I have a feeling that February has been eliminated. Due to COVID-19, all future schedules are uncertain.

 

It is a shame that the laboratory workshop that took place every winter holiday could not take place. The spring semester will start soon, but I don't know if online conferences are going well or how many spring conferences can be held.

 

I was in San Diego this week for the TMS conference. Interestingly, my first international conference in 1999 was TMS in San Diego. 21 years ago, I was a fourth-year Ph.D. student. There I thought, "If I could return to that student time again, how would I live my life as a better graduate student?"

 

I would try to have a broader view.

 

I would not be restricted by the present project. I would seriously consider the direction the technology would develop in five or ten years. I wouldn’t be caught up in the school curriculum, but would be interested in what technology the outside company or laboratory needs. I would keep track of what emerging technologies are being developed in other labs around the world and try to catch up with their creative thinking so as not to be limited by what I have learned.

 

I would learn deep skills.

 

I would go to meet experts to learn the skills that others cannot easily learn. I would sharpen my skills until I could contribute significantly to the field. It would take a lot of efforts, but I would invest a lot of time and energy in deep technology that would make me shine in ten years, as the then-unknown technologies such as crystalline plasticity, multiscale simulations, additive manufacturing, and machine learning stand out now.

 

I would take a longer step and look for wiser people.

 

Instead of worrying about being delayed for six months and/or a year, I would try to meet wiser people to whom I can ask how I should live for the future. I would be more brave, humble, and honest in order to meet more people with different backgrounds and experiences and not limit myself to only  lab colleagues or schoolmates. The advice from others’ life experiences is invaluable. The opportunities that have been given to me as a gift have often begun through people I met by chance at a conference.

 

After 21 years, the sun in San Diego was still warm, the night air under bright stars was crisp, and the sunset on Coronado Beach was artistic. As I never imagined that the shy Ph.D. student would return to San Diego with his students 21 years later, your future could be a totally unknown world. 

 

But let's go a little wider, deeper, and longer for the "future you", who will recall this time in 10 or 20 years.