Stefan Keppler-Tasaki
Please close your eyes for a moment and think about your research project. What do you see at first?
When I close my eyes and think about my work on the research project, the first thing I see are the Japanese kamikaze pilots described by the exiled German novelist Alfred Döblin in his Second World War novel 'Hamlet oder Die lange Nacht nimmt ein Ende' (1956) (Tales of a Long Night).
Please name three things that you spontaneously connect to Albert Einstein!
Albert Einstein makes me think of: Dahlem, old film clips and Thomas Mann.
What do you do first thing in the morning when you arrive at your workplace, and why?
When I arrive at my workplace in the morning, the first thing I do is stare out of my window with its view over western Tokyo and listen to my computer booting up. I find it clears my head.
What would your research project look like if it was a piece of art?
If my research project was a piece of art, it would look like a triangular pendulum suspended from a long thread.
Who or what inspires you at work?
As I work, I am inspired by the design perfection of the cat lying underneath my desk.
March 2015