SAKURA SCIENCE High School Program Group 2
Learning about the World of Cutting-Edge Research at the RIKEN
In the morning on June 19 (Thursday), 35 of the 2nd group participants in the Sakura Science High School Program (SSHP), high school students from Taiwan, Malaysia, and Ukraine, visited the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) in Wako (Saitama Prefecture). First, Mr. Wilkinson (Manager, Global Communications, Global Strategy Div.) introduced the history of the facility at the “RIKEN Gallery”, then the students attended a lecture covering an overview of it, including research and results.
The next place they visited was the Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science. At the Cyclopedia exhibition space, Dr. Doornenbal, one of the researchers, shared a simple explanation of the “RI Beam Factory” (RIBF), RIKEN's world-class large-scale accelerator facility. Hearing about how numerous previously-unknown nuclei such as the first element discovered in Japan, Nihonium, were discovered and synthesized through RIBF research, the high school students seemed to get a renewed sense of how remarkable the facility is.
Next, the students visited the Brain Science Central Building's Brain Box (exhibition room), where they experienced brain science research through games and models. Repeatedly challenging themselves with games that enabled them to experience the brain's plasticity, everyone was moved by the mysterious capabilities the brain possesses. They also saw the HOKUSAI supercomputer, and although it was only a half-day visit, this precious time gave the students a chance to experience how amazing cutting-edge research is.
