On March 4, 2009 I join a field trip to thermal power plant in Kawasaki city and Electric Power Historical Museum in Yokohama city which was organized by Professor Hwang Insang and supported by Graduate School Office.
We gathered at Musashi-sakai station in the morning and then travelled by train and bus. We visited Electric Power Historical Museum first. The staff provided us useful information related to history of electricity industry. Moreover, we saw models which helped us to know more about electricity generation. After lunch time, we visited the thermal power plant in Kawasaki city. There are also models to explain how electricity is generated by different sources such as thermal, nuclear and so on. Especially, we learnt operation of the plant. When I visited system control division where a few experts were controlling overall operation, I felt interested due to advanced technology. Because my thesis is on performance efficiency measurement of electric power companies, I made good use of this chance to ask the staff of the plant about some problems and I got satisfied answers. That was great! The trip ended in the evening and we came back to Tokyo.
I think field trips are very useful as participants will have practical knowledge of a specific area. And I am so grateful to Professor Hwang Insang and Graduate School Office for organizing such a good trip for us.

Vo Lam Thuy Trang