Words from Alumni
Hayato Koizumi (Working at NEC Corporation, master’s graduation in 2013)
I have studied in the Uchida Lab for 3 years and am now working as a system engineer. When you are facing the problem of choosing the lab in which you will study, several important points are to be taken into consideration. I chose the Uchida Lab because Prof. Uchida’s lectures were clear and easy to understand. When I entered the lab, all the background I had was what I had learned in the lessons but that would not help me understand the research topics of the students already in the lab or their discussions about lasers. But then all would kindly support me and explain the fundamentals I needed to know in order to get involved in research activities. I could then progressively overcome difficulties, make progress and understand the interest of doing research.
In the Uchida lab, research was dedicated to design experimental laser hardware environment and analysis and to implement software environments for application processing. I have been initiated to both and was encouraged to focus on the one I liked better (I ended up by finding a good balance between both). Then, as a reward for those who wished for it, the students could travel the world and do presentations in the frame of international conferences. I believe this gave a great boost to my motivation for research.
In the Uchida lab, I could live in a particularly cozy environment in which the students and the professor would get along very well and freely discuss on many subjects. Group activities like sports or trips organized with all the members of the lab were also enjoyable moments in which we could release our stress.
Finally, when thinking about valuable features of research, it seems to me that the learning experience that you continuously get by doing experiments by yourself and solving the problems you face is fundamental. The way you present your results is also important and in the lab I received good training and support from Prof. Uchida in order to manage this efficiently. Above all, everything I learned in the Uchida Lab as a student also helps me in my current work, and I am very grateful for it. So to give a flourishing end to your student life and graduate without regrets, do not hesitate and choose the Uchida Lab!
Yasuhiro Akizawa (Working at NTT Software Corporation, master’s graduation in 2013)
In the Uchida Lab, the fourth-year students’ research activities are supported by a system of team work and oral academic explanations operated by the students themselves in turns. There are also meetings and intra-lab presentations in which active discussions are carried out, aiming at helping the students start and progress on their research activities in a very good environment.
I can’t write down here an exhaustive list of all the good things I experienced after entering the Uchida Lab. Above all I can mention the nice travels (US, Spain) which I did in the frame of international conferences. Besides the interest from their research content and the experience of scientific presentations, I could also taste different cultures and all this put together constitute very valuable memories. And even now in my current professional position, I am using all the skills I learned, forged and practiced in the frame of the Uchida Lab such as mastering experiments and numerical simulation techniques, doing clear presentations and holding effective discussions on a regular basis.
Takuya Hida (Working at Hitachi Systems Ltd., master’s graduation in 2014.)
If I had to say in one word what my life in the Uchida Lab was, it would be “fullness”. It was a very good balance between research and good time spend in the lab.
I knew from the beginning that I would go until master graduation and chose the laboratory which I would join keeping in mind that it would be a 3-year commitment. Belonging to the department of Information and Computer Sciences, I expected to have to deal essentially with programming, mathematics and computing. However, in the Uchida Lab, research activities were based on concepts such as chaos and laser, which were not studied in details in the lectures I attended. I found that I would pretty well fit to this original environment since I wanted to go forward in a domain of science that is not so commonly studied. Also, I wanted to join the Uchida Lab because it was known that the affiliated students had this great opportunity to present their results in national and international conferences several times and in consequence to spend 3 years tasting the fulfilment of their research activities. I had attended the clear and well-explained lectures given by Prof. Uchida as an undergraduate student, which also motivated me to join his laboratory.
When I first stepped into the lab, I could difficultly understand the matters that were discussed in meetings. But then Prof. Uchida and the graduate students of the lab would take the time to kindly explain me what I needed to know, and I am still very grateful for this.
I also learned how to do presentations within the lab and in conferences and was very well trained on how to prepare them and make them clear in consequence. I forged my skills to do presentations easy to understand for first-listeners in the Uchida lab and am still intensively using them in my professional life.
Of course, life in the Uchida lab was not restricted to research and doing presentation. There was also a considerable part of fun that I enjoyed a lot. We would sometimes do sports like futsal or basket-ball all together. Every summer, we would also spend a 3-day trip somewhere in a beautiful place in Japan with several outdoor activities in order to restore our energy.
This is how is lived a very rich experience in the Uchida lab for 3 years, with a good balance between active research and fun. I have very good memories of the trips I did as a member of the lab in Aichi, Miyakojima, Niigata and Spain.
So if you are looking for a lab in which you will be able to enjoy fruitful research activities in a friendly environment, do not hesitate and choose the Uchida Lab!