This is who we 'R':
Get to know BDR
and R-CCS researchers!

I was in a band! (Vocals, guitar, sax, drums) (BDR research team member, 30s; R-CCS research personnel, 40s; others)

I won 4th place in the European mahjong championships. (R-CCS research personnel, 40s)

Back during my student and postdoc years, I did mountain climbing, outdoor activities, and explored the world. I also explored caves. (BDR research team member, 40s)

I’ve entered an off-road race abroad before. (R-CCS administrative personnel, 50s)

I was in the broadcasting club at school. I’m great at making announcements! (Branch administrative division personnel, 30s)

I was a part-timer at a consumer game production company (when I was in university). (R-CCS research personnel, 30s)

I was a bridal show producer. (R-CCS administrative personnel, 40s)

I worked at a securities firm. (R-CCS research personnel, 30s)

I worked as a designer of building equipment in my previous job. (R-CCS Operations and Computer Technologies Division, 60s)

I am a clinician (psychiatrist) with a background in physics. (BDR research team member, 30s)

Before coming to RIKEN, I was a newspaper reporter. (R-CCS administrative personnel, 40s)

I was a community (city) planning consultant. I am also qualified as a psychological counselor. (R-CCS administrative personnel, 40s)

Linear Algebra: I learned about matrices and vectors in High School Math II and was attracted by their simplicity and variety of applications. After many twists and turns, it became my specialty about 25 years ago. (R-CCS research personnel, 50s)

I would say mathematical logic. I can’t say I understand it very well, but it’s like looking into an abyss. (BDR research team member, 50s)

I like math because it allows me to think of elegant answers. I became interested in advanced algebra when I read a book in high school about how to cut cones to make ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas. (R-CCS research personnel, 50s)

Mixing complex function theory, number theory, and linear algebra to make CHAOS (ha ha)! (BDR research team member, 30s)

【Physics and Biology】It was interesting to see that in both biology and physics, there are laws in the methods and results of the experiments. (R-CCS research personnel, 30s)

【Physics】Because the laws of physics are beautiful. (R-CCS Operations and Computer Technologies Division, 50s)

【Physics and Chemistry】Perhaps I like these fields so much because it’s beautiful how familiar phenomena can be described by their equations. Biology is interesting, but physics and chemistry are exciting because you can use new principles to create something unknown. (R-CCS research personnel, 50s)

【Physics and Chemistry】I always liked the diversity of chemistry and how chemistry experiments really seemed like real, science-y experiments. (BDR research team member, 50s)

【Biology】Genetics, because the process of figuring out genetic probabilities is like a fun game. (BDR research team member, 30s)

【Biology】Biochemistry, because it’s interesting to see how complex life phenomena are explained as relatively simple chemical reactions. (BDR research team member, 50s)

【Biology】Living things. Whenever I see something new that has been learned through research, I think that evolution is amazing. It is said that organisms adapt to their environment in a makeshift way by modifying on what existed before, but I often find these adaptations amazing, makeshift though they may be. However, there are also harmful effects that come from this adaptation, and the good and the bad are exquisitely balanced in the creation of living things, so it is truly profound to see how a human being can’t just come up with an idea to somehow remove the harmful effects. (BDR research team member, 30s)

【Onsite about half the week】Managing and checking up on experimental equipment. (BDR research team member, 60s)

【Onsite once or twice a week】When I need a high-performance PC, when my library order comes in, and when there are wet experiments to be done. (BDR research team member, 30s)

【Onsite a few times per month】Stamping documents, collecting documents, and printing papers is about all I do onsite. (R-CCS research personnel, 30s)

【Onsite a few times per month】Miscellaneous work like turning in and picking up documents or server maintenance. (R-CCS research personnel, 30s)

【Onsite a few times per month】When I need a stable network for things like online conference presentations. (R-CCS research personnel, 30s)

【Almost never/never onsite】I am working remotely from France currently. I will go to work more often (probably everyday) once I am in Japan. (BDR research team member, 20s)

A few of us got together to read thick English-language textbooks. Many of our group members went on to get doctorates and become researchers. (BDR research team member, 50s)

I do better at reading in short-term concentrated bursts than when I try to keep reading on my own. (R-CCS research personnel, 30s)

I was able to develop my English skills in a practical way. (BDR research team member, 50s)

I did this kind of thing as an undergraduate, but in a group of only undergraduates, there was just so much we didn’t understand, so it didn’t go very well. (BDR research team member, 20s)

Explaining the basics in your own words to others leads to a deeper understanding. (R-CCS research personnel, 20s)

It made me realize how much more I still needed to learn. (R-CCS Operations and Computer Technologies Division, 50s)

It was beneficial to learn about how others further along in their careers study and learn. (BDR research team member, 40s)

Having discussions with my peers was what I found most enjoyable. (BDR research team member, 30s)