Learn more about working and living in Japan from SKCM² Researcher Dr. David Burke

WPI-SKCM² is an international research center based in Japan that brings together researchers from around the world to study knot topology and chirality across disciplines and scales.  As part of our mission to foster international collaboration, we host and are actively recruiting promising early-career researchers from diverse backgrounds.

We recently spoke with Dr. David Burke, a WPI-SKCM² researcher and specially-appointed assistant professor at Hiroshima University, who shared his impressions of Japan:

“It was like seeing a different world for me… and I was very impressed with the country as a whole — it’s super clean, the people are super polite, the transportation is phenomenal, and the food is amazing. I really fell in love with the place.”  

He added:

“Not only is this a country I enjoy spending time in, I think there are really good career opportunities here.”

Burke’s research focuses on the synthesis of stimuli-responsive porous materials, and he works with WPI-SKCM² Principal Investigator Professor Hiroshi Sato. Prior to joining WPI-SKCM², Burke was a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow at WPI-iCeMS at Kyoto University.  Burke earned his PhD in Chemistry from Northwestern University, USA, where he developed new synthetic methods for two-dimensional polymer thin films and investigated their performance as chemical separation membranes and electronics.  

During his undergraduate and graduate studies, Burke spent time in Japan through a summer internship at the University of Tokyo, and later through mentoring high school students as part of the Tokyo Innovation Summer Program.

Watch the full video interview with Dr. David Burke to hear more about his life and research in Japan.

Applications for doctoral and postdoctoral positions at WPI-SKCM² starting in Fall 2025 are now open.