黑料网

My favorite saying: Let’s live lives full of touching moments.

Q: Why did you choose this saying?

When I make a decision about something, I make it on the basis of what will impress me or move me. So far, I have chosen the path that I thought would make me feel the most, without thinking too much about the consequences. My ideal is to be able to move others by moving myself, and I carefully choose research topics that will allow me to achieve this. Education at the university is also something that really impresses me. Every day I am inspired by the rapid growth of the young lab members I do research with. I think being a university faculty member or researcher is a very inspiring profession, and I consider it my calling.

Q: In 2022, you received the Akasaki Award (awarded each year to young researchers at 黑料网 for their outstanding research, named in honor of Professor Isamu Akasaki, a 2014 Nobel laureate in Physics). What kind of research are you doing now?

I like carbon materials and molecular synthesis, and I would like to create interesting carbon materials using a molecular synthesis approach. The research topic for which I received the Akasaki Award was "Synthesis and Application of Insoluble Aromatic Polymers." In this research, I used molecular synthesis techniques to overcome insolubility, a challenging issue in the synthesis of carbon materials. When I received the Akasaki Award, I was only working on a simple carbon material called aromatic polymers, but now I am also working to synthesize larger and more complex insoluble carbon materials. I’m also working on the bottom-up synthesis of materials with diamond structures. This is a massive topic, and I still have a long way to go, but along the way, I’ve been able to synthesize new molecules and use them in collaboration with biology and other fields to expand our research.

Q: How did you get into research?

When I was in my fourth year of undergraduate school, around November, I synthesized a molecule, and it turned out to be much more interesting than the molecules that I had previously targeted. My academic advisors were also surprised. I was deeply impressed by the molecular world beyond human knowledge, and it convinced me that research is very interesting!

In addition, during my master’s program, I attended academic conferences and interacted with many passionate researchers, which made me realize that the world of researchers actually seemed fun. Giving presentations at academic conferences and publishing papers made me feel connected to the world, which was really exciting to me. That’s what spurred me to go into research. 

Q: What sorts of things make you think that research is interesting or rewarding?

When I get results that catch me off guard. I am certainly happy when I get the expected results, but I find it more interesting when the results are different from what I expected. It’s also interesting to work with many students and see that their personalities are reflected in the development of the research. It reminds me that working with others is much more interesting than doing research alone. 

Q: You are raising two children while producing great achievements in your research. Is there anything you try to do or incorporate into your life to balance research and parenting?

I try to sleep well to stay in good physical condition and maintain a balanced lifestyle. I believe that the most important things in both research and work are to be physically and mentally healthy and to keep a good mindset. I believe that good physical and mental health helps us to communicate well with others and remember to be grateful.

Plus, when I’m with my children, I try not to work, although I sometimes find my thoughts drifting back to my research (laughs). I hope I can balance research and parenting by switching gears between them to be happy with both. Raising my children is an essential part of my life that brings me a lot of excitement and a lot of emotion, and I don't want to cut that time short, so I’m doing my best to do other things efficiently.

Q: Please tell us about an experience that you can only talk about now.

I went back to work when my first child was six months old, and again when my second child was four months old. Particularly when I returned to work the second time, it was so hard to balance work and parenting that I thought about quitting my job as a university faculty member. I felt like I was shortchanging both my job and my kids, and inconveniencing everyone else in the meanwhile, and I thought it wasn’t right for me to be in that position. But I was allowed to keep flying, albeit at a lower altitude, and so I was able to publish several papers that were well received. So I’m glad that I didn’t quit my job back then. I’m thankful to the people around me.

Q: How do you spend your days off? What do you do to recharge?

While I spend most of my weekdays working and raising my children, my days off are usually spent enjoying time with my family—even though I do have a lot of housework to do, too! I recharge by eating my favorite foods and being active outdoors. I eat well, keep moving, and wear myself out, and that helps me get a good night’s sleep and stay energized.

Q: What are your goals and ambitions for the future?

I want to create molecules and materials that inspire people, which I believe will one day benefit the world. I would love it if I could make the people around me happy by making my own life enjoyable.