From September 25th to September 28th, M1 students Ishida, Sakaue, and Tomino participated in RCEM held at the University of Illinois, USA.

Departing from Japan, we first visited Champaign, where the University of Illinois, the conference venue, is located.

Because it was an 18-hour long flight, I was really hungry, so I had breakfast at the hotel. It was a very typical American breakfast and tasted delicious.

Regarding our presentations, there were reflections and areas for improvement. However, it was great to engage in enjoyable and specialized discussions with researchers from around the world.

While exploring the University of Illinois, we met an Illinois student who adored Japan, and we enthusiastically conversed about Japan. He wore a T-shirt with the phrase “Every day is hell” written in Japanese, which made us burst into laughter.

Moreover, at the conference, we had the opportunity to meet Bruce L. Rhoads, the author of “RIVER DYNAMICS,” a book frequently used in our water engineering laboratory, and took a photo together.

After the conference presentations, we visited Chicago, the largest city in Illinois.

Convenience stores there had plenty of “Monster” energy drinks, often favored by Japanese university students. They offered flavors not commonly seen in Japan, like grape and watermelon, which were uniquely delicious.

Additionally, we relished thick Chicago-style pizza at a restaurant, which was as satisfying as a pie!

Chicago is home to the NBA’s Chicago Bulls, so I took the opportunity to go see the Michael Jordan statue.

Unfortunately, it was closed on that day, so we couldn’t go inside. Nevertheless, catching a glimpse from outside left us feeling very content!

On the final day in America, we moved to Los Angeles, where we fully enjoyed the food and scenery.

This international conference provided significant inspiration for our future research endeavors. We’ll continue to work hard in our research endeavors!

And yes, we’re already longing for another trip to America!