Activity Report of Open Application Course vol.53
Young researchers of Tajikistan learn electronic state simulation for advanced functional material development
Report from Waseda University
Twelve members (1 postdoctoral fellow and 11 students currently doing the final stage of their doctoral course) from the Academy of Science and Tajik National University of Tajikistan participated in the training conducted by the SAKURA Exchange Program in Science for 9 days from the 12th to the 20th of December, 2017.
There was no direct flight between Tajikistan and Japan, and hence the participants departed from Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, on the previous day (11th of December), took a detour to Moscow having the highest number of flights, and arrived at Narita airport on the 12th. It was a long trip, but when met at the Narita airport, they showed no sign of fatigue. They were happily looking forward to their stay in Japan.
From the 2nd day, it was finally training. In this training, the simulation using a computer was the focus, and they were first challenged to assemble computers, install OS and software.
From the 3rd day, computer simulation was started. The objective of this training was to experience the electronic state analysis of advanced functional materials using “First principles calculation”. Hence, a series of practical trainings aimed at learning the usage of software (WIEN 2k) was pursued. After completing 3 days of practical training, their research was announced by a Waseda graduate student in English. A group was formed with the Waseda graduate students based on the interest of the participants, a theme was decided for each group, and group work was promoted in cooperation with the Waseda graduate students on Saturdays and Sundays.
On the 18th, an awarding ceremony of this program was conducted by Mr. Oota Yutaka, Head of the School of Fundamental Science and Engineering, and then a social gathering sponsored by the Executive office of the School of Fundamental Science and Engineering was held. Then, a presentation was made of the simulation results done by group work, as a compilation of this training. There were some participants with different backgrounds, but they summarized high-level contents that exceeded expectations, though it was short-term.
A farewell party was held after the completion. The participants, who were nervous during the presentation, got relaxed, took a photo in which they stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the students of Waseda who shared the group work together, and were very excited. The next day, they visited the National Museum of Nature and Science, and they seemed to be relaxed and enjoying themselves.
On the 20th, the last day, they departed early in the morning, and they left for the Narita airport from the Waseda University guest house where they had stayed for 9 days, as planned, and safely departed from Japan.
It seems that this was the first visit by a group from Tajikistan to Japan. This has received a lot of attention in Tajikistan, and was reported in newspapers, and on TV and the Internet. These reports and the summary of this training were independently published on the homepage, so please visit the following website for details:
http://www.cms.sci.waseda.ac.jp/sakura2017-j.html
