Join Us

To join our group

Our group welcomes international students from diverse backgrounds. We welcome applicants who wish to conduct and complete the degree studies for Master's and/or PhD course. We can accept applications for postdoc positions. Applicants must have passion, high ethical standards including integrity, and English language proficiency.

To join our group, the applicant has to apply to a relevant Graduate Major, either the Graduate Major in Mechanical Engineering (in Dept. of Mech. Eng.), Graduate Major in Global Engineering for Development, Environment and Society (GEDES, in Dept. of Transdisciplinary Sci. and Eng.), or Graduate Major in Nuclear Engineering (in Dept. of Mech. Eng.).

If you wish to enroll as an international student, please use the International Graduate Program (IGP). Please note that before officially applying, you must contact Prof. Murakami by email with your information and undergo an interview (mostly online) to obtain his consent for your formal application. If you have questions, please feel to ask him by email.

Our group is in the Future Energy Division of the Laboratory for Zero-Carbon Energy, a part of Institute of Science Tokyo.

Philosophy and purpose of our group

Environmental and energy issues, including climate change, will affect the future survival of humanity and are global challenges that must be resolved through cooperation between the international community and various sectors of society. In the science and technology sector, it is particularly important to develop effective and affordable (i.e., commercializable) energy utilization technologies, low-cost, highly efficient carbon dioxide (CO₂) separation and capture technologies, and technologies for separating pollutants and rare substances.

Taking advantage of the high degree of freedom and risk-taking position that are uniquely given to universities, and recognizing the accompanying social mission and expectations, our group is taking on the challenge of creating new environmental and energy technologies that will contribute to resolving these issues. Without bound by existing concepts and the concept of belonging to an academic area, we are conducting R&Ds and aiming at the social implementation of the outcomes generated, in order to contribute to the well-being of humanity and the improvement of society.

Our group aims to make a significant contribution to humanity and society, with the philosophy of "contributing to the well-being of humanity and the improvement of society through the exploration of uncharted territory in science and technology, and nurturing individuals with outstanding vision and ability."

Our group is recruiting students for bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs. Your previous specializations and departments are not very important. We accept lab tour throughout the year. If you are interested, please contact Prof. Murakami by email.

Research themes

We primarily use experiments, but also use calculations (quantum chemistry calculations, thermal fluid calculations, etc.) depending on the situation. When joining this group, you don't need to worry about it being different from the subjects you have studied so far or your current specialty. There is strong communication within the lab. Newcomers are advised on the textbooks, papers, and skills they should read at each stage so that they can grow at an appropriate pace.

Currently, you can choose from the following research themes.

• Development of a new generation of solid CO₂ absorbent materials with ultra-low energy consumption, high performance, and high durability 　　
  • Example: News from EurekAlert! (AAAS), "New 2.5-dimensional skeletons in porous organic crystals are key to superior CO₂ separation"
  • Example: News from AZoM, "Porous Crystals Excel at CO₂ Capture"
  • Ongoing project at the GTIE (Greater Tokyo Innovation Ecosystem) Entrepreneurial Support Program
  • We aim to achieve social implementation in collaboration with industry. We are engaged in both material and system development. We use an emerging material platform of covalent organic frameworks (COFs).
• Development of a new generation of solid electrolytes that achieve ultra-high ionic conductivity (new type of all-solid-state battery) 　　
  • We aim to achieve social implementation in collaboration with industry. We use an emerging material platform of covalent organic frameworks (COFs).
  • Recently, we have succeeded in forming a membrane and have begun measuring the Li-ion conductivity (unpublished).
  • We are developing COF membranes with higher performance and strength. Next, we will move on to cell assembly and battery demonstration.
• Development of liquid-based power generation technology from waste heat (forced-flow thermoelectrochemical power generation, thermocells) 　　
  • Example: News from Phys.org, "Thermo-chemical power generation integrated with forced convection cooling"
  • Example: Our paper from Sust. Energ. & Fuels, "Thermogalvanic energy harvesting from forced convection cooling of 100–200 °C surfaces generating high power density"
  • Example: Our paper from Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., "Thermoelectrochemical Seebeck coefficient and viscosity of Co-complex electrolytes rationalized by the Einstein relation, Jones–Dole B coefficient, and quantum-chemical calculations"
  　　　
  • In recent years, liquid thermoelectric conversion is becoming a hot topic area worldwide. Because liquid-based thermoelectric power generation can be combined with fluid engineering and liquid cooling, it can open up a vast interdisciplinary frontier encompassing heat-and-mass transfer, fluid dynamics, molecular thermodynamics, electrochemistry, and solution chemistry.
  • We are developing scaled-up power generation cells aiming to implement them in society in collaboration with industry.
• Development of innovative filter materials that efficiently remove environmental pollutants and harmful molecules (PFAS, etc.) 　　
  • This is a new theme that has just started. The goal is to be achieved by forming COF into a functional membrane.
  • We will begin collaborating with industry and aim to implement this technology in society.

For more information, see Research.

Atmosphere, policies, and uniqueness of our group

Our group has good communication among members, a creative energy, and excellent research facilities and experimental environment. The student room and laboratory rooms are located near Midorigaoka train station and are kept clean and in good condition. Members seem to be very caring towards their juniors.

In our group, each student works on their own research theme. Our policy is to develop students' problem-solving ability, encourage them to act independently, and help them acquire useful science and technology skills, how to set goals, how to proceed with research and collaborative projects, and presentation skills.

What makes our group unique is that we are serious about implementing our research in society, and we believe that we can achieve this. It is important to think carefully about the research topic at the stage of setting it, clarify what social issues we want to solve, and begin research with a vision of the impact it will have when it is implemented in society, and to check the vision from time to time as we proceed. During research, we often encounter situations that fall short of our initial expectations. However, changing our course in such cases can lead to more advantageous ideas and unexpected breakthroughs if we confront the problem head-on.

From another perspective, it is important to have both a basic science methodology that "zooms in" on the micro- and molecular-scale and its assemblies, and a "zoom out" vision that considers in advance the impact that the technology will have on society and industry once it is scaled up and implemented. Thus, what makes our group unique is that we have a consistent research mindset, from setting research themes to social implementation, and from micro-basic theories to macro-social impacts. Currently, we are conducting collaboration with many companies, creating new technologies, and pursuing their implementation in society.

Seminar presentations, conference presentations, paper writing

We have a group seminar every Friday afternoon where students give progress presentations. Students are divided into two groups and give progress presentations every two weeks. Through this seminar, students can listen to other students' presentations, gain new knowledge, and improve their presentation skills.

We actively presents at academic conferences. If a student acquire outcomes, the student may be able to present them at conferences. Students can also become the first author and publish the results in an academic paper. Writing guidance will be provided by Prof. Murakami, who has ample experience in writing papers.