Meguru Ito sensei and Michihiro Hayashi sensei, who are in charge of Physics and Engineering Design classes, would like to introduce the ICT 3D Modeling Contest 2024.

 The ICT 3D Modeling Contest is a 3D CAD-themed contest for 1st and 2nd year students at the Hakusanroku Campus. ICT students begin using Autodesk Fusion 3D CAD software in their 1st year, and use 3D CAD modeling and 3D printers to output parts for use in classes and projects to improve student 3D CAD modeling skills. ICT holds a yearly competition called the ICT 3D Modeling Contest.
 The theme of this year's contest was “What You Want to Bring to an Evacuation Shelter.” Many victims of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake on January 1st, 2024 were forced to live in evacuation centers for a long time. We chose this theme because we wanted students to think about what they need while imagining such a situation and creating their models. Students at Hakusanroku Campus completed and submitted their models as their summer vacation homework. After being reviewed by several judges, four students were selected as Excellence Award winners.
The following are the comments of the four students.

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2nd year student, Hiroko Takeda
Title: Hardtack and Sugar Shimaenaga (a bird called Long-Tailed Tit) Candies

Production time: about 4 hours for the package, about 8 hours for modeling
Points of particularity: package
I created a shimaenaga version of the packaging to resemble the hardtack packaging that I remember from when I was a child. (The product information on the back of the package was faithfully reproduced down to the line breaks.)
Another key point is that I drew the Striped Shimaenaga to resemble the color scheme of the character on the original hardtack.

Modeling:
・When I creating the lid part of the can, I utilized both surface(*1) modeling and sheet metal(*2) techniques. (I didn't know how to do this, so I asked a question on the forum where I learned about it during the Fusion workshop last year, and they gave me detailed instructions.)
・I created the design for the hardtack package pattern myself and applied it to achieve a more realistic texture, striving to make it as authentic as possible.
・I tried to apply the decals to the package, but the image was cut off because of the curved surface. As a solution, I enclosed the solid (*3) with a surface, and then applied the package in two parts on top of the solid.

Judges’ Comments:
The modeling closely resembles the actual can shape, including how the lid bends when opened. The textures have also been meticulously created, making the overall work very impressive. The contents, the hardtack, have been designed in the style of Shimaenaga, showcasing creative attention to detail. However, the arrangement of the hardtack appears somewhat unnatural. Next time, you could try using features like physics simulations to calculate a more realistic stacking arrangement.

(*1) Surfaces: Function to make objects without thickness exist and express shapes in software.
(*2) Sheet metal: Function to bend, cut and change the thickness of plate-like objects.
(*3) Solid: Function to express a three-dimensional object as if it were packed inside.

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2nd year student, Rinse Okiyama
Title: Bag

Production time: 2 days
Points of particularity:
The theme of this modeling contest was “What You Want to Bring to an Evacuation Shelter,” so I aimed to create a backpack that would be fun to prepare in everyday life. Therefore, I decided to add a unique face design to the front of the backpack while keeping in mind its need for a simple structure and portability. I spent about two days in the production process, paying particular attention to the backpack's three-dimensional shape, cloth-like texture, and easy-to-use zipper. I carefully adjusted the thickness and roundness of each part to give it a three-dimensional feel and to pursue realism. Since, I am a Fusion beginner, I faced many challenges during the production. Each time, I utilized the well-known forum function and quickly solved the problems that I did not understand. By referring to the advice of other users, I was able to learn as I went along. I am very happy that my work won an award for my persistence.

Judges’ Comments:
I think the soft impression of curved surfaces, which is a weakness of mechanical CAD, was well modeled. The fasteners are modeled a little larger than usual, but this may have contributed to the prettier impression. Whenever there was something unclear in the operation, she was able to ask a question to the forum and solve the problem, and I felt that it showed her willingness to learn independently. It would have been even better if the zipper was slightly opened to show the inside.

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2nd year student, Ruuna Nakazawa
Title: Slim Compact Fan

Production time: about 5 hours
Points of particularity: The focus of my work is the shape of the internal propeller. I adjusted the direction, angle, and length of the propeller from a three-dimensional perspective in order to express the propeller's unique bend. I also tried to make the design as patterned as possible so that it would be close to the actual product I used as a reference.

Judges’ Comments:
I thought that the designer made good use of CAD functions, such as setting up “joints” for the parts where the handy fan folds up, and modeling “curved surfaces” with twists and turns. Also, she seems to have an excellent ability to carefully and in detail observe the actual objects and express them in CAD. The modeling of propellers, etc., is useful for fluid dynamics analysis, and I hope that she will be able to use even higher level CAD/CAE functions in the future.

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2nd year student, Kaya Yasuda
Title: Home Fire Extinguisher

Production time: 6 hours
Points of particularity:
The main focus of this work is the parts that actually operate the fire extinguisher, such as the handle and pins. In this part, instead of combining the moving elements into a single shape, I separated them into individual parts and later assembled them. By doing this, I was able to create gaps and shadows between the parts and make them look good. I also spent a lot of time on the handles. It was difficult to create not only the shape and size, but also a complicated shape that was not filled in, so I made it little by little, changing the way it was made.

Judges’ Comments: I liked how the model was divided and modeled for each component used in an actual fire extinguisher. I think the model shows how each part is combined and how it moves to perform the function of a fire extinguisher. I also felt that the modeling conveys that the shape of the handle was carefully observed and balanced in terms of size and bend. I think it would be even better if the “joints” were set up to actually simulate movement in the screen, so please give it a try next time.

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Judges' General Comments:
Continuing from last year, the 3D modeling contest was held again, and we received a large number of strong entries from students. Many of the models had curved surfaces, which are difficult to model, or were carefully textured or had rendering settings that made them enjoyable to look at. Among them, we have selected a few works that particularly caught our attention. we hope they will serve as a reference for everyone's future 3D model production.

 We were surprised again at this year’s students excellent work, and we are looking forward to next year’s contest.

Meguru Ito
Michihiro Hayashi

 Have you ever heard of a "learning mentor"? Many people may not know a lot about this job and I want to share what my day is like.

 My name is Apirak Sang-ngenchai, and I am a learning mentor. My work begins in the afternoon when I join the classes I am assigned to. I usually sit at the back of the classroom to listen to the lecture in order to understand the topics and context, which helps me better support the students later on. If students have questions, I provide explanations. Sometimes, I assist students who feel shy about speaking up in class.

 The evening learning session runs from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. This is the heart of my job. Students come to me for help with their studies during these two hours.

●Homework and Quizzes: During the evening session, many students bring their homework to ask for guidance. Some assignments are straightforward, like math problems or writing exercises, but others can be more complex, like science reports or project research.
●Projects and Activities: Not all students come for help with homework. Some need support for extracurricular activities or personal projects. For students interested in robotics, I help them design, build, and program robots for competitions like Robocon. This includes brainstorming ideas, debugging code, and testing the robot’s performance. Some students have their own goals, like creating a small AI application or programming a game. I guide them by teaching coding techniques, suggesting tools, and troubleshooting their problems. It’s inspiring to see their creativity and determination.
●Life Issues: Some students just want to talk. They share their worries or ask for life advice. Some students need someone to talk to. They might feel stressed about exams, homesick, or unsure about their future plans. I listen without judgment and offer encouragement. Other students ask for advice on balancing school and personal life, building friendships, or setting goals. I try to give them practical tips and share my own experiences to help them feel more confident.

 Learning mentors are like the students' older brother or sister. We play, study, and enjoy time together. It’s not just about schoolwork. It’s about building relationships. Students often feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts with me than with their teachers. For example, some students ask me for help with programming, especially for robots or AI. Then I guide them step by step through the process, and it makes me happy to see their progress.

 Besides helping students with their studies, learning mentors organize events like Halloween parties, Christmas celebrations, or cultural festivals. These events help students feel more connected to each other and the school.

 

 Being a learning mentor is busy, but it is also very rewarding. The best part of the job is watching students grow, solve problems, and become more confident. We are not just helping them with school; we are helping them with life. Now if you meet a learning mentor, you know what we do!

Apirak Sang-ngenchai

Hi, I am Michihiro Hayashi, the advisor of the Design & Fabrication Club.
On Saturday, October 5, and Sunday, October 6, 2024, I took a business trip with the participating students to the Tokai-Hokuriku Regional ROBOCON 2024 held in Numazu City. Numazu City is located in the eastern part of Shizuoka Prefecture and is the furthest regional competition site from ICT. The students and their faculty advisors traveled there by chartered bus. The one-way trip was about 8 hours long. The students bought a lots of snacks and fast food at the rest area and ate them on the bus. Perhaps the souvenir shops on the highway were a rarity to them, especially since there are few stores around the Hakusanroku Campus.

The theme of this year's ROBOCON is “Return of the Robots,” and the rules call for a robot to launch an another robot, retrieve objects, and return. When the robot is launched, it inevitably receives a shock when it lands, which can cause the robot to break or malfunction, so a mechanism to absorb the shock is necessary. Also, when the robot returns after retrieving an object, some obstacles must be jumped over, so each team needs to be creative in their robot design.

Two teams from our school participated: Team A from Kanazawa Campus, “ХАЙРТАЙ ШҮҮ 3k”, and Team B from Hakusanroku Campus “Tobihoudai”. The captain of Team A was Sansar Sergelen, a 4th year student from Mongolia. Therefore, the team’s name is in Mongolian. If you are interested in the name of Team A, please look up the meaning and pronunciation.

Team A's robot was designed with airbags for shock absorption and an arm that extends like a crane when returning. With only three members, various tasks took time, and they couldn't fully adjust the robot by the final date. On the day of the competition, they continued making adjustments at the venue but unfortunately couldn't demonstrate the soft landing with the airbags. As a result, they lost both matches in the preliminary league. However, despite the small team, their innovative efforts were recognized, and they received the "DENSO Special Award."

Team B's robot was constructed so that it could continue to operate even if it was upside down on landing. They also built a robot that uses a rotating roller like a pitching machine to retrieve objects. The members gathered after school until just before the competition to continue adjusting the robot. However, they struggled to reduce the weight of the robot and were forced to bring the improved parts to the venue by bus. As a result, the robot was able to successfully pass the weighing and measuring inspection for the competition. In the competition, the students showed off how they flew and landed their robots and achieved one win and one loss in the preliminary league. The efforts of the younger students were also recognized, and they received the “Mabuchi Motor Special Award.”

Although neither team was able to advance to the final tournament or be nominated for the national tournament, I believe that they were able to fully demonstrate the results of their activities. Some students may have felt that they “failed” or “felt frustrated,” but I hope that these feelings will become rich nourishment for their future.

Michihiro Hayashi

 Hello, this is Arihiro Kodaka, Dean of Student Affairs. This time, I would like to write about the details of the students' participation in community planning and management

 On Monday, September 23rd, 2024 (Autumnal Equinox Day), a marking event for the Asagimadara (*) (Chestnut Tiger Butterfly) was held in the field across from Hakusanroku Campus.

(*) The Asagimadara is a butterfly named for its wings, which are light blue with mottled patterns. It is a butterfly that migrates several thousand kilometers across the ocean. In order to track their migration patterns, the less powdery light blue parts of their wings are marked with the date and capture location using a permanent marker. The Asagimadara are attracted to flowers in the Asteraceae family, such as the Fujibakama flower (boneset) and the toxins in the nectar help them with reproduction and protection. Additionally, one of the characters in the anime Demon Slayer is inspired by this butterfly.

For information on last year’s Asagimadara marking event.

 2nd year students supported an event organized by the Tatsunokuchi Community Development Council, Hakusanroku Satoyama Revitalization Council, and the Asagimadara Fan Club. In a fallow field across from Hakusanroku Campus, fujibakama flowers are cultivated to attract the Asagimadara. In the Engineering Design class, the Agribusiness team of students started planning in April of this year, aiming to utilize Asagimadara as an environmental resource to boost the local community. Through creative ideas and a fresh, student-oriented perspective, they tackled the challenge of revitalizing the area.

 The students aimed to create continuous interactions between local residents and non-residents through the event, ensuring that everyone involved would have lasting memories. They put great effort into the planning and organization, incorporating many thoughtful details to achieve this goal.

Photo Spot

 A photo spot created by students was set up for everyone who came to see the Asagimadara, and many people took pictures there. I was happy to see visitors taking memorable photos at the photo spot, and I believe that we were able to respond to their desire to preserve their memories.

Making Goods with Elementary School Students

 Elementary school students who participated in the marking event spent the afternoon making original goods under the guidance of ICT 2nd year students. The goods were hair clips and magnets with Asagimadara images, and the elementary school students added decorations and finishing touches by devising color schemes and decorations.

 

Merchandise Sales and Hands-on Crafting Experience Activities.

 For those who stopped by the Sena Roadside Station, learned about this event, and observed Asagimadara, students sold a capsule toy key chain with an illustrated book describing the ecology of the Asagimadara. Additionally, a hands-on workshop was held where participants could use a laser utter to create their own keychains as a keepsake. These activities were part of a unique initiative by ICT students.

 The students thought about how local residents and the visitors could be involved in the project and implemented it. Afterwards, the students reflected on the event and voiced many opinions about how to make the next event even more fulfilling. The students who will take over in the next year are expected to take this feedback into account and make the event better.

 This year, perhaps due to the hot weather, the number of Asagimadara was very small, but I hope that next year many more Asagimadara will visit.

“𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.”
― Rachel Carson

 Hello, this is Dorsaf Gatri, one of the STEM teachers at ICT.

 As a teacher, one of my main focuses is to foster students’ interest in a particular topic. This would involve, amongst other things, tackling topics that have a direct influence on the students’ lives and/or future.

 When I learned that students will have the opportunity to choose for themselves if they wanted to join Biology class or another class, I realized that half of the task is done: All the students in my class would already be interested in what I have to teach. What is left to do is to use this golden opportunity to introduce young, bright minds to one of the biggest challenges that is facing us in the 21st century. 

 It is no secret that the news about the decline of the state of our environment is worrisome, to say the least. Environmental science is an interdisciplinary subject. This might be a reason to think of it as a complicated matter. It can also be a reason for hope; history shows us that big challenges can be overcome when humans collaborate. This biology class tried to enforce the following ideas:

Hope is part of the solution:

 There is a myriad of reasons to why we should be very concerned about the environment, however this does not mean that all hope to turn the tables is lost. Students were taught that human ingenuity can mitigate environmental issues. We discussed examples and possible innovative ideas to get humans needs met while preserving the only home that we know: the earth. Some of the solutions mentioned in class are: 
-Decentralized energy systems using microgrids
-Shared driverless cars to reduce GHG emission related to transportation
-Grazing animals’ systems as opposed to industrial livestock 
-Using seaweed to restore the overturning circulation in the oceans

Understanding the problem is the first step to the solution:

 Different activities and experiments were conducted to illustrate the concepts explained in class.

 One of these activities was a fishing game to explain the concept of the Tragedy of the Commons. In this activity students were part of an imaginary village and were competing against each other to catch fish. Each type of fish had a price tag. The winner of the game would be the richest person in the village.

This is how the game is played: Students have four 30 seconds turns with each turn corresponding to one fishing season. During each of these turns, students try to catch fish using a tape attached to two straws and they must make at least 500¥ to keep playing. At the end of each term, each pair of fish will produce two offspring.

 As expected, the students, hoping to be the richest and win, depleted all the fish in the ocean in the first round. This is when they realized that the only way to win this game is to come up with a sustainable strategy and make sure that there will be enough fish in the ocean for them to catch next season. I reset the game and the students were given another chance during which they worked together to maintain natural resources. Using an environmentally friendly approach to play, the students ended up with more financial prosperity.

 Another important experiment that was conducted is the soil salinization experiment. The students monitored the growth of mung beans using different salinity levels. The results of the experiments showed clearly the adverse impact of salinity on plants and, by extension, on our food sources.

 To sensitize the students to the problem of biodiversity loss and its impacts on ecosystems, they were introduced to taxonomy (the science of naming animals and plants) and ecology (the study of the interaction between the organisms and their environment). The taxonomy classes were followed by a microscopic observation of different animals and plants. The ecology classes were followed by a classroom food web activity. In this activity, the students, each representing an animal from a particular trophic level, had to draw that animal, hang it on the board and work together to create a food web.

The scientific method is the reliable way towards the solution:

 The students used the scientific method to brainstorm an experimental design to test the air quality of different locations of their choice. They presented and discussed their qualitative and quantitative data. This helped the students to not only learn about the different types of air pollutants and their sources, but also to familiarize themselves with the scientific method and the scientific jargon. 

 The students enjoyed this class and so did I. Next semester we will laser-focus on the most pressing of environmental issues: Climate change.

Dorsaf Gatri