Dr. Ryo Torii, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Science, University College London

Dr. Ryo Torii, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Science, University College London

Pursuing your passion will forge a path to your future

Dr. Ryo Torii graduated from the School of Engineering Science at Osaka University. After completing his PhD at the University of Tokyo, he continued to work there as a post-doctoral researcher, while also spending time at Rice University in the United States. He then moved to Imperial College London where he spent seven years, including the time in which he led his own research projects via fellowship grants. Dr. Torii joined University College London (UCL) in 2012 and is now working as an associate professor. His passion lies in the application of engineering techniques to underpin clinical science and practice. He particularly enjoys the research environment at UCL, which has a culture to foster multidisciplinary research, especially between the fields of engineering and medicine.

Stay dedicated to your interests, and learn from your failures

During his time at Osaka University’s School of Engineering Science, Dr. Torii clearly remembers the passion that his professors had for pursuing their interests, and he was no different. As an undergraduate student at OU in the mid-1990s, he was fully dedicated to ski racing team activities. The members of the team worked together towards the common goal of winning ski competitions as representatives of OU, and it was there that Dr. Torii learned how to synergistically build a team of people with different skillsets while appreciating an environment that allowed for challenges and failures. He says, “I think it’s true that we have much to learn from our first-hand experiences, in addition to what we learn from reading or studying. The harder you try, the more you’ll learn from your own experience, no matter if you succeed or fail. And because of this, I feel that it’s essential for society to provide students with opportunities to take on their own challenges when considering the development of talent who can play leading roles across various fields.”

Diversity – more than just statistics

UCL is very diverse in terms of the gender and cultural background of its members. Currently in his research group, Dr. Torii works with two post-doctoral researchers and supervises seven PhD students, all of whom are from different countries around the world. Diversity is a very real part of life for Dr. Torii: “Different ways of thinking from different educational backgrounds in the researchers’ countries of origin do not directly affect the research itself, but rather, this blend of differing opinions and cultures is significant in that it holds the potential to produce something entirely new and interesting in our research.”

Internationalization - what does it matter to Japan?

“I believe Japan can pursue its own internationalization; there’s no real model or pattern that Japan ought to emulate. People who were educated at Japanese institutes of higher education are often highly renowned for their diligence and performance as valuable co-workers at academic institutions overseas.” Dr. Torii continues, “I do hope that young people in Japan consider working abroad merely as one of the many options in their career path. I would encourage young people to take it easy, experience different cultures and lifestyles following your own curiosity, and see if you like them or not.”

For further information: https://mecheng.ucl.ac.uk/people/profile/dr-ryo-torii/



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