Pi Photonics, Inc.｜COMPANY

The reason why I joined the optical industry was finding the Hi-Fi audio back in high school. When I was a high school student, I was recording the FM radio on cassette tape. But when MD appeared in the market, it changed the audio environment. We can freely edit the digital recorded music with the magnetooptic recording method and also we can copy music easily and with high sound quality from CD player using a digital optical cable. Finding out this method, I thought the light is great! And I also realize that optics is here to stay and I was deeply interested in it. I went to study at the University of Tokushima since I found out the department of optical science technology was newly established. Sound and light have different wave direction (longitudinal wave and transverse wave) but still both of them are the wave.

Nishida Group which I was assigned back in university was the first encounter of hologram. The assigned research theme was the optical information processing with photorefractive polymers. Using the optical characteristics of parallelism and high-speed, for producing the future optical computer, I was researching the organic materials that light can control other light. I did not have any senior research students, since is a newly established department, and I could not freely ask questions and advice to the professor, since he went abroad for his research, it was continuing process of trial and error just by myself. I need to apply several tens of thousands voltage to material for upgrading its characteristics. For knowing how the material can withstand high voltage, I coated polymer on the glass substrate everyday. In the end, only two or three good elements were found, and they withstand hundred thousand kV. Professor advised me to go to the seminar even if I had to pay for the registration charge out of my expense. Professor also told me that self-investment in this way is good for my future as a researcher. So I decided to participate the summer program of the optics computing group (current name is information optics group). In this study group, I heard the lecture about fingerprint authentication using the optical correlator by one of the researchers from the Central Research Laboratory of HAMAMATUS JAPAN. I was so impressed by this lecture. And then I dreamed to work as a researcher at the company. It was HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS K.K., the only company that I sent reseme to. One thing which I remember from the interview is that when interviewer asked me that what I want to do in the future. I answered “I want to research and produce products and sell them to our customer. Total involvement of production to sales” But the interviewer said “That’s not possible”

After completing the one year training program of operation division at HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS K.K., I was assigned to the Central Research Laboratory where I wanted to work at. The research theme was dynamic holography which is the ultimate three-dimensional display device. I was lucky to have a very good working environment where I can concentrate on just one theme for whole year. But it is not easy to come up with a new idea. All I could create in my three working years was hologram goggle. As I had been observing reproduced hologram, I felt something was wrong and continued trial-and-error for several months. These hard working days brought a new discovery that led to create hologram goggle And then I was dispatched to MIT from HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS K.K.. Living in Boston gave me a big stimulation and had a chance to experience different culture. After one year of living in the US, I was completely got used to it. My lesson was that when people living in the environment for a year, people can get used to it.

While I was in the US, I have heard the new university (GPI), and I actually had a chance to study at GPI. “I want to create business using my own research” was the thing in my mind when I just joined HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS K.K.. So I decided to go back to my first objective. But in the real world, it is not easy. Although I started a business and established new company without any business experience, I was too scared to use the money and I had been suffering for half a year. That’s because I didn’t have a confidence. But after grant adoption, product development had been started. After starting, we just continue. As I looked back my experience, doing real business practice is the best and effective way of studying business. If I work really hard on research, development and sales, I will not make a loss, and I feel like becoming profitable, even if I do not have a profit at once. Then I came to realize and think what research I should do at GPI. And little by little my own idea and dream came out of my mind. Creation of photonics industry is to create new industries with optical technology and bring new culture to people. This will be the origin of new science. I will continue pursuing the possibility of light. And then I will contribute to the earth with human relationship.