Summer Internships              | 1 | 2 |

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)

Joshua Whitman

I spent my summer in Tokyo, Japan working with the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), in the Materials Engineering R&D group. TEPCO provides power to Tokyo and the surrounding area. The main focus of the Materials Engineering group is the understanding and prevention of corrosion of electric transmission lines as well as pipes and turbines in thermal and nuclear power plants.

Most of my time was spent in the laboratory, both running experiments of my own and assisting one of the lab technicians in his work. I was taught how to use a wide variety of equipment, including scanning electron microscopes, an ion chromatograph, and many different autoclaves. I also had the opportunity to visit the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station, the largest in the world with seven reactors, and the Rokasho nuclear fuel cycle center.

The TEPCO R&D center is located just south of Tokyo in Kawasaki. Public transportation in Japan is phenomenal, especially compared with cities in the US. Crime is also incredibly low compared to any US city, and even more impressive considering the enormous size of Tokyo. The city has a huge number of things to do on the weekend, and there are several beautiful and historical sites within a short train ride. I would also recommend to anyone visiting Japan spending a few days, if not longer, in Kyoto.

One of my biggest concerns before the summer was how the language barrier would manifest itself. This turned out not to be a problem as everyone in the office spoke English at varying levels, and with the occasional assistance of exaggerated hand motions or pencil drawings communication was rarely an issue.

Overall, I had a wonderful experience in Japan and would recommend this internship to anyone who likes to experience new things.