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Home > PERSON > Mr. Sungho Lee (Republic of Korea)

PERSON : Mr. Sungho Lee (Republic of Korea)

This corner focuses on a person who has made remarkable achievements at NITech.

December 2015

Mr. Sungho Lee (Republic of Korea)

The third year of the doctoral program
Department of Frontier Materials
Toshihiro Kasuga’s Laboratory

Mr. Sungho Lee (Republic of Korea)

During the high school in South Korea, I passed Korea-Japan joint government scholarship program to study in Japan. I chose NITech, because Nagoya is industrially center of Japan, such as Toyota and its related companies. I came NITech 12 years ago and took a semester of Japanese training program, and then I entered the department of environmental and materials engineering. I studied material engineering, especially ceramics. From bachelor 4th grade, I joined Prof. Kasuga’s group, and now I’m PhD course 3rd year.

My research is phosphate glasses for biomedical applications. I design a new-type of glass for coating material on metal implants. Especially I focused on inorganic ions, some of the ions can stimulate bone regeneration. For example, calcium and phosphorus are the main component of natural bone, magnesium and niobium are enhancing bone formation. Incorporation of these ions to phosphate glasses, the function of ions can be easily controlled, because phosphate glass dissolves in the body slowly. I analyze the structure of phosphate glasses with various ions for investigating mechanisms of dissolving behaviors. Then I can give a guideline for designing new phosphate glasses for biomaterials.

My research life in NITech always supported by Prof. Kasuga. He gave me a great opportunity to learn about biomaterials and glasses. And also I had many chances to join domestic and international conferences. In addition, he supports me to have research experiences outside of NITech, such as the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology for 6 months in master course and Prof. Julian R. Jones group in Imperial College London for 3 months in PhD course. These research experiences were very helpful for me to think about my research more deeply, and I could make researcher network. During the PhD course, I took a 3-year of absence for military service in South Korea. It was the first case in NITech, then I was very hard to take a leave of absence. However, Prof. Kasuga and staff of the international student center gave me a great support to take a 3-year of absence.

I had great experiences during 12 years living in Japan. I climbed 4 routes of Mt. Fuji. I traveled all of Japan, from Hokkaido to Okinawa. When I have been Hokkaido, I traveled for 20 days with staying in a tent. And in Okinawa, I drove a convertible car and did scuba diving. Furthermore, I learned snowboard and every winter I enjoyed snowboarding at Gifu and Nagano, where are 2 ~ 3 hours from Nagoya. And I also start to learn surfing from last year. I am enjoying travel and sports in Japan.

From next April, I get a position as an assistant professor at Osaka university and will join Prof. Nakano’s group. I’m so sad to leave Nagoya, my second hometown, but I'm looking forward to moving Osaka and start a new life. This is a great opportunity to try my knowledge and experience, which I learned in NITech. And I want to keep touching with Prof. Kasuga’s group members, and I will try to make collaborative project.

My treasure in NITech life is joining Prof. Kasuga’s group. Prof. Kasuga is a very caring person and always think about educating students. Therefore, I had two research experiences outside of NITech, and attended many domestic and international conferences. Because of his training, I got several presentation awards from the conferences. And all the members of Prof. Kasuga’s group is also my treasure in NITech life.

For the students planning to study at NITech, please come and enjoy life in Japan. NITech located in the center of Nagoya all convenient facilities for living and travelling are very close from the campus. NITech students are little bit shy, but they are all kind and will support your life in Japan. Also ‘education center for international students’ have many events and programs for the foreign students, you can join and learn Japanese culture.

At the end, I would like to thank NITech for giving me a chance to share my experience in Japan. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my supervisor, Prof. Kasuga. His continuous warm help and support in all stages were invaluable to my research life in NITech. I would like to thank him for encouraging me to have my interests in academic researchers in Japan.


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