Self-introduction: Misako Tatsuuma

I'm Misako Tatsuuma, and I joined iTHEMS as a Research Scientist in October 2023. My research focuses on planetary formation theory. Specifically, I'm working on the formation process of planetesimals, which are kilometer-sized bodies like comets and asteroids, from micron-sized cosmic dust grains. This process is still not fully understood and has been extensively studied through observations, explorations, experiments, and simulations. My approach involves investigating the material strengths of dust aggregates using dust grain N-body simulations and comparing the results with explorational findings of comets and asteroids in our solar system. I got my Ph.D. in March 2022 at the University of Tokyo and subsequently began the JSPS fellow (PD) at Tokyo Institute of Technology. As for personal, I'm a mother of two and facing the ongoing challenge of balancing childcare and research.