Placement Information
Year you started your placement
Placement period
May – August, September – December
Supervisor’s name
Kentaro Kitagawa
Project Details
Overview
My laboratory at UTokyo, the Takagi-Kitagawa Laboratory, is a solid-state experimental research group: advanced synthesis techniques are employed, and experimental techniques include NMR under ultra-high pressures! Our supervisor is also very ambitious about improving current experimental devices, making them more precise and less expensive to build!
Project objectives
So far, my projects have been the design and improvement of experimental apparatus: in my first two months I helped minimize the background signal of a high-pressure sample holder ("cell") for commercial SQUID magnetometry. We did this by changing the internal geometry of the cell, following guidance from Python simulations of the cell's magnetometer response! Now, four months in, I'm helping to develop an inexpensive commercial Helium dilution refrigerator that should cool down to 5mK, according to simulations. We're testing it (and making the final product) using an inexpensive 3D printer.
Research outcomes
Simulations suggest that we have successfully minimized the background signal of the cell to 10% of the current best high-pressure cell! I'm presenting my results at a conference in September so I have attached my presentation's abstract. Through this project and my current one I have learned a lot about coding, in languages both new and old, and I have learned a lot about magnetometer measurement!
Project status
Completed
KeltonWhiteaker_2018_Abstract
KeltonWhiteaker_2018_Final
My Co-op Experience at MPI/ UTokyo
Why did you apply for this placement?
I had never been to Japan or even Asia in my life, and my supervisor's high aspirations really motivated me to join him! It was a great opportunity to experience lab work in a cutting-edge research group, and to be able to interact with graduate students in physics, but it was also an opportunity to immerse myself in a totally different culture.
What recommendations do you have for students who wish to participate in this exchange program?
UTokyo has been an incredibly friendly and generous institution that welcomed us openly and offered thorough help and guidance in any area that we needed. As for the job, the best co-op student for my lab is self-motivated and very curious about their given research area! I was given so many opportunities to explore the field I chose to intern in (not to mention, not only attending but also presenting at a scientific conference!), but at times my task was somewhat ambiguous, so you should be interested enough in the subject to charter your own course through the ambiguity!
Tell us about your travels and cultural experiences
Japan itself is much like the job in that, if it interests you, there are unlimited opportunities to experience it! A recent highlight was going to a small mountain village, having a campfire and climbing a mountain, which was a surprisingly rural experience in such a populated country! In general, Japan is a rabbit hole of culture where you could spend your whole life exploring just one aspect and only scratch the surface! But a great place to start is to try the food!
