rumored to be interesting.

As I gradually became more interested in the internet, I advanced to the Department of Information and Computer Science and joined the Teraoka Laboratory, which researches computer networks. Then, within an industry-academia collaborative research project that the Teraoka Laboratory was participating in, I met people from Toshiba's research centers. They always seemed to be having fun, and I became curious about what Toshiba was like. This encounter led me to decide to continue my research and development of computer networks at Toshiba's Research Centers and Institutes after my master's program.

When I first joined the lab, I was practically a novice when it came to the internet and computers. As a result, I struggled especially for several years after diving into the world of computer network research, and I made many mistakes. Causing a computer I was using to fail to boot due to my own error was one of the better outcomes; there were also times when I broke a perfectly working network, causing a lot of trouble for many people. Every time I failed, I felt down, and sometimes I dwelled on my mistakes for a long time.

However, thanks to the many people around me who helped and encouraged me in various ways, I was able to recover from my failures and did not lose interest in computer networks. My initial goal for going to university was "to find something I wanted to do," so you could say that goal was achieved. I cannot thank enough all the people who have supported me, including during my time as a student.

Recently, a colleague told me about a concept called Planned Happenstance Theory. It's the idea that if you maintain curiosity, take on challenges, and learn from them, it will lead to the next opportunity. Isn't this exactly what I practiced and learned at university! Both American football and my research in computer networks have led to various things after I took on the challenge at university.

It's no exaggeration to say that I became good friends with an American acquaintance from work thanks to American football. Of course, we talk about things other than football, but I think having American football as a common interest was an important factor in building our initial relationship. And his company's headquarters were in Switzerland. For that reason alone, I felt a connection to Switzerland, and when I got the chance to study abroad, I went to a university in Switzerland.

Having been in a business division and away from research for a while, I ended up going to the Swiss university without a specific research theme. Later, I decided on a research theme during my time abroad, and to continue that research after returning to Japan, I enrolled in the Doctoral Programs and once again joined the Teraoka Laboratory. My research theme was on multi-hop networks using low-power wireless communication methods that can operate for long periods on batteries—in short, research on networks of "small" computers. In September 2022, I was able to obtain my doctorate on this research theme.

If I hadn't been invited to the American football club after the entrance ceremony, I might not have entered the Doctoral Programs, and I might not have had this opportunity to contribute an article. I am grateful for the many encounters I've had so far, and I want to continue facing my curiosity and taking on challenges.

(Graduate of Taki High School)

April 1999

Enrolled in the Department of Information and Computer Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University

March 2003

Graduated from the Department of Information and Computer Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University

April 2003

Enrolled in the Master's Program, School of Science for Open and Environmental Systems, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Keio University

March 2005

Completed the Master's Program, School of Science for Open and Environmental Systems, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Keio University

April 2005

Joined the Corporate Research & Development Center, Toshiba Corporation

July 2012

Research Scientist, Network Systems Laboratory, Corporate Research & Development Center, Toshiba Corporation

June 2013

Specialist, Smart Meter Communication System Design, Smart Meter Communication Systems Department, Fuchu Complex, Toshiba Corporation (until June 2015)

September 2015

Visiting Researcher, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich) (until February 2017)

September 2017

Enrolled in the Ph.D. program, School of Science for Open and Environmental Systems, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Keio University

January 2018

Research Engineer, Inria (French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology) (until December 2019)

July 2020

Expert, Computer & Network Systems Laboratory, Information and Communication Platform Laboratory, Corporate Research & Development Center, Toshiba Corporation

July 2022

Fellow, Computer & Network Systems Laboratory, Information and Communication Platform Laboratory, Corporate Research & Development Center, Toshiba Corporation

September 2022

Completed the Ph.D. program, School of Science for Open and Environmental Systems, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Keio University; obtained Ph.D. in Engineering

October 2023

Fellow, Information and Communication Platform Laboratory, Corporate Research & Development Center, Toshiba Corporation

To present