TEAM

Faculty members

Akira Kakugo | 角五 彰

Professor, Graduate School of Science, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Kyoto University

角五 彰

Akira KAKUGO

Born in Tokyo, Prof. Kakugo was interested in things that move beautifully like flocks of birds, schools of fish and swarm of bees. After graduating from Sakura High School in Chiba Prefecture, he entered Hokkaido University. He found biomolecular motors’ involvement in cell movement and muscle contraction, then conducted research on the mechanism of converting chemical energy into kinetic energy. In his master and doctor courses at the university, he developed the world’s smallest power unit driven by chemical energy with biomolecular motors. He was inaugurated as Associate Professor of Hokkaido University Graduate School of Science in 2011. Currently, he focuses on establishing biomolecular motors as “Active matter” and explore their emergent functions. From 2022, he was appointed as a Professor in the Graduate School of Science, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Kyoto University. As for his major awards, he received the Young Researcher Award for Science and Technology Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2012, the Academic Award for Polymer Science in 2016 and HFSP (Human Frontier Science Program) Research Grants Award in 2021.

ResearchGateResearchmap
Ibuki Kawabata

Associate Professor, Graduate School of Science, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Kyoto University

川又 生吹

Ibuki KAWAMATA

Inspired by the multi-scale hierarchy of various systems such as biochemical reactions and electric computers, Dr. Kawamata is interested in understanding and designing complex systems with designed interactions among molecular-level components, which eventually show an emergence of intelligent behavior. He has multidisciplinary experiences ranging from Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Robotics, and Biology. First, he studied at the University of Tokyo and receive a Ph.D from the Department of Computer Science, School of Information Science and Technology. There, he learned a theoretical aspect of programming chemical reaction networks made of biomolecules. In 2014, he moved to the Department of Robotics, School of Engineering at Tohoku University, and worked on experimentally assembling robot-like biomolecular systems. For example, he has developed mechanical nanostructures, reaction-diffusion systems, and biomolecular computers. He also had a chance to learn Biophysics during his visit to the Technical University of Munich in Germany. To disseminate the fundamental methodology of his research, he wrote a Japanese book about DNA origami, which is an intriguing emergent nanotechnology using DNA as a building material for molecular architectures. From 2023, he joined the Active Matter Lab in the Department of Physics, School of Science at Kyoto University.

Web pageResearchGateResearch Map

Lecturer, Graduate School of Science, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Kyoto University

市川 正敏

Masatoshi ICHIKAWA

Dr. Ichikawa’s research interests lie in Softmatter Physics, Nonlinear and Non-equilibrium Physics, and Biophysics. He has been affiliated with Kyoto University since his undergraduate years and obtained his Ph.D. in Physics. Following his graduation, he became an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Sciences in Kyushu University. He moved back to Kyoto University in 2009 to become a faculty member in the Graduate School of Science, where he is currently affiliated. He now studies self-propelled motion of a living cell and a non-living object, e.g., revealing the mechanism of how simple self-propelled objects obtain diversity of movement, and revealing that living micro-swimmers such as microorganisms utilize hydrodynamics and physics for their survival strategies.

Web page (jp)ResearchGateresearchmap
Masatoshi ICHIKAWA | 市川 正敏

Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Science, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Kyoto University

谷 茉莉

Marie TANI

Dr. Tani obtained her Ph.D in Physics from Ochanomizu University, and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at PMMH-ESPCI and Ritsumeikan University, respectively. She then became an assistant professor at Department of Physics, Faculty of Science in Tokyo Metropolitan University in 2018. In 2023, she joined the team as an assistant professor. She has been fascinated by a world full of beautiful forms and phenomena, observed in everyday life, that can be explained by simple physics. In particular, she works on the dynamics of soft and deformable matters, such as liquids, droplets, elastomers, foams and granular materials, and active matters.

Web pageResearchGateResearch Map
Marie Tani

Postdocs

Syeda Rubaiya Nasrin

Syeda Rubaiya Nasrin

JSPS Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Mechanobiology of Cytockeletal Proteins

I investigate the mechanical properties and functions of microtubules, a cytoskeletal protein by studying the effect of mechanical stress on them.

My hobby is travelling
My home country is Bangladesh

ResearchGate
Bokusui NAKAYAMA | 中山 牧水

Bokusui NAKAYAMA
中山 牧水

JSPS Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Nonequilibrium system

Nonequilibrium systemz.
I am interested in collective behaviors and swarm intelligences.


My hobby is eating & cooking
My home country is Japan

research-er
Mst Rubaya Rashid

Mst Rubaya Rashid

Postdoctoral Researcher


Molecular swarm




My hobby is travelling
My home country is Bangladesh

ResearchGate

Research assistants

Md Fahad Rahman Khan

Md Fahad Rahman Khan

Technical assistant

Purification of protein

My hobby is Youtubing
My home country is Bangladesh

Masahiro MAKUTA | 幕田 将宏

Masahiro MAKUTA
幕田 将宏

Research Staff

Biophysics, Activematter

Understanding how objects move in non-equilibrium system

JapaneseSAKE Sommelier
(comlpeted Sakeology Seminar 2022)
My home country is Japan

Hisako Yamamoto
山本 寿子

Administrative Staff/ Secretary




My home country is Japan


Nobuko Nishikawa
西川 信子

Administrative Staff/ Secretary




My home country is Japan

Students

Senjuti Nowroz

Senjuti Nowroz

Doctoral Course Student (D3)

MD simulation of protein-protein interaction

My hobby is Singing
My home country is Bangladesh

ResearchGate
Gong Yiming

Gong Yiming

Doctoral Course Student (D1)

My home country is China

KoheiOkuyama

Kohei OKUYAMA
奥山 紘平

Doctoral Course Student (D1)

Active matter, Microswimmers

Collective motion

My hobby is music (piano)
My home country is Japan

coming soon...

AN Jungmin

Master Course Student (M2)

Shotaro OGATA

Shotaro OGATA
尾形 正太郎

Master Course Student (M2)

My hobby is music
My home country is Japan

Shogo NAGAI | 永井 翔吾

Shogo NAGAI
永井 翔吾

Master Course Student (M1)

Biophysics, Activematter

Organoid, Cancer

My hobby is baseball
My home country is Japan

Nozomu SASAKI | 佐々木 望

Nozomu SASAKI
佐々木 望

Master Course Student (M1)

Biophysics, Activematter

Organoid, Cancer

My hobby is music
My home country is Japan

Kanta OSERA | 大瀬良 勘太

Kanta OSERA
大瀬良 勘太

Bachelor Course Student (B4)

My home country is Japan

Kenan MATSUI | 松井 健安

Kenan MATSUI
松井 健安

Bachelor Course Student (B4)

My home country is Japan

Taiyoh SASABE | 雀部 太陽

Taiyoh SASABE
雀部 太陽

Bachelor Course Student (B4)

My home country is Japan

Takuma NISHIZAWA | 西沢 拓馬

Takuma NISHIZAWA
西沢 拓馬

Bachelor Course Student (B4)

My hobby is programming
My home country is Japan

Alumni

Makito MIYAZAKI | 宮崎 牧人

Makito MIYAZAKI
宮崎 牧人

Joined RIKEN BDR as a team leader in Oct. 2023 (https://www.makitomiyazaki.info/top)  while maintaining the position as an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics, at Kyoto University.

ResearchGateResearchmap
Kei YAMAMOTO | 山本 啓

Kei YAMAMOTO
山本 啓

JSPS Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Joined RIKEN BDR in Oct. 2023

ResearchmapORCiD
Navarut Paengjun

Navarut Paengjun

Visiting Doctoral Course Student (D3)

Back to Thailand in Sept. 2023 to continue her research in VISTEC (https://www.vistec.ac.th/)

ResearchGate