Acquiring Theory, Applying Technology for Society. Aiming to build the networks that form the foundation of modern society.

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From Keio Girls Senior High School, Tokyo

During high school, she was full of curiosity and took on various challenges. Although initially interested in mathematics and economics, she discovered her strengths through practical university classes and advanced to the Department of Information and Computer Science. In her lab, she has created easy-to-understand exhibits to introduce her research, participated in discussions at international conferences, and continued a part-time job that utilizes her expertise. Throughout her student life, she has acquired both theory and skills through a wide range of challenges. She also shared how she wants to apply the strengths she has cultivated in society.

[*] Academic year at the time of the interview (July 2019).

I attended a high school affiliated with Keio University, which has a consistent educational system. The school had a liberal atmosphere that valued student autonomy, and since we didn't have to study for entrance exams, I spent my high school life trying things I wanted to do. I had been interested in computers since I was little, so I joined a club where I could learn programming and made simple games. Figure skating was popular at the time, so I also joined the Skating Team and tried to be like Mao Asada (laughs). Outside of clubs, I also studied magic on my own, wrote novels, and generally enjoyed a wide range of things that interested me at the time. I'm the type of person who is interested in many different things rather than just one.

It started when I saw my father using a computer at home for work and asked him to let me play with it, saying, "I want to try that too!" Also, Akihabara was close to my home, so being in an environment with easy access to computers and electronics might have been a factor that influenced my life. Although I felt the content of the humanities classes at school was richer than the science classes, I originally liked and was good at mathematics. I found it interesting and appealing that mathematics has a single correct answer and the process of logically deriving that solution.

Although I thought about pursuing a path in mathematics, which I was good at, I was initially torn between the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Science and Technology. At that time, there was an opportunity for professors from all university faculties to come to our high school and introduce their departments. A professor from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Faculty of Science and Technology gave a specific explanation about analysis and passionately said, "The Faculty of Science and Technology will train you thoroughly over four, or even six years (including graduate school)!" His enthusiastic words made me want to study more mathematics under a teacher like him. Plus, I thought that in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, I could also study things related to economics, which would be like killing two birds with one stone.

Also, it was great that I could participate in a lab tour for students from affiliated high schools within Keio and see various labs firsthand. The faculty prepared easy-to-understand demonstrations and explanations about voice recognition for us high school students, and the senior students enthusiastically talked about their research and student life, which gave me a positive impression of the Faculty of Science and Technology.

The Faculty of Science and Technology brings together all sorts of people from across the country, but one thing that can be said for all of them is that many are at the forefront of their fields, seriously challenging themselves in what they want to do. They win awards at programming competitions, develop apps, or get involved in launching venture companies and putting them on track. Even friends who seem flashy at first glance, when you talk to them, you find they have such a passion for research that they hope to advance to the Doctoral Programs... I think it's a unique environment where everyone is working hard towards their dreams and encouraging each other. I'm grateful to be blessed with such a place and the people around me.

When I first enrolled, I was thinking of going into either the Department of Mathematics or the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, so I entered "Field 2 [*1]." However, when it came time to choose a department to advance to in my second year, I ultimately chose the Department of Information and Computer Science. This was because I was inspired by my classmates and senior students in my clubs during my first year, and I got a clear vision of what I wanted to study through the lectures. In particular, the deciding factor was a tour of the labs in the Department of Information and Computer Science, which was held when we were choosing our departments. I was thrilled by the exciting technologies in information and computer science, including IoT (Internet of Things) and VR (Virtual Reality), and the rapid growth of the field. While I enjoyed solving math problems at my desk and the statistics used to unravel economics, I realized that the field of information systems was where I wanted to shine the most from now on. In that respect, I feel the "Field System [*2]" was extremely helpful.

The research in the Department of Information and Computer Science often feels very relevant to us living in a digital information society, covering areas like robotics, autonomous driving, AR (Augmented Reality), facial recognition, CG (Computer Graphics), and big data. It's the power of information that drives the everyday things around us, and we can learn the essential knowledge for these things deeply and correctly. Furthermore, the learning isn't limited to theory; there are many practical classes like "creating a web page on a theme," "creating games and robots," and "implementing an interesting invention using sensors." The environment where you can immediately apply what you've studied was very appealing.

With so much practical content, it's easier to imagine the technology in real-world society, making it easier to find the field you want to pursue. Looking back now, I feel I lived each day more vibrantly after entering the Department of Information and Computer Science and starting to work with my hands, compared to my first year when I was studying theory.

[*1] Field 2... The "Field" that allowed students entering in 2014 to advance to one of three departments: the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, or the Department of Information and Computer Science. The names and composition of each field will change for students entering in fiscal year 2020 and beyond.

[*2] Field System... A unique system at the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology where students choose one of five "Fields" at the time of the entrance examination. After enrolling, they gradually narrow down the field they want to study according to their interests and concerns, and decide on their department when they advance to their second year.

I belong to the Naoaki Yamanaka Laboratory, where I research network technology. I resonated with my academic advisor's philosophy of "theory in the right hand, implementation in the left," and I believed that here I could both acquire solid theory and conduct research that connects to implementation and business. In the lab, we not only present at academic conferences but also participate every year in an exhibition called "KEIO TECHNO-MALL[*3]." We consulted with lab members on how to present our research in a more understandable and impactful way, and we built a network on-site to conduct a demonstration. Discussing our work with people from companies and other universities while showing the demonstration helped improve our research and was very stimulating. We do these kinds of exhibitions not just in Japan, but overseas as well. We even take our demo equipment to international conferences and hold discussions in English. I was nervous because you can't even have a discussion if you don't get people interested, but the excitement of having a meaningful debate in a limited time is unforgettable. I believe I was able to cultivate presentation skills and English abilities that will be valuable in the professional world. I want to go abroad one more time before I graduate, so I'm studying for the next opportunity!

Also, the Yamanaka Lab holds a "Children's Science Class" for kids during the summer vacation, and participating in that was a valuable experience. We made a "light string phone" that transmits voice using light instead of a string, and the children were delighted with their first experience of disassembling a calculator, soldering, and transmitting voice with light. Witnessing the children's eagerness to learn reminded me of the pure joy of science and brought me back to basics.

[*3] KEIO TECHNO-MALL is an "event that provides a meeting place" for creating opportunities for joint research and technology transfer by introducing the research results of the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology. It is held annually in mid-December at the Tokyo International Forum in Yurakucho. As an exhibition for a science and technology university, it has a long history, having been held 19 times, and boasts one of the largest scales in Japan.

I wanted to do research related to lifelines, so I chose research on networks. To put my current research simply, it's about controlling networks by mimicking the control mechanisms of biological brains and ecosystems. There is a technology called "service function chaining," which takes functions that were previously in hardware, turns them into software functions in the so-called cloud, and appropriately places and routes various functions according to the user's contract status. My research is about applying the mechanisms of living organisms, which operate with low energy consumption while flexibly adapting to environmental changes, to control this placement.

Realizing this will allow us to provide a comfortable network, and in more familiar terms, it can be applied to mobile communication technology. Current mobile phones use 4G, but this will become the foundation for realizing the upcoming 5G.

Since my second year of university, I've been working a part-time job in network maintenance and operation. For example, you know how shopping sites or social media can sometimes be slow to connect? My job is to investigate the cause and perform recovery work, or to predict when the load will be high and increase the system's processing capacity in advance. I started this part-time job because I wanted to apply what I learned in class, and at the same time, I wondered, "Is what I learn in class really everything?" I wanted to get involved in society and know what kind of practical work engineers are engaged in. I thought working long-term as a part-timer would allow for deeper involvement than a short-term internship, so I'm still continuing with it. I think it has created a good cycle where I apply what I learn in my research to my part-time job, and simultaneously apply what I learn from my job to my research.

I have a job offer from a company in the telecommunications and network industry. Having been exposed to various information technologies, I realized that an excellent network is necessary to create highly satisfactory IT systems, and I wanted to pursue a profession that supports such an infrastructure. The theme I've been researching is entering the commercialization phase, so it's a place where I can also leverage my expertise. As diverse new services using new technologies like artificial intelligence, IoT, and autonomous driving emerge, it's necessary to provide the infrastructure to support them quickly, so I want to realize the stable development of networks. And eventually, I'd like to be in a department that considers what kind of technology the company should develop. I haven't had the experience of doing something long-term before, so I think it would be fun to think about the path and technology to pursue for the next era and see it accomplished someday.