Disclaimer: machine translated by DeepL which may contain errors.
Aspiring Scientists
I can't resist my curiosity
Ryunosuke Chiba(First-year student, Master's Program, Department of Biological Sciences)
Birthplace: Connecticut (U.S.A.), Tokyo, Japan
Alma Mater: Komaba High School attached to the University of Tsukuba
Faculty: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, The University of Tokyo
Q. What is your favorite book ?
A. Space Brothers (manga)
When I am lost in my life choices, or when I am troubled, this manga has words that push me along while staying close to me. I can't write it all down, so please read it!
Q. What is your motto?
A. There are many people who can use things, but few who have created them.
It is a phrase I heard from my grandmother when I was a child. I don't remember the details of the phrase, but I keep it in mind that I want to live a life that creates something in this world, rather than a life that only uses what someone else has created.
Q. What made you decide to enter the School of Science?
A. Because I thought I could learn the answers to the fundamental mysteries of biology.
When I was a child, I often read illustrated books about living things. In the process, I learned that many things in living things are still unknown, and I became interested in finding out the answers to those things. Currently, I am studying sleep in order to get closer to the answer to one of the fundamental mysteries in biology: "Why do animals die if they don't sleep?
Q. What do you enjoy about research and study?
A. Trying to figure out what nobody knows yet in this world.
Research can be said to be a process of gradually accumulating human knowledge. When I think about the fact that this steady process is the foundation of today's science and technology, I feel a sense of elation that I would like to add something to that mountain of knowledge.
Q. What kind of research would you be interested in doing differently from what you are doing now?
A. Research on animal and plant ecology (mainly fieldwork)
I have loved observing animals and plants since I was a child, so I have a vague yearning to spend as much time as I want in tropical rainforests and other places to do observational research.
Q. What are your hobbies?
A. Breeding stag beetles
I breed foreign stag beetles. I enjoy the challenge of breeding species that are difficult to breed, while thinking about the habitat environment of their native habitat. Smelling the mycelium and fermented wood chips used in breeding also gives me a break.
Q. If you could reincarnate, go back in time, or be reincarnated as an animal, what would you do?
A. I can go back in time.
It is believed that living organisms evolved by branching out from a common ancestor. I would like to go back in time and see with my own eyes what organisms looked like in each era and how their ecosystems differed from those of today.
Q. What are you good at?
A. Making friends on the road.
When I travel abroad alone, I stay in hostels with shared rooms. I make friends with people from all over the world who happen to be there by chance, and the coincidence is interesting.
Q. Are you a morning person? Do you work at night? (Time of day when you are active)
A. I am a night person.
I feel that it is quieter at night and I can concentrate better.
Q. Do you have a routine or something you enjoy doing in your daily life?
A. Taking care of stag beetles and watching economic information
After returning home from the laboratory, I check on the stag beetles and feel happy if they have successfully bred. I also enjoy checking stock prices, which reflect economic trends and change on a daily basis.
My cat at home. Cats have also made a significant contribution to research on sleep control, but I can't use my cat because I'm a cat lover.
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