Jacob Olitsky - NanoJapan 2012
Carnegie Mellon University
Major/s: Physics
Anticipated Graduation: May 2014
NJ Research Lab: Prof. Kazuhiko Hirakawa, University of Tokyo
NJ Research Project: TBD
Why NanoJapan?
I think that the research, language and cultural experiences that I will gain through the NanoJapan Program will aid my pursuit of knowledge in physics - and by extension, my pursuit of a career in physics. I think that researching in Japan for the summer will allow me to greatly improve my skill and fluency in using the Japanese language. While I plan on going to an American graduate school, I do not want my opportunities to perform research to be limited by linguistic or cultural barriers, and I think that the NanoJapan program is a step on the way to overcoming some of those barriers. My longer-term goal is to reach a degree of cultural and linguistic fluency where I will be able to research physics in the English speaking physics community- in the U.S. or Europe- or in Japan. Either way, I wish to perform physics research both for its own sake and as a stepping stone on the way to a larger career in physics, and I wish to further my studies in Japanese over the summer instead of letting my skills atrophy in between semesters. The NanoJapan program is an especially exciting and interesting way to do both.
