1. Organic light-emitting materials for OLEDs or dyes for OPVs are developed.

2. Novel antiaromatic compounds such as Sondheimer-Wong diynes and diarenopentalenes are developed as new types of organic materials.

3. Organic syntheses using organotin cluster as catalysts are developed.

Numerical and experimental studies on transport phenomena, e.g. chemical reaction in beaker, indoor environment with air conditioner, natural environment, fluid flow and heat transfer in industrial equipment
■ patent number: 4931065
title of the invention: collision micro mixer
objective: increasing the chemical reaction efficiency by the collision of water and organic phases in the micro-channel
■ patent number 5504526
title of the invention: formation of slug flow with micro-reactor
objective: increasing the chemical reaction efficiency with the vortices generated by continuously changing the shapes of water and organic phases inside the micro-channel with zigzag walｌ

Recently, ε-Fe2O3 has attracted interest because of its magnetic potentiality, but there are some difficulties to straightforwardly obtain the pure/single ε-Fe2O3 phase. We have found that ε-Fe2O3 crystallizes epitaxially on crystals of mullite in our study on a Japanese traditional stoneware called “Bizen” . Since the particle morphology of ε-Fe2O3 and the relative ε-Fe2O3-to-mullite crystallographic orientation strongly depend on the oxygen partial pressure during firing and the temperature range, the formation conditions is very complicated. We believe that elucidating the formation mechanism of ε-Fe2O3 will contribute to the development of novel magnetic materials.
We are also working on the development of Al-B-C high-temperature structural materials. Ternary metal borocarbides, Al3BC3, have been considered as promising candidates for lightweight structural components. We have succeeded in synthesizing hexagonal plate-like Al3BC3 particles by a simple synthesis method, and the sintered sample exhibited anisotropic mechanical properties and higher bending strength due to particle orientation. Currently, we are proceeding with various physical property measurements.

By taking advantage of pneumatic actuators that have features of higher force / mass ratio, lightweight and flexibility based on compressibility, we have developed low-cost wearable actuators and low-cost home-based rehabilitation devices that can be disposable after using it. Specifically, we developed a flexible pneumatic cylinder that can be used even if the cylinder bends. A spherical actuator that consists of two flexible pneumatic cylinders have been also developed as an application for portable rehabilitation device. We have also developed a low-cost wearable servo valve using buckled tubes, an artificial muscle with built-in displacement sensor and a pipe inspection robot using extension type flexible pneumatic actuators. In addition, aiming at globalization for students, all graduate students in our laboratory have presentation in international conferences.

Through advanced imaging techniques, biochemistry, and gene expression analyses, I work to understand the mechanisms of how plants adapt to changes in the environment.

(1) Mechanisms of Plant Motion and Growth 　Many people believe that plants do not move. However, the reality is that plants respond by sensing changes in light intensity, color, and temperature and moving. I focus on the behavior of microtubules in plant cells, which may be playing a key role in regulating plant motion and growth. This project tries to answer this classic, unanswered question in plant physiology, one that had been a focus of Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882), the Father of Evolution.

(2) Mechanisms of Plant Environmental Responses To adapt to environmental change, plants must survive and reproduce through seed production because they cannot physically leave the place where their seeds germinate. In particular, my focus is on how plants adapt to higher temperatures. As we face the challenge of climate change and global warming, understanding mechanisms of biological adaptation to higher temperatures is critical.

(3) Functions of Small RNAs on Plant Embryogenesis and Development Small RNAs play important roles to regulate plant embryogenesis and developments. I discovered a novel gene expression mechanism involving small RNAs. This project tries to further develop this new field in plant physiology.

“Home economics” in school education aims to improve the skill of homemaking through the velationships between oneself and their family, their consumption habit, their eating habit, their dwelling life, their clothing life and so on.
“Home economics” is concerned with not only our claily life but some subjects life social studies and science. Moreover it’s very important to reflect on your home life so far.
I investigate how “Home economics” should be and I design exciting, satisfactory and practical classes.

Mastitis is the most devastating economic burden in dairy farms. We have studied the epidemiology of acute mastitis caused by coliforms, the relationship between clinical symptoms and cytokines and acute phase proteins, and the relationship between symptoms and prognosis, and found a link. In addition, in the treatment of mastitis, it was found that the application of a lotion with antibacterial activity (Ceramella) to the inflamed udder, in addition to conventional antibiotic treatment, decreases breast induration and somatic cell count. Studies have shown that the shorter the milk is cultured, the more causative organisms are detected in bacteriological tests of milk. As for prevention of mastitis, administration of a leptospirosis vaccine has been shown to reduce clinical forms of mastitis. It was also found that the severity of symptoms of acute mastitis caused by Escherichia coli was related to the level of ionized calcium in the blood at the time of initial examination. We are studying prevention, treatment, and prognosis of mastitis in dairy cows. It was found that there is a relationship between blood physiological changes in dairy cows in response to climatic changes and stress. Based on the results of this research, we would like to further our research on improving milk productivity.

I am interested in a quantum spin system where nontrivial magnetic ground states appear. To investigate those experimentally, vaious methods are utilized from static and dyanmic points of view.
By reducing the system saize some materials is weakening , and another is strengthening in magnetic properties. To learn more about the origins of those, I am conducting magnetic measurements with high sensitivity.
Experimetnal studies on hydrogen-induced phenomena are also one of my essential research activities. Also, I am carrying out the development of a new method to evaluate hydrogen absorption properties aiming at high-performance hydrogen strage.

We are conducting research using coordination chemistry techniques to create novel substances with unprecedented functionalities based on metal complexes. A metal complex is a compound in which a metal ion (such as copper or iron) forms strong bonds with surrounding molecules, known as ligands.
In metal complexes, the metal ion and ligands bind together in specific arrangements or shapes, forming a stable structure as a unified compound. Through these interactions, metal complexes can exhibit new functional properties that were not observed in the individual metal ions.
Recently, we have been synthesizing porphyrin derivatives containing metal ions at their centers and using these complexes as catalysts to explore oxidation reactions using only oxygen molecules from the air and light.