With anxiety and uncertainty as motivators to press forward towards a goal
that has been left untouched for 50 years.
Course of Energy Intelligence,
Department of Information and Intelligent Systems in the School of Engineering of Tohoku University
Shota Abe
After suffering from a loss of confidence, these words saved me:
“Science is the only way to make innovation happen.”
Abe, believing that the future market would be developed in Asia, especially in Southeast Asia, rather than China proper, decided to study in Singapore. He applied for the study abroad program in the fall of his freshman year and moved to Nanyang Technological University the following summer where he met deep culture shock. “I at once lost my confidence when experiencing the academic level and different assessment methods and evaluation procedures of Singapore. I found it to be a clear contrast to Japan in every sense, including my dormitory life and travel through Asia.” Then he met with one business person in Singapore who gave him these words; “Science is the only way to make innovation happen” which surprisingly encouraged Abe greatly because he had been conflicted and embarrassed so much, but “it gave me a good opportunity to acknowledge the top levels, and my surroundings, to become honest of with my own feelings. It would be much easier to absorb so many things. In a place that is very different from my home, new encounters and daily challenges to my set perception were a valuable experience for me to renew my appreciation of the assets present in Japan and Tohoku University.”
Realizing the high applicability of engineering to different fields,
with anxiety and uncertainty as motivators to press forward.
The lecture style in Nanyang Technological University is very unique, and quite different from the educational institutions of Japan, such as Tohoku University. One attends a lecture by first watching what is called a Lecture Note which has been uploaded to the website of the university. Abe found this to be very progressive, but at the same time he felt it more suitable for him to take notes of what is written on the blackboard. He realized that the engineering course was unpopular in Singapore. “People seemed to think that the engineering course was a very difficult course but that actually gave me strength to decide that I must do it for myself. There were few chances to transfer from one faculty to another when another was more applicable to research, which had a positive effect for me since it assured that my engineering knowledge and experience dealing with numbers and data can be applied to every field. This was how I truly understood the idea "Science is the only way to make innovation happen.”
It was also stated that small-class sizes and carefully-planned lectures are characteristics of Tohoku University to be proud of.
Open up a new field where nobody in the world has reached for 50 years.
“Someone has to begin to change something.”
“What are your plans after graduation?”, “First of all, I will go to graduate school at Tohoku University,” Abe answered to our question with strong determination appearing on his face. To achieve his dream of “electricity generation by nuclear fusion”, he told of his desire to participate in International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the ongoing project in France. Unlike the current nuclear power generation by nuclear fission, nuclear fusion won’t occur in principle and it is such a huge project that researchers of the world have been pursuing it for more than 50 years. In order to succeed in this nuclear fusion generation, more advanced technology in plasma, which Abe has been studying is essential. “It was at the end of my sophomore year when the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake happened, just when I decided to enroll in Tohoku University. As I am from Fukushima High School, utilization of energy sources by nuclear fusion is a great challenge for me. Someone has to do something to make new breakthroughs. I have to be aware of my own duty to move forward towards further research. ITER project in France will be kicked into gear after 6-7 years, just as Abe completes his master’s degree. He must be expected to challenge the world's most advanced research as a leading representative and pioneer of Japanese science with his expansive knowledge and vision which he has honed in the School of Engineering of Tohoku University.
Course of Energy Intelligence, Department of Information and Intelligent Systems in the School of Engineering of Tohoku University
Shota Abe
Abe graduated from Fukushima High School in 2012. Participation in science workshops at the Cambridge University expanded his view of the world. In April 2012, he entered the School of Engineering of Tohoku University. On August of that year he joined the summer camp for the National University of Singapore. After he took a short-term study exchange program at the University of New South Wales in February 2013, he moved to Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He’s been travelling around Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, experiencing local cultures and life styles. He wishes to develop his own research on plasma after he returns to Japan.