The excitement of starting experiments in a new field at this age

Introduction

I volunteer to support the education and research of students at the university. Since I am told to do as I please, I find things I can do on my own based on how busy the staff members are. Nothing would make me happier than if the entire seminar proceeds smoothly.

This time, I decided to utilize a new experimental technique using the equipment and reagents I have on hand. It is a technique I did not even use in my former job. I wonder how it will turn out.

That is what I am talking about today.

Come to think of it

I recall it was the same at my former workplace. I introduced a method that had not yet been adopted in that laboratory. I gathered materials by trial and error, ordered special reagents, and assembled and operated unfamiliar equipment. Some details were not clear, so I filled in the gaps by analogy, assuming it was an application of known methods. The anxiety of not having an experienced person nearby and a lack of confidence coexisted.

When I finally managed to get results, I felt relieved. And as I did it several times, I learned that my analogies were correct. It seems my worries were unfounded. Now, I am passing on the methods I have mastered to others. It makes me happy when they can reproduce them properly. The hardships I went through myself have already flown away somewhere.

During training

Of course, for safety and efficiency, I sometimes visit other research facilities for training to learn different experimental techniques. I stayed at a hotel for about a week to learn. There, a technique I had mastered through trial and error and had been using for about 15 years appeared. Among the 20 or so people there, only the instructor and I, who had come for training, could do it. Since I had more experience, I served as the instructor's assistant.

I never thought such a thing would happen. Because it was a technique I learned in the field, I knew well where people tend to get confused and where the key points are. Because of that, the other trainees seemed to be convinced. The instructor also thanked me. I never thought I would be of use in such a place.

This time as well

This time, too, it is a technique that this laboratory does not have. Of course, it is not such a special technique that you would be taught it if you went to learn it. Materials can be found easily enough, and it is not that difficult once you get the hang of it.

However, if you are inexperienced, it is hard to know where that trick lies. It is clear from my past experience that there will be some hardship until you reach it. This time, too, I have made a preliminary guess as to where that might be and have started preliminary experiments focusing on that part. I intend to take the equipment home this weekend (as it is a technique that does not pose any legal problems) and verify it.

Mastering things is fun

Mastering new techniques is the most fun of all. Usually, when I encounter a new technique and get used to it, I start thinking about whether I can apply it in some way. So, I try adding one idea. Some of them were successful and became papers. I am happy if they are cited and used somewhere in the world.

Among them, there was a method that was released to the world as the most sensitive analytical method at the time. I did not dare to patent it because I wanted it to be widely used in the world.

Conclusion

This time, I have started moving to master a new technique. It is exciting to think that I might be able to understand unknown phenomena from here. That might be the real thrill of experiments. It is even more so if it is a method that can be done by making full use of what is available here. This time, a large amount of old glassware was found during a big cleaning, which served as a push and a hint.

How many more years can I move around? I hope to master one of these new techniques and, as I have done so far, expand it into better methods and applications. Being able to improve something is proof that you have mastered it. That is not a bad thing.

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