Vol.31

2018.4.6

p.1 I’m a Civil Mum “Ms. Mai Thanh Thuy ” (Alumna in 2010)

p.2 Super Civil Engineer “Prof. Tokujiro Yoshida” by Mr. Yoshihiro TAKANO

p.3 My Reunion “ Pakistan, Lahore Univ.”

by Muhammad Umar Farooq (Alumnus in 2013)

Topics

Alumni Association of the Civil Engineering

UT Civil E-mail News

The Editorial Team

03-5800-6916（Tel/Fax）dosokai-news@civil.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Chief editor：Ayuko AKAIKE, Associate editor：Yuko SASE

Editors：Takeyoshi CHIBANA, Yuya TAKAHASHI, Akiko SUZUKI

Satomi MORITA, Yuka MUTO（M1 Students)

Advisor：Manabu ITO

Proofreader：Alexander GILMORE (Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Dept.)

Mar 27th, 2018: Ginko tree has put on baby leaves.

My major at university was civil engineering and I received a

master’s degree in transportation planning from Tokyo University,

but I’m currently working as an interior designer - a job which I had

always dreamed of since I was a student. It was a huge challenge for

me when I first started as an interior designer, because my

education background before was not really related and I had to

learn almost everything from scratch. And it is not just a question of

having the knowledge - the job requires true passion, creativity,

artistic skills and experience, which are impossible to get from

books. However, I’ve never regretted my career choice and the

decision to become an interior designer. I got a great chance to

work in one of the best companies in the field of hospitality design,

where I have been with for almost five years now in Singapore.

Along the way, I’ve learned a lot from my colleagues and team

about how to improve my profession. And I’m glad to say that doing

interior design is great - it is a creative job and I love it.

As an Interior Designer

I’m a Civil Mum

Ms. Mai Thanh Thuy (2010 Ms)

Page1

2018.3.26

Please attach your working photo

My plan in the future is find the perfect

balance between my family life and work - I

want to have more time with my family

while continuing to pursue my passion for

design.

My advice for civil mums, both those who

are still studying or working, is to be

confident and enjoy the life you have

chosen. Just try your best, in the end the

result will be rewarding - our kids can be

proud of us because we always do our best.

As a wife and mother of 1 girl

I have been married for 6 years and have one daughter who is 21 months old now. My little girl is the

motivation for me to work harder, dream bigger and live happier. Being a working mom, there are a lot of

difficulties. Working in the construction field, I believe there are even more, because deadlines arrive every

day. We have multiple projects to work on simultaneously with very tight schedules. I always have to work

overtime, almost every week. I don’t have enough time for my baby and my family. And I think that is the

hardest thing for me, though I’m trying to overcome it to achieve a work-life balance. Working as an interior

designer can be stressful with challenges and deadlines but this kind of job brings me inspiration, motivation

and happiness.

What a great love for the Concrete!

Dr. Yoshida requested himself to be buried

in the concrete for his final experiment.

Super Civil Engineer

Prof. Tokujiro Yoshida(Alumnus in 1912)

2018.4

Page2

By the way, Prof. Maekawa, one of grand pupils of Prof.

Yoshida retired from U-Tokyo in this March. His last lecture, as

long as 3 hours, was full of concrete topics.

“Love for Concrete” is certainly taken over to the next

generation of the concrete laboratory.

(by Yoshihiro Takano, Alumnus in 1979)

Image: at the memorial party of his retirement with one of his best pupils,

Dr. Januatri Jaya Ekaptri (alumna in 2010)

Prof. Yoshida is a pioneer of the concrete engineering in

Japan. He packed a sardine and a leaf of gingko into the

mortar. This specimen had been exposed in the natural

atmosphere for ten years. When he retired from the

DCE of UT, he broke this specimen and observed the

condition of it. It is reported that the sardine was

mummified but had very little change and gave off no

smelling. The leaf of gingko was kept green. He said in

his will that his body would be buried in concrete. He

made the experimentation using a sardine and a leaf of

gingko to verify the water and air tightness of concrete.

(If the fat of sardine with bad smelling is oozed, it would

give negative impacts to environment.)

This episode, one of myths on Prof. Yoshida tell us that importance of the demonstration experiment.

This specimen is a symbol of his philosophical message, although his will was unfortunately not accepted

by the Law in Japan. Instead, the pedestal of his grave in Ichigaya was made of his loving concrete.

“Supervisor in construction site must be respected and beloved by workers. If he manages the project

well and shares the delight of success with workers, they sincerely cooperate with him.” by his sayings.

Please visit the Concrete Laboratory of DCE. His concrete specimens or other belongings remind you of

his distinguished services and passion to the concrete engineering.

Source: http://concrete.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/history/history/hammer.htm

Our lives are getting busier day by day. In such circumstances, a good way to refresh is through

remembrance of unforgettable moments/memories through a gathering in which fresh alumni are also

present to share their recent experiences. Usually we have this type of gathering twice a year and it is

compulsory when some of our members visit Pakistan from abroad or from Japan. Everyone participates

actively in these gatherings with around 8 to 12 members. The best venues for our gatherings are

traditional Japanese restaurants or someone’s home and we mostly we meet up for dinner.

Konichiwa from Lahore

My reunion

Pakistan, Lahore Univ. Page3

2018.1.28

We try to use at least one Japanese word

in our conversations, such as totemo,

genki, saigo ni, gohan etc., and start with

itadakimasu as a rule of our gathering. We

enjoy each moment with laughter,

recalling Japanese people’s tolerance of

our language bungles and challenges

which we faced in our early days in Japan.

Recent alumni members describe the

developments going on in Tokyo University

and in Japan as a whole to facilitate more

international students and advancement

for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. I would also

like to appreciate the contribution of

Alumni Association team of Civil

Engineering Department for providing such

a platform to keep us bonded through

latest updates.

ALUMNI GATHERING 2018

ALUMNI GATHERING 2017(Muhammad Umar Farooq Alumnus Civil UT 2013)