Disclaimer: machine translated by DeepL which may contain errors.
Aspiring Scientists
Structural Biology Aimed at Kumamon
Ryusei Shimizu(Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, 4th year )
Place of birth: Tokyo, Japan
Alma Mater: Shibuya Gakuen Shibuya High School
Faculty of Education: Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, The University of Tokyo (4th year)
Q. What books would you recommend to high school students? Or what is your favorite book?
A. " Momo" Michael Ende* "The Over-evolved Brain" Yuji Ikeya
Being efficient is not always justified. There are many lessons to be learned from Momo's behavior, and it is interesting to criticize the good and bad values that dominate today. Professor Yuji Ikeya of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences guides high school students through brain science based on scientific evidence in a book that I myself read in my senior year of high school and was excited about doing research at the University of Tokyo. *Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende
Q. Who is your role model? or What is your motto?
A. I keep changing in order not to change.
It is a line from the lyrics of SEKAI NO OWARI's "Earth Child" and is also expressed in the band's attitude. In the sense of dynamic equilibrium, I believe that this is also the root of life, and that it is through our own renewal that we create the core that carries us through.
Q. What made you want to join the School of Science?
A. Encounter with Structural Biology
I enjoyed high school biology but could not fully understand it. I thought about going into philosophy, food, or chemistry, but when I heard Professor Osamu Nureki talk about structural biology, which understands life phenomena with atomic-level resolution, in the integrated course "Molecular Bioscience" that I took in my first semester, I had a sense that my blur was disappearing.
Q. What do you enjoy about research and academic?
A. I believe that fun is what research and study are all about.
I believe that if you first learn about an academic field and find it appealing in your own way, you will find any field enjoyable. When one is having fun, one is absorbed in thinking about many things, and whatever the subject is, there is already the germ of research and study.
Q. If you could conduct research outside your current one, what kind of research would you be interested in?
A. Superconductivity and nuclear fusion.
I was greatly influenced by the lectures of Professor Kazushi Kanoda of the (then) Department of Applied Physics Engineering in my first semester. Room-temperature superconductivity has revolutionized the world's energy production and computing technology, and nuclear fusion is based on superconductivity technology and research to create a sun on the earth. I feel the romance of both of these researches, which will rewrite the conventional wisdom.
Q. What are your hobbies?
A. Going to live concerts of SEKAI NO OWARI and Mr. Children
Music is something you listen to with all five senses. I can reflect on myself at that time from the production and the lyrics and sounds delivered. Both artists are outstanding. I feel the power of entertainment and the joy of being alive, and I learn a great deal every time I attend.
Q. Do you think you are lucky?
A. I am so good that water at 0 degrees Celsius evaporates.
I have been blessed with good mentors to this day. There are always teachers around me, including my parents and friends, who change the way I live my life. Sometimes a teacher I like is a teacher someone else dislikes. I am lucky that I can always see the good in people.
Q. What is your dream?
A. To create tactile media, and to build elementary, middle and high schools.
Today, when too much emphasis is placed on the individual, there is a lack of media that bring people together. When you touch something and share it, people gather and pay attention to it. This is why we believe that the "sense of touch" is the key to bringing people together. Schools are places where children gather, touch each other, and nurture their future. I feel the potential is the strongest.
Q. What do you do to take a break from your research and studies?
A. Read as many books as I like.
In addition to Western philosophy, Japanese thought, classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics, ethics, education, and law, I also enjoy reading about meteorology and medicine, and the Iwanami Science Library series. I find it exciting to spend time learning about an interesting world by touching books with my hands, which is different from research or study.
Q. What is your source of inspiration?
A. The figure of Kumamon
I feel inspired by things that make someone happy. Kumamon is not only a public servant but also a researcher at the Institute for Advanced StudyNote), and he makes people happy by enjoying everything he does to the best of his ability. He enjoys himself first, and always makes sure that he can imagine himself entertaining others.
Note: In 2018, the University's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology appointed Kumamon, a popular character from Kumamoto Prefecture with which the University has a municipal cooperation agreement, as a "Sentan Kumamon Researcher.
The structural formulas were written out after taking lectures in Biomaterial Chemistry II and Food Chemistry (Faculty of Agriculture), which I took in 3S. I wrote them on a blank piece of paper and memorized them with my muscles in about 30 minutes every day.
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