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学会前の準備
先週は雅子さんにとって、学会の準備に追われた多忙な1週間でした。学会を翌日に控えた日、国内外の学会参加者が雅子さんの指導教授のもとに集まり、大学の研究室で研究の話に花を咲かせました。さらに、その夜は教授宅で夕食会が開かれました。
Preconference Preparation
By MASAKO YAMADA
My advisor, Gene, often goes abroad to present his work at conferences. He came back from Europe just a week before the start of another conference called the Gordon Research Conference. I had been preparing material by myself while he was away, but the nearing deadline — and my advisor's return — made this week go by much more quickly than the last couple of weeks.
I had been running a simulation program on the supercomputer for almost a week straight while he was away, but it's fair to say that it was the computer that was doing most of the work during this stage. In the last week before the conference, however, I had to collect all the data and try to come up with a conclusion — or at least an interesting future question.
I showed my colleague, Francis, one of the graphs that I had produced. He looked a bit puzzled and said, "I think you should run the program a little longer to see whether these fluctuations are real, or whether they are flukes." Although time was running short, I had to take more data before I could finish my poster.
Actually, I hear that the Gordon conference is a little bit different from most conferences in that one does not need to have a solid theory before presenting one's work. That is to say, it is a conference in which the participants discuss WIPs (Works In Progress). The NATO institute that I attended in May was also a unique conference in that it was modeled after a school.
These alternative format gatherings are particularly good for beginning researchers such as myself, since the point is not to prove something, but to discuss issues in an open manner. As a matter of fact, all the afternoons at the Gordon conference are free of lectures. The participants are encouraged to socialize among themselves.
My poster was almost finished when some early-bird participants started to arrive at our lab. Although the Gordon conference is held in New Hampshire, Gene invites many of the researchers to come a day or two early to visit his lab at Boston University. The visiting researchers and Gene's group members are given the opportunity to discuss their work in a truly informal setting.
A large number of professors from Japan arrived early and, perhaps because I'm Japanese (and maybe because I look so young), they seemed quite interested in what I was doing. One of them came over to my computer and asked me about my results. I said something like, "It looks like this system has slightly more fluctuations than the previously studied system." He looked puzzled and said, "Hmmm, that's strange considering that in a similar system, there are fewer fluctuations." This comment made me very nervous, but before I could offer any explanation, he answered his own statement, continuing, "Your system is different, though, so it might be the case that ..."
Gene has created a tradition of informal lectures at the lab on the afternoon before the start of the conference. All of the early arrivals give small talks in front of the other participants. This is followed by an informal dinner party at Gene's house. Although the lectures are held in round-table format over pizza, listening to all of the talks made me tired, as about 20 people spoke for a total of over 5 hours. It was a relief to take the T to Gene's place for an evening of pure relaxation (some people still insisted on talking about their research, however!).
Gene, his wife, Idahlia, and his daughter, Rachel, set up a wonderful dinner buffet and liquor bar. During the entire evening there were people milling about the kitchen, the dining room, the porch and the backyard. I had a good time trying to explain the different vegetarian dishes — which included Middle Eastern eggplant paste, Armenian walnut dip and Jewish sesame seed candy — to the Japanese guests.
Some of of the conversations took surprisingly deep turns. One of the Japanese researchers asked me whether I had dreams of ever winning a Nobel Prize, and I said, "No." He then told me that I had to have some kind of dream. I thought about it a bit and replied, "Well, I'd rather have a Nobel Prize than not have a Nobel Prize ..." (He chuckled.) "But I have other dreams." I then starting telling him about my interests in food and the arts. And the wonderful thing was, although he was a scientist, I knew he was taking me seriously.
My advisor, Gene, often goes abroad to present his work at conferences. He came back from Europe just a week before the start of another conference called the Gordon Research Conference. I had been preparing material by myself while he was away, but the nearing deadline — and my advisor's return — made this week go by much more quickly than the last couple of weeks.
I had been running a simulation program on the supercomputer for almost a week straight while he was away, but it's fair to say that it was the computer that was doing most of the work during this stage. In the last week before the conference, however, I had to collect all the data and try to come up with a conclusion — or at least an interesting future question.
I showed my colleague, Francis, one of the graphs that I had produced. He looked a bit puzzled and said, "I think you should run the program a little longer to see whether these fluctuations are real, or whether they are flukes." Although time was running short, I had to take more data before I could finish my poster.
Actually, I hear that the Gordon conference is a little bit different from most conferences in that one does not need to have a solid theory before presenting one's work. That is to say, it is a conference in which the participants discuss WIPs (Works In Progress). The NATO institute that I attended in May was also a unique conference in that it was modeled after a school.
These alternative format gatherings are particularly good for beginning researchers such as myself, since the point is not to prove something, but to discuss issues in an open manner. As a matter of fact, all the afternoons at the Gordon conference are free of lectures. The participants are encouraged to socialize among themselves.
My poster was almost finished when some early-bird participants started to arrive at our lab. Although the Gordon conference is held in New Hampshire, Gene invites many of the researchers to come a day or two early to visit his lab at Boston University. The visiting researchers and Gene's group members are given the opportunity to discuss their work in a truly informal setting.
A large number of professors from Japan arrived early and, perhaps because I'm Japanese (and maybe because I look so young), they seemed quite interested in what I was doing. One of them came over to my computer and asked me about my results. I said something like, "It looks like this system has slightly more fluctuations than the previously studied system." He looked puzzled and said, "Hmmm, that's strange considering that in a similar system, there are fewer fluctuations." This comment made me very nervous, but before I could offer any explanation, he answered his own statement, continuing, "Your system is different, though, so it might be the case that ..."
Gene has created a tradition of informal lectures at the lab on the afternoon before the start of the conference. All of the early arrivals give small talks in front of the other participants. This is followed by an informal dinner party at Gene's house. Although the lectures are held in round-table format over pizza, listening to all of the talks made me tired, as about 20 people spoke for a total of over 5 hours. It was a relief to take the T to Gene's place for an evening of pure relaxation (some people still insisted on talking about their research, however!).
Gene, his wife, Idahlia, and his daughter, Rachel, set up a wonderful dinner buffet and liquor bar. During the entire evening there were people milling about the kitchen, the dining room, the porch and the backyard. I had a good time trying to explain the different vegetarian dishes — which included Middle Eastern eggplant paste, Armenian walnut dip and Jewish sesame seed candy — to the Japanese guests.
Some of of the conversations took surprisingly deep turns. One of the Japanese researchers asked me whether I had dreams of ever winning a Nobel Prize, and I said, "No." He then told me that I had to have some kind of dream. I thought about it a bit and replied, "Well, I'd rather have a Nobel Prize than not have a Nobel Prize ..." (He chuckled.) "But I have other dreams." I then starting telling him about my interests in food and the arts. And the wonderful thing was, although he was a scientist, I knew he was taking me seriously.
Shukan ST: Aug. 14, 1998
(C) All rights reserved
- advisor
- 研究指導教授
- material
- 発表する研究資料
- nearing deadline
- 近づく締め切り
- for almost a week straight
- ぼぼ1週間ずっと
- come up with a conclusion
- 結論を出す
- colleague
- 研究仲間
- puzzled
- 困惑した
- fluctuations
- 変動
- flukes
- まぐれ
- time was running short
- 時間がなくなりつつあった
- poster
- 研究発表の際用いるポスター
- solid theory
- 確固とした理論
- That is to say
- つまり
- participants
- 参加者
- Works In Progress
- 進展中の研究
- NATO institute
- NATO 加盟国の研究者が参加する学会
- was modeled after a school
- 学校の授業をまねた 〜 で運営された
- alternative format gatherings
- 通常とは違った 〜 式の学会
- particularly
- 特に
- point
- 主旨
- issues
- 問題
- in an open manner
- 自由な 〜 で
- are free of lectures
- 講義がない
- socialize
- 交流する
- early-bird
- 早めに到着した
- lab
- 研究室
- informal setting
- 形式ばらない環境
- previously
- 以前に
- made me very nervous
- 私をとても不安にさせた
- it might be the case that 〜
- 〜というケースかもしれない
- early arrivals
- 早く到着した人
- small talks
- 世間話
- in round-table format
- 円卓会議形式で
- over pizza
- ピザを食べながら
- relief
- 息抜き
- T
- ボストンの地下鉄 T
- buffet
- (立食形式の)ビュッフェ
- milling about 〜
- 〜を動き回る
- porch
- テラス
- vegetarian dishes
- 菜食主義の料理
- Middle Eastern eggplant paste
- 中東風ナスのペースト(ナスを焼いてゴマペーストなどとすり混ぜたもの。パンなどにつけて食べる)
- Armenian walnut dip
- アルメニア風クルミディップ(野菜などにつけて食べるソース)
- Jewish sesame seed candy
- ユダヤ風ゴマキャンディー
- (took)deep turns
- 内容のある話になった
- chuckled
- クスクス笑った