The microscopic world is a treasure trove of new discoveries. Aiming to create things never seen before with my own hands.

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Graduated from Ube High School, Yamaguchi Prefecture

Driven by a desire to see a wider world, he set his sights on universities in the Kanto area during high school. He says his high school life was dedicated solely to studying to broaden his options. He is currently conducting research in biomechanics, which involves detailed measurement of biological motion, but he says that in high school, he had various dreams, including space research and research on neural device transmission in the brain. How did he narrow down his field of study after enrolling and arrive at his current research from a wide range of options? We also asked him about his struggles as a first-generation student in a newly established laboratory and his future career path.

[*] Academic year at the time of the interview (November 2020).

I was in the soft tennis club with some good friends, but with entrance exams approaching, I realized I needed to focus on my studies. Because I have the kind of personality that makes me want to put all my effort into one thing, I quit the club after a year and spent the next two years of high school dedicated solely to studying. I didn't have a major reason for my choice of university, but living in a rural area, I had a vague admiration for the Kanto region (laughs). Thinking I needed the academic ability to get into a university in Kanto, I would go straight to the study room at my Juku after school and continue studying on my own for five to six hours a day until 10 p.m. On the way home from Juku, I would talk with friends about how much we wanted to have fun once we got into university, and my only break at the time was watching 30 minutes of my favorite anime before bed. My high school days were all about studying, but I think I was able to work so hard because I had a goal.

Actually, my first choice was a different national university, so I wasn't initially aiming for the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology. When applying to multiple universities, I chose to take the entrance exam for the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology, which is the most difficult among private science and engineering universities.

I was originally good at math and physics, so I chose a science track when deciding my high school path, but I had doubts about choosing it just because I was good at it. I also looked into humanities paths, but I came to the conclusion that the science track offered far more of the options I wanted and would open up more paths for my future.

Having come to Tokyo from Yamaguchi Prefecture, I had the simple image of a university attended by students from urban high schools. Before enrolling, I worried that I might not fit in, but once I started, I was relieved to find that everyone was classy yet easy to get along with.

Also, and this might be a good thing about universities in general rather than just Keio University, a university is a place where people who have been passionate about something, including their studies, gather. Interacting with types of people I hadn't met in high school and being in an environment where people with solid ideas actively communicate was very stimulating for me.

After enrolling, I wanted to enjoy things other than studying, so I joined a hardball tennis club. Although I had experience with soft tennis, I was new to hardball tennis, so I spent my first year as a regular club member. However, I learned about a "member system," a select group for skilled tennis players, and I became determined to join it in my second year. I practiced obsessively and deepened my relationships with the senior members.

From my second year onward, I was selected as a member, which had been my dream, and I participated in two team competitions. It was a fulfilling university life, but I wanted to concentrate on my research activities, so I decisively quit the club in my third year. My tendency to want to focus all my energy on one thing hasn't changed since high school (laughs).

For someone like me who hadn't decided on a direction in high school, the "Gakumon System" [*], which gives you time to choose your department, was a good thing. I was initially interested in another department, but after considering various options, I felt that for me, someone who wants to get into manufacturing, the Department of Mechanical Engineering was a closer fit overall, so I chose it.

A major feature of the Department of Mechanical Engineering is its abundance of seminar-style classes, which provide opportunities to apply the knowledge gained in lectures in a practical way. If there's no place to apply what you learn in lectures, it's hard to get into the lectures themselves. Thanks to a curriculum interspersed with seminar-style classes, I think it's easy to stay motivated without having to wonder what this studying is for before exams come around.

[*] Gakumon System: 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 field of interest according to their curiosity and concerns, and decide on their department when advancing to their second year. The Gakumon System was changed for students entering the Faculty of Science and Technology in the 2020 academic year, and some of the departments that can be entered from each Gakumon have changed. For details on the Gakumon System, please refer to the link below.

It was a class I took in my second year called "Creative Practice in Mechanical Engineering." Students conduct research from a mechanical engineering perspective based on a free theme they set themselves. What I did was a "handmade automatic vacuum cleaner robot" that changes direction using only batteries and motors, with no programming at all. The experience of applying what I read in textbooks to a field I was interested in made me realize what I truly love. My desire for manufacturing had been vague until then, but giving it a physical form seemed to set my direction.

Also, "Production Engineering," which I took in my third year, was another enjoyable class. We had people from a company come in, we built a prototype car, and we discussed specifically how to improve the seats, including costs. I could feel the connection between learning and the real world, so I thought this experience would be useful when I get a job.

I am currently conducting research on a "force plate for insect biomechanics" in the newly established Takahashi Laboratory. For example, ants climbing walls and birds flying in the sky perform movements impossible for humans. Elucidating these mechanisms can be applied to the design and development of robots that mimic biological motion. Therefore, to elucidate the running mechanism of insects, we are prototyping and repeatedly evaluating the performance of a "force plate," a microscopic force measuring device with springs at the four corners of the plate.

Ideally, we would like to arrange multiple microscopic force plates and measure ants and other insects walking on them, but for now, as a preliminary stage of research, we are conducting experiments to weigh a single fruit fly. This is because the technology to measure the weight of a single tiny insect like a fruit fly has not yet been established. Currently, the method used is to weigh many insects and take the average value, but in the future, I hope to establish a technology that can even measure the weight of a single insect wing.

In some laboratories, you start by thinking about a theme, but in the Takahashi Laboratory, we research themes recommended by the faculty. But that doesn't mean there's no initiative. Since the research that can be handled with a student's level of experience is very limited, the faculty proposes research ideas that match our level. We then take those ideas, think for ourselves, get our hands dirty, and elevate them into research.

Initially, I had a vague desire to get into manufacturing, but I found the field of MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems), where unexpected applications arise from reproducing everyday things on a micro-scale, to be extremely interesting. It is said that newly established laboratories have fewer students per faculty member, allowing for relatively generous support and making it easier to produce good results. Indeed, I believe the fact that I was able to attend an international MEMS conference was largely due to being in a new lab.

However, because it was a new laboratory, it wasn't equipped with specialized experimental instruments, so I sometimes had to borrow other labs to conduct experiments for submission to the international MEMS conference. I was swamped doing it in parallel with my graduation thesis, but I'm really glad I participated. It was a valuable experience to encounter different ways of thinking and to recognize the differences between them.

I hope to work for a manufacturer. Within manufacturing, rather than refining what already exists, I want to create things that are not yet in the world. I joined my current laboratory with a vague desire to get into manufacturing, but I enjoy the aspect of making things within my research, so I want to continue doing that after I get a job. For my graduation research, I worked on creating microscopic suction cups from harmless materials, with the goal of applying them to fetal surgery that doesn't require suture removal and to the fingertips of high-precision robot hands. After I start working, I hope to continue creating something new with my own hands and contribute to society.