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From Tokyo Metropolitan Machida High School, Tokyo

As a child, he was captivated by building molecular models, discovering the fun of creating three-dimensional objects from two-dimensional images. In high school, he excelled in science and math, so his interests naturally turned toward science and technology. Now in his second year of the master's program, he is engaged in research in the Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, using quantum computers—which hold unknown potential—to perform chemical calculations. We spoke with him about his undergraduate years, when he was actively involved in activities such as serving on the Yagami Festival Executive Committee alongside his studies, his current focus on research, and his plans for the future.

[*] Academic year at the time of the interview (August 2022).

In high school, I was in the concert band. While practicing the euphonium, a brass instrument I started in high school, I also kept busy helping run the club as vice president. However, my life wasn't all about the band; I was also interested in my studies and think I maintained a good balance between academics and extracurriculars. Outside of school, I continued my childhood hobby of building molecular models. I enjoyed making things with my hands, and the fun of creating a three-dimensional object from a two-dimensional blueprint in my mind later became a reason for choosing to major in chemistry. I've been building them steadily, and now I have several hundred models of various sizes at home (laughs).

The main reason was the *Gakumon* system [*1]. I was relatively good at science and math and had a desire to go into a chemistry-related field, but as a high school student, my perspective was still narrow. I didn't have a clear image of whether I wanted to pursue organic, inorganic, or other research fields. In that respect, I was attracted to Keio University's Gakumon 3 (now Gakumon E) [*2]. Although it was chemistry-oriented, it offered a wide range of departments to advance to, from life sciences to physics, and I liked the freedom to go into either science or engineering.

Another reason was that Keio University is a comprehensive university. I wanted to interact with a variety of people, and since my interests weren't limited to just science, I decided to enroll because I wanted to be in an environment where I could also take humanities courses.

[*1] The *Gakumon* system is a unique system at the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology where students choose one of five *Gakumon* (academic fields) at the time of admission. After enrolling, they gradually narrow down their desired field of study based on their interests and concerns, and decide on their department when they advance to their second year. Note that the *Gakumon* system was changed for students entering the Faculty of Science and Technology in the 2020 academic year, and some of the departments accessible from each *Gakumon* have changed. For details on the *Gakumon* system, please refer to the link below.

[*2] Gakumon 3 was an academic field from which students could advance to one of four departments: the Department of Applied Chemistry, the Department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics, the Department of Chemistry, or the Department of Biosciences and Informatics. The names and composition of each *Gakumon* have been changed for students entering in the 2020 academic year.

I had an image of the so-called glamorous university student, but once I enrolled, I found that there were many different types of people: sociable people, serious people, active people, and so on. I was impressed by the active students who enthusiastically participated in part-time jobs, clubs, and social gatherings between their studies. In my first year, I joined a tennis club with many humanities students, and it was stimulating to learn about their ways of thinking and enjoying life.

I think the small class size is the biggest feature. With only about 40 students per year, required classes where everyone gathers have an atmosphere like a middle or high school class, and students naturally become close by helping each other with studies and lab reports. The number of students in each lab is also small, about three to four per year, so there are many academic advisors for the number of students. Being able to learn with this kind of close guidance may be unique to this department. As for the students, I feel that many are the "solo play" type, who tend to work quietly on their own. Another major feature of the Department of Chemistry is that it is a science-focused department. The Department of Applied Chemistry also has labs that handle organic chemistry, but there are no labs that mainly deal with theoretical or computational chemistry like mine. I feel that the Department of Chemistry places more emphasis on being scientific—that is, on understanding and exploring it as an academic discipline.

It all started when I found I enjoyed quantum chemistry, which I studied in my second and third years. The fact that it was the only "lab that doesn't do experiments," where research is conducted almost entirely on a computer, might have also been a factor.

Also, the Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory was at a point where the previous professor had retired, and it was restarting under a new academic advisor in the year I was assigned. The thought of being able to focus more on my research in a flat hierarchical environment was also a deciding factor. It wasn't as if the educational system was immature just because it was a new environment; the academic advisor was very supportive and taught me well, so I didn't feel any particular anxiety about the new setting.

It's the ability to elucidate things that can't be understood through experiments. Recently, experiments have advanced to the point where it's gradually becoming possible to track the movement and reactions of a single molecule, but there are still limits. By running simulations on a computer to predict results for things that can't be clarified by experiments, we can gain new insights that are also useful for experiments. Being able to approach the world of chemistry, which is invisible to experiments alone, with mathematical formulas and calculations is one of the strengths of computational chemistry.

In my second year, a friend invited me to join the executive committee for the Yagami Festival, which is held annually at the Faculty of Science and Technology's Yagami Campus. I belonged to the General Affairs Bureau and was responsible for coordinating tasks like applying to the ward office for permission to run food stalls and arranging hygiene training sessions. Unfortunately, the festival was canceled due to a typhoon in my third year, and the COVID-19 pandemic hit after that, so I was only really able to be fully involved in my second year. It was tough preparing between classes and even staying overnight at the Yagami Campus right before the event, but it was fun and I gained a lot of different experiences.

The Yagami Festival is the most exciting event at the Keio Faculty of Science and Technology, and the executive committee is the largest community within the faculty. I'm still in touch with the people I met there, and I think joining the committee was a great opportunity to expand my network within the Faculty of Science and Technology.

I am working on a research theme titled "Electronic State Calculation by Variational Quantum Optimization (Chemical Calculation by Quantum Computer)," which involves using quantum computers to perform chemical calculations. Quantum computers, which use quantum mechanics for computation, have the potential to perform calculations that are intractable for conventional computers. However, how to operate them is still largely unknown, and they are very much in a developmental stage. My research involves thinking about what kind of ingenuity is needed to apply such quantum computers to chemical calculations, for example, in molecular structure searches. The main practical work in my research is programming to write commands for operating the quantum computer. I spend my days programming and considering what procedures and calculation commands are best to bring out the good performance of the quantum computer.

Keio University has an IBM Q Network Hub established in partnership with IBM, bringing together researchers from various fields who use quantum computers. Moreover, graduate students are given access rights to IBM's quantum computers. I think this environment, where we can conduct joint research with researchers from IBM and participating companies, is very attractive. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meetings are currently online, but I can receive feedback on my research presentations from experienced professionals, and I learn a lot about how to proceed with research.

Currently, we are still in the stage of figuring out how to operate quantum computers themselves, so the road to practical application of quantum computers in the field of chemistry is still long. That's precisely why I find it interesting to research future technologies that will unlock the hidden potential of quantum computers, with an eye toward future practical use. I don't think there are many universities that can make such forward-looking investments in the unknown, and that might be one of the unique features of the Keio Faculty of Science and Technology.

As I was exposed to new information technologies like machine learning in the lab, I became more interested and began to wonder how to apply them in the real world. Therefore, I decided to seek employment in a company and have secured a position at a manufacturing company after graduation. I plan to conduct information-related research at that company. A broad foundation in science and technology, as well as the experience of identifying problems, advancing research, and communicating my ideas in presentations and discussions—I believe all these things I gained during my undergraduate and graduate years are essential for working in technology, not just for university research. I want to make full use of what I've learned through my research and contribute to society from the private sector.