Congratulations, Dr. Okada and Dr. Choi!
NITech members Takeshi Okada (Project B) and Min Uk Choi (Project E) recently defended their theses.
Takeshi Okada spent some months at FAU during his doctorate: Discussing research in English with FAU professors and Ph.D. students on-site offered me a significant opportunity that greatly enhanced both my abilities and the quality of my research. Beyond the academic realm, I had the wonderful chance to engage in cultural exchanges by being invited to BBQs and beer festivals by the local staff and students. These enjoyable experiences allowed me to connect and share updates on our lives. Additionally, exploring the streets of Germany and immersing myself in European culture has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my overseas research journey.
In his research he focused on enhancing electric motor performance. This combines knowledge from different fiels, electrical engineering and electromagnetics but also computation mechanics, finite element analysis, and relevant software expertise to optimize mechanical structures. Fortunately, through this IRTG program, he could collaborate with Project B FAU doctoral researcher Gabriel Stankiewicz and associate doctoral researcher Chaitanya Dev, under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Paul Steinmann. Together, they worked collaboratively on the computer-aided engineering and geometrical mechanical design optimization, advancing their research. The remarkable research outcomes have been consolidated into an academic paper and Takeshi’s doctoral thesis.
I believe that my research has been greatly enriched by the opportunity to attend lecture courses and tutorials held by various famous professors, and witness presentations by Ph.D. students, all of whom shared insights from diverse fields that are far from my own expertise. In this context, the enthusiastic guidance provided by my FAU and NITech supervising professors, coupled with ongoing conversations and discussions with the German project members, has significantly expanded the breadth of my research and propelled a remarkable improvement in my English language skills. Through these experiences, I deeply appreciate that I had been able to gain invaluable insights and experiences that would have been impossible to acquire through a doctoral program in Japan alone. Now that I have successfully completed the IRTG/JGGE program’s doctoral program, I am confident that a promising future as a researcher awaits me.
Furthermore, Min uk Choi reports from his experiences in this IRTG program: Through this program, I have learned and grown a lot. First, my English skills have improved dramatically. Also, I was able to broaden my insights; by interacting a lot with friends from different countries during my participation in JGGE, I exchanged opinions with people who have very different cultures and values from those in Japan. This experience broadened my perspective and allowed me to have a more global viewpoint, as I was able to learn about different ways of thinking and living from Japan. The JGGE project was an invaluable experience for me. I hope to use this experience to grow even more in my future life. Due to the pandemic, he was not able to come to FAU for a research stay.