I joined RIKEN BNL Research Center and started working for sPHENIX in April 2020. So more than 3 years have already passed.

What is the focus of your work on the sPHENIX experiment?

Proton spin structure is my main interest. Polarized proton-proton collision at high energy is unique in the world, as you know. I believe that the sPHENIX detector can obtain crucial information on the proton structure. I'm also working for INTT. This is the first particle detector to work on, actually, because I worked on the polarized target before. I'm learning something new every day. Now I'm getting used to INTT.

Where were you born and what is your educational background before your current position?

I was born in Iwate prefecture in Japan, located 550 km (~350 miles) north of Tokyo. That area is one of the site candidates for the International Liner Collider. I learned physics at Yamagata University, Japan, through bachelor to Ph.D.

What is the title of your Ph.D. or tentative title? Awards or biggest talk highlight?

The title of my Ph.D. thesis was "First measurement of transverse spin asymmetry on the polarised Drell-Yan". I worked on the polarised target and physics analysis. When I got the degree of Ph.D., I was awarded "The best student in Graduate School of Science and Engineering (Science)" by Yamagata University.

How did you decide to go into heavy ion or spin research?

The science faculty of my university sent me to CERN in 1st year of undergrad (luckily for me!) to learn international collaborations, languages, etc. COMPASS experiment, which studies proton spin, was fascinating to me, so I decided to spin physics.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like playing tennis. I play with BNL tennis club members when I have time. Why don't you join us?

Fun fact?

I'm good at Mario tennis rather than real tennis. I was in the top 100 in the world rank!