Non-Equilibrium Materials Research Laboratory, IMR, Tohoku University
FY 2023
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FY 2021
FY 2020
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～FY 2016D3/Liu completed his doctoral program, and M2/Abe, M2/Fukuda and M2/Miura completed their master's programs and received their diplomas. After the ceremony held at the Graduate School of Engineering, Aobayama Campus, they returned to Katahira Campus to participate in a farewell party in Kato laboratory. Laboratory members presented them gifts. For Liu, a high quality pen same with D3/Lesage, who left lab earlier, and for the three M2 students, matching mugs. These mugs are different colors and are engraved with Kato Lab! The M1 students had ordered them to find something stylish. Congratulations on your graduation!
We held a farewell party for D3/Louis LESAGE, who will be returning to France. He spent half of his doctoral program at Tohoku University and half in France. When he was in Kato's lab, I saw him coming to the lab early in the morning every day and enjoying his research, events, and personal life to the fullest, so it was hard to believe that he was only in Kato's lab for 1.5 years. He became more and more fluent in Japanese, and we were having normal conversations in Japanese. We all know that learning a language requires effort but he improved so rapidly even though Japanese is a very difficult language. We are sad to say goodbye, but our joint research will continue, so we are sure we will meet again soon! Take care!
We did our annual cleaning. We used polisher to clean the floors. M1 took over the polisher duties, and M2 taught them how to use it. However, M2 had only done once last year and forgotten how to use, we worked together to clean up. After the lab was cleaned up, it was time for the year-end party. We enjoyed the year-end party, followed by a second party, and so on until the third party!
Prof.P.K. Liaw (The University of Tennessee, Knoxville) visited Tohoku University, and on a day when he did not have any plans, we took him to Matsushima area. We also had a factory tour at Nikka Whisky Sendai in Sakunami. It was a beautiful autumn day, and Prof.Liaw seemed very happy to see the beautiful scenery of Matsushima Bay and the autumn leaves. At Zuiganji Temple, when Prof.Liaw asked us about the history of the temple, no one could answer his questions. We were in trouble but there was a volunteer who provided free tourist information for foreigners! We were so grateful that we asked the volunteer guide to show him around, and the guide really helped us out. At the Nikka Whisky Sendai factory, Prof.Kato, who loves whisky more than everyone, looked enjoying the tour the most.
Kato Lab. organized a team to participate in the IMR annual futsal game. 7 teams played a round-robin tournament over 2 days on Oct/16 and Oct/23. On Oct/16, our team played three games, we won two games, outright without allowing any score, and we lost one, 1-3 to the best team. Even so, the team maintained in high ranking, much better than previous years. In the second half of the tournament on Oct/23, we played the remaining three games and won two and one even. The total result was 4win-1lose-1even. Our team had a chance to win the championship, but the deciding game ended in even, and we ended in Second place! It is a great accomplishment! We received a certificate of second place and a prize of Japanese sake [Yukino Matsushima Daiginjo]. The second place team will be in charge of organizing the futsal game next year, so we will do our best in both planning and playing next year!
Kato Lab had rever side Imonikai in 2016 but since then we have been holding sports competitions and Imonikai. We have enjoyed sports competitions in gymnasiums, etc., and made Imoni indoors and had a drinking party. This year, for the first time in 8 years, we enjoyed an outdoor Imonikai and BBQ. We went to Ushigoebashi, a mecca for Imoni parties in Sendai. We went to Ushigoebashi after buying some groceries in the morning and preparing the food in the lab. We prepared Sendai-style imoni and Yamagata-style imoni, and BBQ with grilled meat, grilled chicken, sausages, etc. We also prepared pizza. It was a grand party. There were many Imoni party groups of Tohoku University laboratories around us, and we saw some professors we knew well. We were surprised to see that Professor Kyosuke Yoshimi's laboratory in the Graduate School of Engineering was there as well. When IMR groups hold a Imoni party, it is usually held at Otamayabashi, which is within walking distance, Ushigoebashi was very good in that there was a high probability of meeting someone we know. We finished the party and return to lab to clean up, then some continued to the second-party. The students ate less than we imagined and we had a lot of food left over, so we will be cooking and digesting it in the lab during lunch time this week.
A joint futsal game was held between Yoshimi Laboratory, Nomura Laboratory, and Kato Laboratory in the Department of Materials Science, Graduate School of Engineering. Last year, Kato Lab organized the first event and Nomura Lab was the winner of the game last year. So, Nomura Lab served as the organizer of this year's event. Since Kato Lab didn't have enough players, we had to get help from Nagai Laboratory (Prof.Nagai and three students) of the Institute of Fluid Science. The first game (vs. Yoshimi Lab's stronger team) was 0-1 loss, but the second game (vs. Nomura Lab's team) was 2-0 win, and the third game (vs. Yoshimi Lab's team) was 5-0 win. The result of the fourth game (vs. Nomura Lab's stronger team) was the key game, but the game was stopped after three points lost, and the game was counted as a loss. We won 2 games, lost 2 games, and came in 3rd place out of 5 teams, but the last place in 3 Labs. Yoshimi Lab, this year's winner, will be the organizer for the next event. We are looking forward to it.We all enjoyed the evening party as well.
The IMR Hanami, which had been canceled since 2020, was revived for the first time in five years at Mikamine park, and we participated. The weather started to warm up around February, so the cherry blossoms were expected to bloom earlier. Most of us thought that the cherry blossoms might have already fallen by the time of our Hanami date, but they were in full bloom! It was a perfect day for Hanami. After Hanami, we returned to IMR and started the second-party. Many people from other laboratories gathered at Kato lab and enjoyed until late night.
