Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences
Tohoku University

Can you describe the research you are doing now?

It is related to physical chemistry. We make small nanoparticles that are about  100-200nm. They can interact with light when organized together.

What role do AA students play in this research?

AAs are in charge of changing the parameters of the experiment which takes a lot of time, and I can teach them how to do research or give them more freedom after they are trained for a few months. Students may get bored doing the same things, so they can ask to do other steps of the experiment if they are confident enough.

Can you tell me about any progress or achievements of research with AA students?

My AAs made a lot of particles in the first few months, so the first step of the experiment was already finished when I had the time to write the paper (the rest steps can be compressed into 3 months). With the time saved, I was able to do more experiments and test out unexpected changes. I also put the AAs’ names in the paper because they did lots of work.

Are there any specific values you emphasize to find the right person for the job?

I would ask students the reason for applying, and most of them are chemistry students who wanted to get a feeling for just outside their field which is fine. I am looking for students with decent English proficiency, a preferred working schedule (I do not schedule AA work at night or during weekends), and passion. That’s all.