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Katashima-Chung Lab
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A lab that designs soft materials matching human sensibility, starting from the molecular level.
AboutAbout the lab
Advancing "molecular kansei engineering"
The Katashima-Chung Lab studies biomaterials, with the rheology of soft matter as its core technique.
Soft matter, such as food and cosmetics, is a class of materials with properties between those of a solid and a liquid.
Human body tissues have similar properties, so designing materials that come into contact with the body requires understanding and controlling how they deform and flow.
The lab aims to establish "molecular kansei engineering," a field that numerically evaluates people's sensory needs for materials (kansei, or human sensibility) and designs materials from the molecular level.
Key terms
- Soft matter
- Soft materials with properties between those of a solid and a liquid, such as polymers, gels, and foods
- Rheology
- The study of how materials deform and flow
- Viscoelasticity
- The combination of elasticity (the tendency to return to the original shape, like a spring) and viscosity (the tendency to flow, like a liquid)
NewsLab news
A master's student received the Excellent On-Demand Presentation Award at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Polymer Science, Japan
A master's student received the Best Presentation Award at the Annual Meeting on Rheology
A master's student received the Department Chair's Award
A master's student received a Poster Award at the student presentation session of the Kanto Young Polymer Researchers' Meeting
A paper on the nonlinear viscoelasticity of transient networks was published in an academic journal
ResearchResearch themes
The lab's overarching goal is to establish a discipline (molecular kansei engineering) that uses rheology to precisely design materials matching human sensibility, starting from the molecular level. To this end, the lab aims to establish methods for quantitatively evaluating sensibility, clarify the relationship between rheology and molecular dynamics, and develop techniques to freely control the rheology of materials.
*Illustrative imageRelationship between Rheology and Molecular Motion
Using model viscoelastic liquids, the lab clarifies the relationship between how a material deforms and flows (rheology) and how its molecules move internally (molecular dynamics).
*Illustrative imageMeasuring Rheology in Microscale Spaces
The lab is working to establish a new method for evaluating deformation and flow in extremely small spaces (microscale rheology).
*Illustrative imageRelationship between Sensibility and Rheology
Using model viscoelastic materials, the lab clarifies the relationship between human perception (sensibility) and rheology, and applies the findings to the creation of biomaterials.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Katashima-Chung Lab consist of faculty members and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- LecturerTakuya KatashimaPublications ↗
- ProfessorUng-Il ChungPublications ↗
- Project LecturerAyano Fujisawa
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Superabsorber Hydrogel KSG 2917 pK” Petra Klawikowski / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Relationship between Rheology and Molecular Motion: “Fluid Christmas Tree” Bavand Keshavarz / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Measuring Rheology in Microscale Spaces: “Colloid” KarlGaff / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Relationship between Sensibility and Rheology: “Hydrogels” Azizbekpm / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Takai Lab): “Microfluidic chip for point-of-care medical devices” FMNLab / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Cabral Lab): “SEM Lymphocyte” Unknown photographer/artist
（擬似カラー加工：DO11.10） / Public domain (cropped) - Related lab (Miyata Lab): “Nanoparticles in Brain Metastases ( )” NIH Image Gallery from Bethesda, Maryland, USA / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Ejima Lab): “Water droplets in a lotus leaf” Aathavan jaffna / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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