“Our future lies in new discoveries” Learning from great teachers to be a world changing researcher.
Graduate School of Engineering / School of Engineering, Tohoku University,
Department of Materials Science, Nano-materials Science, Materials Quantum Science
Associate Professor Makoto Kohda
Graduate school life, his back against a wall. There were friends he could talk with.
Not long after he had begun his graduate studies, Associate Professor Kohda presented his findings at an international conference, and his research drew great interest. However, 2 years passed, and he still didn’t have any new findings to report. “Looking back now, I don’t know whether that was a setback or a wall, or what it was. But I know that we were too busy with experiments to think it was a wall at the time—that and the fact that there were always someone to talk with. So I wasn’t worried when others around me were getting the results they wanted. If anything it actually made me want the success all the more”. Many friends of Associate Professor Kohda in the graduate school, who are now also right at the forefront of the different research fields, described the environment as “the kind of place where everyone wants everyone else to succeed.” “Being surrounded by people to aim for and model yourself on helps you keep going with a positive attitude. In fact, just the other day I caught up with old friends over drinks in Sendai. The conversation was mostly about our research, but because everybody’s research fields are so different, you find yourself thinking of lots of new ideas even as you speak. I don’t think the friendships I have with the people in my university life will ever change.”
New research in his thirties - Challenging the issues nobody has managed to solve.
In his mid-thirties and not satisfied to just keep going as he was, Associate Professor Kohda was eager to shake things up and move on to new research. It wasn’t the result of negative pressure, but he simply decided to take a new step. The opportunity was given by the Tohoku University Postgraduate research “young researcher overseas experience” program. “I used this newly set up program for researchers and sent my theses to IBM Zurich stating my desire to carry out research there for a year. Luckily, the researcher at IBM actually knew about my research, and I passed without any problems. During this year, I’d like to find things that will be relevant to research 10 years down the line. I’d also like to challenge some of the issues that nobody has yet managed to solve.” What you do in your thirties heavily influences your 40s and 50s: a researcher’s prime. Remembering the words of his teacher “make a new arena for yourself,” Associate Professor Kohda couldn’t simply do nothing. Throwing himself into research at this world-class center will be a vital step towards reaping the fruits of his research when he returns to Tohoku University in the future.
New discoveries have great value in the world of science
Tohoku University shows an out-standing impact on material science as a world class research in variety of materials. In such an environment, the driving forces behind associate professor Makoto Kohda are the passionate urge to “discover a new physical phenomenon, to deliver results that have a real impact on society with my own hands” and the desire to “follow in the footsteps of my great teachers.” During his time at university, he learned what it means to lead the world at the forefront of research and, after he joined the staff, the importance of using debate to understand theoretical physics. “In the world of science, great value is placed on new discoveries, and this is connected to your originality as a researcher. That’s why I think it is important to think outside the box and continue to combine various types of research with different materials, fields and experimental methods.” How much will I have changed by the time I reach the same age as my great teachers in around 20 years’ time? “First of all it’s about growing the fledgling green shoots of your research and adapting that for industry, with the ultimate goal of make people happy. If it works out like that I’ll be really happy. I hope to start out by spending about a year focused in IBM research, Switzerland, bringing the fruits of my research there back to Japan and then working on it even further at home here at Tohoku University.” A year later, his friends and the teachers that gave him his dreams watched Associate Professor Kohda’s beaming smile as he talked about his days in Switzerland.
Graduate School of Engineering / School of Engineering, Tohoku University,
Department of Materials Science, Nano-materials Science, Materials Quantum Science
Associate Professor Makoto Kohda
2001, graduated from the Course of Electronic Engineering, School of Engineering, Tohoku University.
2005, completed the Department of Electronic Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University.
Current research area of interest is electrical spin creation, control and detection using spin-orbit interaction. Awards he has won include: the “JSAP Young Scientist Oral Presentation Award” in his first year of graduate school research, the “Tokin Foundation for Advancement of Science and Technology Research Award” in 2010, and the “Honda Memorial Young Researcher Award” in 2014.