Clips from the Discussion
This summary was made by Chihiro Muranaka
Why did you decide to become a scientist?
I first got a job at a company - but I didn't intend to be involved in research or working in the development department. In the job interview, I mentioned that I wanted to continue my research in process control, and the company decided to put me in the research department. There probably was a request for a new member there at the time. Like so, I continued research and writing papers - and getting a degree started to appeal to me. After getting one, I randomly decided to work at university instead of a company this time.
How do you decide each research topic?
If you work in a company, you will be assigned a task or theme that would benefit the company. If your ideas to the task are approved, the research project begins. On the other hand, colleges allow you to pick any theme you want - it's completely free, as long as you can take full advantage of your expertise in your projects.
What do you like about being a researcher?
When I worked at a company, I found getting the results the company wanted most rewarding moment of all. The runner-up will be when my research paper gets published in scientific journals and magazines. At university, my favorite moments are when I win an award as I keep writing scientific papers and when my students succeed in life, for example, winning awards and getting their dream jobs after graduation.