WISJ’s Second Annual Flagship Event
Women in Science Japan (WISJ) Hosts Second Annual Flagship Event at the University of Tokyo
Written by Negar Khalili
Tokyo, Japan — On Saturday, October 26, 2024, Women in Science Japan (WISJ) hosted its second annual flagship event at the University of Tokyo's Hongo campus, creating a lively space for STEM professionals and students to connect and learn. Held in a hybrid format to accommodate participants both online and in person, the event brought together more than 50 attendees from institutions across Japan.
The program featured an inspiring keynote by Dr. Tomoko K. Shimizu, an Associate Professor in the department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics at Keio University. She shared her career journey through U.S. research institutions, RIKEN, and the U.S. National Institute for Materials Science before returning to Japan. Dr. Shimizu's insightful reflections on balancing research ambitions with the unique challenges faced by women in Japan's academic landscape resonated strongly with the audience and led to meaningful discussions about gender equity in science.
The lightning talks highlighted research across a diverse range of fields:
Dr. Fadilla Zennifa, academic researcher from Kyushu University discussed her findings on the effects of aroma on human psychophysiological responses.
Dr. Ladan Malehmirchegini, postdoctoral researcher at Kyushu University, explained demand response modeling based on price in Japan's day-ahead electricity market focuses on customer risk and dynamic price elasticity.
Ms. Vaishnavi Thakur, a Ph.D. student from the University of Tokyo, introduced light on luminescent coupling effects in III-V semiconductor solar cells.
Dr. May Kristine Carlon from RIKEN explored the successes and challenges of online courses in her talk, "What Worked, What Didn't, and What's Next for Online Courses."
Dr. Zarina Rakhimberdina, researcher from Braid Technologies rounded off the session with her talk on "Deep Learning in Brain Visual Decoding."
Participants also took part in a hands-on Technology Commercialization Workshop led by Iris Jiang, Researcher and former Product Manager at SRI International. Drawing from her experience in tech transfer and product management, Iris guided participants through the critical step of evaluating product ideas by interviewing potential users—empowering them to bring their ideas from lab to market.
After Iris’ workshop, the flagship event concluded with a dynamic game of “networking bingo,” where participants were encouraged to introduce themselves to the wide range of attendees to fill out their bingo cards.
Reflecting on the event, co-founder Elizabeth Oda said, “Creating supportive spaces for women and other underrepresented groups in STEM is not the end goal in and of itself; it’s about empowering women to grow, innovate, and lead in their institutions and communities. Events like this highlight the potential within our community and the impact we can achieve together toward a more equitable future in science.”
