This year’s ILC Club (part of Iwate Nippo’s Japan ILC 2030 project) of 4 middle school students left Geneva on the 3rd and arrived in Tokyo’s Haneda Airport via the U.K. on the 4th. The ILC Club’s trip lasted from July 30th to August 6th, and they visited CERN and other institutions where they got to observe cutting-edge science and meet the researchers who work on it. They returned home satisfied with their trip.
Yu Osakashita (3rd year at Higashi Mizusawa MS in Oshu City) said, “If elementary particles are the fundamental building blocks of all matter, then I think the question ‘why?’ is the building block for all thought and knowledge. I want to treasure this pure desire to know ‘why.’” Sakura Sugawara (3rd year at Daito MS in Ichinoseki City) said, “I feel like I now know how fun science is. Science gives us dreams, and I truly believe that elementary particle research will be of use to humanity in the future.”
Manato Sato (2nd year at Tsuchibuchi MS in Morioka City) said, “I had some doubts about the need for the ILC, and whether it would be safe or not, but my thinking has changed. I now see it’s necessary to get the understanding and support of the people in the area surrounding the ILC candidate site.” Wakana Hiramatsu (2nd year at Kamaishi MS in Kamaishi City) said, “The researchers at CERN keep seeking answers for their questions, and I think that’s very cool.”
The ILC Club is part of Iwate Nippo’s Japan ILC 2030 Project, which revolves around the International Linear Collider that may be built in the Kitakami mountains of Iwate. The Japan ILC 2030 Project is supported by the Bank of Iwate, Kita-Nippon Bank, Tohoku Bank, and Tohoku Electric Power Company.
Profiles of the ILC Club
“Treasuring the pure desire to know ‘why’”
Yu Osakashita
3rd year at Higashi-Mizusawa MS in Oshu City
Club: Baseball
Current hobby: Reading (light novels, etc)
I wanted to treasure the pure desire to know ‘why’ through research. I think ‘why’ is the reason we study. Behind the desire to know more is that question, ‘why.’ If elementary physics are the fundamental building blocks of all matter, then ‘why’ is the building block for all thought and knowledge.
The simpler things are, the more beautiful they are in our eyes. Thus, the most beautiful things in the world must be elementary particles. A beautiful heart that yearns to know why. The beautiful elementary particles that form the basis of our world. I want to continue to think about that as I go through life.
Impressed by the researchers having fun
Sakura Sugawara
3rd year at Daito MS in Ichinoseki City
Club: Badminton
Current hobby: Traveling to different sweets shops with my friends
The researchers at CERN really love science, and I was impressed that they had so much fun doing their jobs. Particle physics is difficult, and many parts I didn’t understand. But if we can get a similar sort of research laboratory in Iwate, then many foreign people will come here. I get very excited when I imagine that. I see now that science can be fun.
Science gives us dreams. Perhaps particle physics research doesn’t immediately change our daily lives, but it surely will be of use in the future. In the future, I’d like to have a job involved with the ILC, even if only indirectly.
I want to get more people to understand how necessary the ILC is
Manato Sato
2nd year at Tsuchibuchi MS in Morioka City
Club: Ping pong
Current hobby: Watching ping pong matches
Before my trip, I didn’t know what the ILC was or what it would study, and I didn’t really understand what a fundamental particle was. I wondered if the ILC was really necessary, or if it might be dangerous to the people in the surrounding area.
Through this trip, my thinking has changed. I was surprised to see what kind of technology has been developed at CERN. I was able to see how necessary and wonderful the ILC would be. I also see that it’s important to get the understanding, support, and cooperation of the people living near the ILC candidate site. I hope to tell as many people as I can so that everyone can understand the ILC.
Seeking answers to mysteries is so cool
Wakana Hiramatsu
2nd year at Kamaishi MS in Kamaishi City
Club: Brass band
Current hobby: Listening to music
I was really nervous about going to Switzerland, but I was able to see a country I knew nothing about and learn what things they’re researching at CERN.
At CERN, researchers go after everything they wonder about and try to solve it. They don’t leave it at “I don’t understand.” I thought it was cool how they strive to understand everything.
If the ILC is realize in Iwate, I think it will lead to the reconstruction of towns on the coast, and towns overflowing with happiness. In the future, even if I don’t become a scientist, I hope to get involved with the ILC in some way.