by Carter Powers
Hello! I’m Carter Powers, an American and a 3rd-year undergraduate at the University of Notre Dame located in South Bend, Indiana USA where I study Environmental Engineering with a supplemental major in Asian Studies and a minor in Energy Studies. This summer of 2024, I conducted research as an intern in the UTSIP program. I worked in the Sustainable Society Design Center in the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Frontier Sciences’ (GSFS) Graduate Program of Sustainability Science for about 7 weeks. I stayed at the Kashiwa Campus in Chiba Prefecture.
I conducted a research project with my university last year where we traveled to Japan for 10 days in May, visiting Fukushima and Tokyo. Since I am self-studying Japanese, have an interest in Japanese culture, and I’m interested in studying climate change from an international perspective, I wanted to try and continue to conduct research in Japan for a longer period of time. So, when a representative from UTokyo came to Notre Dame to explain about UTokyo’s summer programs, I thought that the UTSIP program was a perfect match for my goals. I was accepted to work under Prof. Kameyama Yasuko looking at climate change and carbon sequestration policy. My laboratory had a very independent work environment which allowed me to choose my own project and do a lot of original work. Unfortunately, this laboratory environment also resulted in some problems because there was very little collaboration, and I did not feel like I received that much feedback and guidance. In spite of this, I continued to work hard to make the most of my experience.
I chose to research Blue Carbon, the process of using coastal ecosystems like seaweed beds to sequester carbon, from a policy standpoint because Japan is carrying out a lot of blue carbon projects. I used a recently published paper qualitatively studying projects in the USA, UK, and Australia to guide my work to compare Japanese Blue Carbon to other countries. I was able to conduct three interviews with various organizations conducting blue carbon projects, gather some more data using an email questionnaire, and carry out literature review and document analysis. Through my project, I was able to learn more about Blue Carbon and the related research field as well as learn a bit more about qualitative research methods. Despite the issues I ran into with my lab environment, I was able to gain some valuable research experience. Hopefully, I will be able to continue my project after the end of the program and contribute to the literature! Also, at our final presentation, I won the “best presentation” award!
Outside of research, I had a lot of fun hanging out with my fellow UTSIP interns. Although we were mostly doing work in different laboratories, we all made a lot of time to enjoy time with each other. We did a lot of karaoke, explored many different places in Tokyo, and had some fun get-togethers as well. A few of us got yukata and hit the town during the Tanabata Festival, and we actually got filmed for Nippon TV! Most of us stayed in a hotel, but one of us was moved into the International Lodge on the Kashiwa II campus, and one night we all gathered at the common room and had a fun dinner. Since many of the other interns were from India, I was able to try a lot of Indian cuisine with them. Experiencing the culture of other countries was not something I expected from this program, but it was something I thoroughly enjoyed. Connecting to people from many different countries such as India, China, Sri Lanka and Malaysia was such an interesting and enriching experience. We also had a two-day field trip to learn about Hadano City’s groundwater management and see the construction of the Shin-Tomei Expressway. The field trip was a nice break from research, and I learned a lot about engineering and water resources in Japan. I especially enjoyed Hadano City because it aligned closely with the courses that I have been taking for my major related to water resources.
Also, since I have been developing an interest in Japanese Mahjong, I used my time in Japan to play a lot as well. I brought my tiles from home and taught many of the other interns how to play. I also played at a mahjong parlor called Bellbird in Shimbashi that is focused on welcoming newer players and foreigners. I actually attended an event there and got to play with some professional players! Overall, I enjoyed many different aspects of Japan and learned a lot about research and my future aspirations within the field. I am grateful to have participated in this internship and I am grateful to Friends of UTokyo for providing me with funding to support my internship. I am still considering what I want to do once I graduate, but in any case, I can say that I hope this will not be my last time in Japan!
