My name is Chuanyong CUI. I came from Shenyang(China). I was very much pleased to write a short essay for``Habataku''. I do have a great sense of respect for Japan andthe Japanese people, and after 7 years of my stay it becomes
more than words, if you think in a different way, what holds
you here? It would be impossible to squeeze all of the last 7years of my life using a couple of sentences.
I first heard about Tsukuba as the ``City of Science'' when
I was a student at Institute of Metals Research (IMR),
China, and wished to visit there someday. I came to Tsukubain July, 2002 after I got my Ph.D degree. I am honored to live
and do research in NIMS. NIMS has an excellent researchsystem which offered me a lot of freedom in research, an international environment, and a fantastic working atmospherewith cutting edge facilities and an English support system(kind and friendly administrative staffs) to do both exploratory and fundamental researches. I really enjoyed my staying
and the freedom. This summer is also a turning point of myresearch life: I will leave NIMS to join IMR in China. I feelthat this is a great opportunity for me to honor NIMS for its
nice research system, which institute not only provides career
position for many young scientists from different countries
but is also a place to develop friendships among them having
different cultures, characters, and attitudes.
The area of my research in NIMS is the evaluation of Ni3Al
thin foils and the development of new turbine disk alloys.
Since July, 2002, I worked as a NIMS postdoctoral fellowship under the supervision of Dr. Toshiyuki HIRANO. He
gave me an opportunity to enter the NIMS nucleus, for which
I am always grateful to him. My research objectives wereevaluation and improvement of the mechanical properties ofheavily coldrolled Ni3Al thin foils (less than 100 mm), especially its ductility. By studying on the notch fracture behaviors and on the roomtemperature ductility of coldrolled andrecrystallized Ni3Al foils, I found a method by controlling thegrain boundary character distribution of boronfree Ni3Al
foils to improve its roomtemperature ductility in air(1).
These results are very interesting and useful for both fundamental research and future applications.

Since July, 2004, as a Research Fellow of ``HTM 21
Project'' in the High Temperature Materials (HTM) Center,I was assigned to design new disk superalloys. We proposed anew idea of combining two types of g/g′alloys (Nibase andCobase superalloys)(2)(3). Based on this innovative concept,
we have succeeded in developing a new kind of NiCo base
C&W alloys (termed as TMW) with the world's highest heat
resistance of 998 K, exceeding that of the existing highstrength C&W Nibase alloy U720Li by 50 K. Under a commission from Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology
Development Organization (NEDO), we produced successfully a realscale pancake by TMW alloys in a joint projectwith Mitsubishi Materials Corporation. In the near future,
TMW alloys are expected to be made into turbine disks andcompressor blades for aircraft engines and industrial gas turbine applications.
Life in Tsukuba is calm, safe and wonderful. At the time of
our arrival, I felt that Tsukuba is the countryside, since I
could only see many tall, wild trees and few high buildings.
This is the natural aspect of Tsukuba. The city looks more
like a big garden with various trees, flowers, and greenbelts
that show their multicolored beauty in all the seasons. We
delight in taking a walk in the parks or along the sidewalks
during our spare time to enjoy the natural scenery. Anotherunique feature of Tsukuba is its scientific atmosphere: several tens of institutes are gathered, covering a wide range of
research fields. Visiting these institutes on their public open
days is always exciting for my family, especially my lovely
daughter. Third, since many foreign researchers reside here,
different cultures come together as in ``a melting pot.'' It is
possible to try foods with different tastes. I can easily findhere diverse restaurants characteristic of Japan, China, Italy,Iran, Korea, Thailand, and many other countries.
During my staying in Japan, I also meet a number of nicepeople who help me a lot not only with my research but alsowith my daily life. I have been deeply impressed by the people here for their kindness, honest and diligent. Even though
the Japanese are known around the world as a polite andresponsible nation, I was honestly surprised to notice how
caring they are for people around them. And they obey thepublic order, for example, the traffic regulations. It would begreat if Chinese could learn from the Japanese in this sense.
Last but not least, I would like to have this opportunity toexpress my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Toshiyuki HIRANO,Dr. Hiroshi HARADA, Dr. Masahiko DEMURA and Dr.
Yuefeng GU.

REFERENCES( 1 ) C. Y. Cui, M. Demura, K. Kishida and T. Hirano: J. Mater.
Res., 20(2005), 10541062.
( 2 ) C. Y. Cui, Y. F. Gu, H. Harada and A. Sato: Metall. Mater.
Trans. A., 36A(2005), 29212927.
( 3 ) C. Y. Cui, Y. F. Gu, H. Harada, D. H. Ping and A. Sato: Metall.
Mater. Trans. A., 37A(2006), 31833190.
(Recceived: July 24, 2009)(Superalloy Division, IMR, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72
Wenhua Road, Shenyang, Liaoning, China, 110016)

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