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By participating in the matching workshop in search for a solution, it led to a collaborative research

Akira Hekizono

School of Environment and Society, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Civil Engineering, Infrastructure Management Laboratory
Workshop participated:2019 (M2 / At the time of participation)

Profile
Born in 1995 in kagoshima, Japan, he graduated early from the Ocean Civil Engineering Program, Faculty of Engineering, Kagoshima University in 2018 and completed his master’s degree in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Civil Engineering course of the School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology in 2020. He is currently a third-year student in the doctor’s program of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Civil Engineering course of the School of Environment and Society.

Research Theme
Study on cathodic protection for reinforced concrete structures

  • SSS Matching Workshop
  • Collaborative Research
  • SSS Students

Common points with other research areas were discovered through the matching workshop

There were two reasons why I participated in the matching workshop. One reason was that it was a prerequisite for the WISE-SSS program. The other reason was that I was wondering if it could give me a solution to the problem that I was facing in my research.
My area of study is the cathodic protection for reinforced concrete structures (*Note). I was searching for a method to visualize the protection current inside concrete. I heard from QST (National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology) about a sensor to measure the current going through the brain based on a magnetic field. Since there is a similarity between the measurement environments in the brain and concrete, and also due to the high performance of the sensor, I considered that it may be applied to the field of civil engineering. Therefore, I contacted QST.
After experiencing an internship at QST, we decided to start a collaborative research. I heard that QST was also looking for a field to apply their diamond sensor for measurement use. Thus, I felt that both sides needed each other, which led to a successful project.

*Note: A technology that suppresses corrosion of reinforcing steel by applying electric current through the reinforcing steel inside concrete from a positive electrode installed on the surface of a structure.

By expressing problems honestly in a presentation, it makes it easier to receive advice and opinions

In the matching workshop, researchers in the university are the “seeds” that provide the technology, so the presentation tends to be about the contents of research and what can be done with the technology. However, I added my thoughts on the research as well as the problems. By sharing my own difficulties, I thought the audience would think about a solution together with me or give me more advice and opinions.

To students who are going to participate in the SSS Matching Workshop

An opportunity to casually participate with many merits

Tokyo Tech is one of the universities that has active communication among different fields within the campus. However, I personally did not have so many opportunities to communicate with or receive advice from professors, researchers in companies or other research institutes, and people from different fields.
Creating documents for the matching workshop is not so cumbersome if you use the materials for conference presentations or seminars at your laboratory.
It is a great opportunity with many merits, such as receiving opinions from those at the professor level or those in different fields. If you are interested, I recommend you to casually give it a try!

Message from the supervising professor

Since entering the master's program, Mr. Hekizono has been consistently engaged in research on the advancement of electrolytic corrosion protection for concrete structures. Electrolytic corrosion protection is an effective technology that contributes to extending the service life of infrastructure such as concrete structures, and its application is expected to expand in the future. However, since it is not clear how the electrolytic corrosion protection current flows through concrete, studies for the advancement of the technology have not necessarily progressed. Therefore, Mr. Hekizono was looking for a technology that could visualize current distribution in concrete. At that time, he came across QST's diamond sensor technology at the SSS matching workshop and was able to find a clue to dramatically advance his research!
(Iwanami Mitsuyasu, Professor, School of Environment and Society)

Message from the consortium partner

I think it is great that Mr. Hekizono was interested in "Quantum technology sensing," which is an entirely different field for him, and that he jumped in to solve his own problems. In Mr. Hegizono's case, he had a clear purpose, so we had a lot of fun discussing what he would do to solve his problem. It might not have necessarily been fun for him as things did not always go well for him.... For those of us who are researching quantum sensing, it was also a good opportunity to think about what is helpful in the different fields of civil engineering, and we learned a lot from the perspective of the social implementation of quantum technology. I hope that he will continue to have a spirit of challenge and do research that will bring a new wind to civil engineering.
(National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) Dr. Takeshi Ohshima)

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