国際プロジェクト実習　【アメリカ】
Columbia University
Goran Kovacevic　[D2]
(Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Systems)

The goal of my PhD research is to create power-efficient integrated optical devices based on a novel material calledgraphene. These devices could pave the way to the making of integrated optical links that can replace highly inefficient copper ones, currently widely used in microchips.
　
Before I departed for my IP I mostly focused on simulations and had no fabrication experience. For this reason, I chose to join a group with a proven track record of producing high-impact research which includes design, fabrication and testing of optical integrated circuits. This was the group of Professor Michal Lipson at Columbia University, to whom I am incredibly grateful. I was welcomed as one of their own, and couldn’t have asked for a better place for my IP.
　
When I arrived I expressed my desire to do fabrication related to graphene and I became a part of the “graphene team” of the Lipson group. The other team members helped me greatly with fabrication basics and brainstorming. On my initial project, I learned how to efficiently design optical integrated circuits and prepared designs which are currently in fabrication.
　
For my second project, I used some of the ideas I developed at UTokyo and leveraged advanced simulation tools available at the Lipson group to first discover a new property of graphene and then propose a novel device based on it. I proposed the idea to Professor Lipson and the rest of the team, and everybody seemed very interested. After this, I focused solely on fabrication – I had full access to fabrication facilities and many students helped me to improve my skills. At the end of my stay I developed original fabrication recipes for high-resolution devices, finished the fabrication of basic devices, and started the fabrication of the final devices (I brought them back to UTokyo to be completed).
　
My advice to students attending IP is to never be content – don’t think that you’ve “succeeded” just by getting accepted, or that when you’re there everything is going to be served to you exactly as you expect. Don’t be shy to propose your own ideas and push for the goals you’ve set for yourself – you haven’t been accepted by accident, you add value to the group so don’t be afraid to live up to it. That said, always respect and think carefully about the feedback, especially if you’re jumping into an area you don’t have experience in. Another important advice is to network, and generally talk to people. I came up with best ideas and learned so much about my industry just by discussing with other teammates in the group. I also recognized the importance of understanding how my research fits into the current market demand (i.e. “selling” your research), and even reached out to people from the financial industry, affiliated with Columbia, to discuss further. Make the most out of your location and always try to see the big picture.
　
The biggest difficulty was time allocation. My advice to students is to think carefully about the complexity of their projects, carefully plan out their time and set many sub-goals. This is especially true when tackling challenging projects, as you always should do.