[:en]Shiho Nagai
Hometown in Japan: Okazaki, Aichi
University in Japan: Toyota Technological Institute
Major & School Year: Engineering, B2
Host Advisor: Prof. P.M. Ajayan and Dr. Robert Vajtai, Dept. of Materials Science & NanoEngineering
Host Lab: Ajayan Research Group

Why TOMODACHI STEM @ Rice University?

I love space probes. I think it’s filled with romance. My dream is to develop a space probe which can return to the earth after finishing its exploration. To make my dream come true, I have a lot of things to do. I think participating in TOMODACHI STEM will be beneficial because conducting research in a laboratory will be the best experience for me. I want to gain wide range of knowledge from the experience. When I spoke with a person who works at JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), he said it is important to have a broad base of knowledge to be a good engineer. To develop something, we have to think about the problem from various points of view. And if you have extensive knowledge, you may find many hints from there. Now I am a student at TTI and have opportunities to develop my knowledge, I want to challenge myself as much as possible. In addition, I want to learn about a multi-ethnic culture, because I think understanding their culture is important to make good relationships with the people from different countries. We should accept and respect such differences to have good relationships. I believe this is the most important thing in making friends.

I think this program is important for the future of physics and engineering students. Many companies in Japan have become more and more globalized in these days. We have more chances to work with non-Japanese than before, and we have to improve our skills of academic English to communicate with them. Learning academic English is not easy -there are many implicit rules. Therefore, practicing not only reading and writing but also speaking and listening in a real academic environment in U.S. is the best way to learn. This is why I believe this program is a good opportunity to learn academic English.

Goals

• Gain lot of knowledge from various engineering field
• Learn about the difference between U.S. and Japanese culture and develop friendships with many people in the U.S.
• Learn conversational English as well as academic English

Excerpts from Shiho’s Weekly Reports

• Week 01: Arrival in the U.S.
• Week 02: First Week at Research Host Lab
• Week 03: Interview With a Female Researcher
• Week 04: Research in the U.S. vs. Research in Japan
• Final Research Poster Presentation
• Week 05: Science & Technology Policy Study Tour
• Final Report & Tips for Future Participants

Week 01: Arrival in the U.S.

Before the program started, my image of U.S is ‘big.’ It was true. Food, buildings, people and so on are all large. Everything is big so my neck hurts a little. I wish I was taller.

We had a lot of events and met many people in the first week. I think that the main purpose of the first week was ‘think about myself.’ Almost all of the people we met told us their experience about studying or working in U.S. I got a chance to think about my future. Before I joined this program, I thought studying in U.S was one of the good ways to make my dreams come true. But studying in U.S was an unclear thing for me. So I can’t think yet if I will come to the U.S. for graduate school or work in the future. I have time to decide what will do after graduate from college, so I want to think about it more and more.

Saturday was first free time for us and we enjoyed Houston very much. In the morning, I went to school for a little bit. After that, I went to Rodeo Houston Parade. It was fun, but I could only watch the parade for less than 20 minutes because I got lost. I am not good at looking at map or finding the way so I always get lost in Japan too. At this time, I didn’t know the correct place so I walked around for close 2 hours. I found there was a station near Rice University after I rode on the train.  It made me tired but it was exciting for me too. Because I could see what is around the Rice University and the Residence Inn. After the parade, we went to the Houston Ballet. It was so beautiful and moving. I think how the ballet was able to tell the story without speaking was wonderful. I want to watch another art play.

Research Internship Update
This is my first experience to do research so I was very nervous. I was worried about what can I do at laboratory because I am only a sophomore and I have no experience or knowledge for research. Before the program started, I contacted my host professor and mentor via email. When I contacted them, the response stopped suddenly. I had no idea what to do so I just waited a response without action from me. Now I know this was wrong. I am likely to lose the chance to get the information of research. Ms. Keiko Kato said they are very busy and sometime they can’t do something for visitor like me. She helped me to contact so I could get the information before I come to U.S. I was full of thanks.

My mentor gave me three papers before I arrived in the U.S. It was hard for me to read it. It was first time to read this type of writing, so it was hard for me to understand all of them. So I tried to understand first (Abstract, Introduction) and last (Method). This is the way to understand what the paper is written about. Ms. Natsumi told me. I didn’t read all of them yet, but I think I understood what kind of experiment was done in the paper. When I read it, I made a notebook in which I write about what I need to search for when reading the papers. I think it will help me to understand the paper and research.

TOMODACHI STEM Tip:  On the Research in the U.S. Resources page you can find a section on “Reading and Understanding Scientific Research Papers”.  This may be helpful resource for students who are just learning how to read research papers.

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Week 02: First Week at Research Host Lab

My mentor is Tiva Sharifi. She is so kind and such a sharp woman. Now I feel more relaxed than I did the first day of lab because she always talks to me with smile. That made it easier for me to ask her questions. When I have a question, I always think about the necessity of asking the question. If I think the question isn’t necessary to ask, I search by myself. I think this is one kind of Japanese characteristic and it is not good for research, so I want to try to ask questions more and more. My English skills and scientific knowledge are not enough for my presentation so I want to practice this more by talking with my mentor.

I had a big event this week. It was a trip to Johnson Space Center. This is one of my purposes to participate this program because I love space probes and I want to be an engineer of it. My favorite space probe is Curiosity which made by NASA. So I was so happy because I could meet it! (Of course it is not real) I think I didn’t have enough time to enjoy all of them so if I have a time, I want to go there again.

Research Project Update
My research tame is oxidation of Sd2Te3. When the material oxidized, its chemical behavior is change. We want to know how it changes and control oxidation for using material safety.

The experiment is started form making samples. After that, I wash the sample with water or IPA, and leave them for several days. For example, I keep a sample in solution (water, IPA and IPA/water) and then keep on the shelf. I am going to check the difference in how the oxidation is going. I am using SEM for check the shape of material, and XPS to check what kind of materials are included.

Question of the week: Why are vending machine not so common in the U.S? It is hard to buy some drinks especially take a trip somewhere.

Remember that in the U.S., especially in cities like Houston, most people drive cars rather than commute by walking and taking the bus or subway.  This means that if you are thirsty and want a drink it is faster and easier to go through a fast-food drive-thru and just order a drink or purchase a soda or bottle of water at a gas station when you are filling up the gas tank in your car.  This is why in the U.S. ‘convenience store’ is something that is attached to a gas station; not typically a stand-alone thing. This is why so many Americans carry a refillable water bottle with them as even if you can’t find a vending machine you can always fill your water bottle up at a drinking fountain or sink.

In the U.S., vending machines only make economic sense in places where there is a lot of ‘foot traffic’ and people walking by who see the machine and then think “Hm, I’m thirsty.”.  Also, there are fewer competing beverage companies in the U.S. with most of the beverage market being either Coke or Pepsi products.  This is why you often see two vending machines side-by-side in the U.S. – one is for Coke products and one is for Pepsi products. In Japan, there are more competing large beverage companies so, therefore, there are more vending machines as each company seeks to get more customers.

Japan also has more vending machines per capita than any other country in the world. It is quite unique in that way and you won’t find as many vending machines anywhere else that you travel in the future. For more on this see “Why Vending Machines are So Popular in Japan”.

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Week 03: Interview With a Female Researcher

 

I interviewed my mentor, Tiva, and a Japanese lab member, Keiko-san. During the interview, I

was interested in the topic about being a woman in STEM. They spoke to me about different things, but I agreed with both of them and I think they raised problems which we must think about for the future.

Tiva said research in STEM is difficult for woman because they have many responsibilities. Woman’s responsibility is keeping a family, she said. Man cannot have baby or give a mother’s love for the family. If they have a baby, they cannot do research. If she were to become pregnant she would not want to come to lab. The lab has a lot of dangerous things for babies, for example pharmaceuticals products. She wants to avoid the risk. So she could not do research. And after baby is born, she would want to stay with the baby until it is bigger. Keeping family and research is difficult to do at the same time. Many women have to decide which responsibility they want to do and many of them choose keeping the family. Choosing research is very difficult because they cannot continue without strong thought. So that is why there are only a few woman is in STEM.

Keiko-san said especially for Japanese woman it is difficult to be a professor in STEM. When people think about the future, they are watching people around them and trying to imagine themselves doing that work. So, if there are any professor/researcher, they cannot imagine or see adoration for the job because there are few female Japanese professors. That’s why there are only a few Japanese women are in STEM, she said. At universities in the U.S., they employ women at more then 30-40%. So people in the U.S. have more chances to see and think about woman in STEM. And many women try to be get job in STEM.

In these days, some women said there are only a few places to work comfortably for woman. I think this is the biggest problem. But after I did this interview, I also think there are big problem at woman too. I think we have to change not only the environment and men’s thinking but also woman’s thinking.

Research Update
We took data last week, so I plotted them in this week. And I took more data of another situation of samples by XPS. The data shows the opposite result from what I heard from my mentor when the research began. So it is very interesting data. I have to make a poster in this weekend. I think I have to learn about my research more and more.

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Week 04: Research in the U.S. vs. Research in Japan

We had a poster presentation at the end of our stay in Houston. When I practiced with my mentor, I was so nervous. But I began to relax after my mentor’s comment. She said you do good because you understand what you did. Speaking slow is ok. I thought speaking smoothly is important for presentation. So I thought I couldn’t give a good presentation. I was surprised about the difference of presentation. In Japan, I think understanding about topic is precondition and I have to prepare for smooth presentation. But my mentor’s comment was different. I was so surprised and relax edby changing my image of the poster presentation. At the symposium, I stopped speaking but many people continued to listen to me. So I could relax and enjoyed to speak with people.

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Final Research Poster Presentation

Title: Investigation of surface oxidation in 2D Sb2Te3 (PDF)
Host Advisor: Prof. P.M. Ajayan and Dr. Robert Vajtai, Dept. of Materials Science & NanoEngineering
Host Lab: Ajayan Research Group
Mentor: Tiva Sharifi

Introduction: Oxide layer is usually formed on the surface of materials. If the 2D material oxidized, it’s property will change and we have to consider about it. We studied the surface oxidation of two dimensional Sb2Te3 in different oxygen containing environments.

Approach: First, we synthesis at hydrothermal synthesis at 200 ℃. Then, we used XPS for measurement oxide layer. Normalize at Te peak and compare at Te-O peak.

Result: If we kept on shelf, it has not significant effect on oxide layer. If you kept in solvents, oxide layer is formed quicker when we kept in IPA then water.

Future Research: We have to look at Sb for know how deep the material oxide. And we can try to remove the oxide layer.

Conclusion: We can keep Sb2Te3 on-self only for sort time. And if you have to keep in solvent, water is better than IPA.

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Week 05: Science & Technology Policy Study Tour

During the final week, we went to Washington, DC and Lehigh University. While we were there,

we visited many places and met many people. I want to write about two things. One is about National Air and Space Museum. There were a lot of aircrafts. Watching them was so fun but I found the one corner very exciting, How Things Fly. It was a corner for children but we could learn how planes fly and a lot of things about aircraft. Before I come to the U.S., I had just learned about fluid mechanics. It was fun but sometimes I felt it was difficult to understand. Because it was difficult to imagine what is happening. The exhibition showed this simply and it was easy to understand. And I found I could fix my knowledges. So I think it was the best place in National Air and Space Museum for me. Another was the lecture at Lehigh University. The lecture was about how to make dreams come true. During this lecture, we could understand how to find my platform. Before this lecture, I had a dream but I didn’t know how to make them come true. To make dreams come true, we have to find our platform. Point out what do we want to do and what do we can/can’t do. It was very important to understand myself. I could make my road to clarify. So after I came back to Japan, I can start to prepare for my future dreams.

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Final Report & Tips for Future Participants

When speaking to a family member, what would you say were the most important things you learned from the TOMODACHI STEM program?

I want to talk about how much fun it was for me. I could meet other university students and people working in companies. Talking with them was very important for me. They showed me many kinds of life so I could think more cleary about my future.

When speaking to a professor, what would you say were the most important things you learned from the TOMODACHI STEM program? How might this experience make you a better graduate student in the future?

I would talk about research and the poster presentation. I think many students in Japan don’t have a chance to do them. It was short stay but I think I could do my best. I think knowing how to prepare for the presentation and how to do research is fun. It makes my lab life fun.

When speaking to a student at your university, what would you say were the most important things you learned from the TOMODACHI STEM program? Why should other undergraduate students in Japan apply for this program?

I think we have to think about studying abroad. In Japan, many people be graduate student at same university with they attended for their undergraduate degree. I think we are to know we have more choice for owe future. Each choice has good and bad points, so I think knowing about options is good for us to find our own platform.

Tips for Future Participants

Pre Departure Tips: I thought I wish I have more information about politics. I had a lot of chance to hear about politics. But I couldn’t understand words and backgrounds.

Working With your Research Lab: In Japan, many people work in lab for as long as they can. They have a lot of task and not so healthy. I imagined that kind of lab life in the U.S. too before I went there. It was not true. They try to make their own time. They really enjoyed lab life. I think it is best point of American university.

I thought many people were so kind to me. It was my first experience of research, so I was worried about my knowledge. But if I ask a question, they always answer to it politely. That make me relax and feel fun for my lab life in Rice University.

Living in Houston and Rice University: The weather in Houston in March is like between rainy season and summer in Japan. Many people wears short sleeve T-shirt. But some days it likes winter and some place are very cool. So I think we should bring many variations of clothes.

Language Study Tips: I think using English is very important for improving my English skill. Many Japanese try to learn English with text book. I know it is good way but I don’t like it. I can’t plan or continue studying. So I think communicating with English is good way for me. When I stay in Japan, I asked to my English teacher to check my English. During the stay, I always try to use English or ask question. They are so kind that they try to understand what I want to say however I can’t speak English well.

What gifts to Bring: I brought Japanese sweets. Many people said me it was good. And I gave some origami structure which I made during my stay. They enjoyed to watch how I made it too.

What to eat in the U.S.: I ate many kinds of American or Mexican food. I love tacos and hamburger. Meat was very delicious.

What to buy in the U.S.:  I bought clothes and other goods at Rice University. My school, TTI, doesn’t have school goods so I was happy to buy them. And I bought sweets for souvenirs. My friend really enjoyed Jelly Beans (Bad taste one) for punishment game. 🙂

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