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Kagi Lab
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A lab that uses high-pressure experiments to explore, from a chemical perspective, the materials of the Earth's deep interior.
AboutAbout the lab
The materials that make up the Earth, seen through chemistry
The Kagi Lab aims to understand the materials that make up the Earth, and the processes by which they change, from a chemical perspective.
Making use of techniques that allow in situ measurement while high pressure is maintained, the lab investigates the structures and transformations of various materials under high pressure.
The lab takes on a wide range of research topics, centered on spectroscopy and crystallography under high-pressure conditions corresponding to the Earth's deep interior.
The lab is open to recruiting students who are interested in geochemistry and high-pressure science, and accepts inquiries about lab visits at any time.
Key terms
- Neutron diffraction
- A method in which neutrons are directed at a material and the arrangement of its atoms is determined from how the neutrons scatter. The positions of hydrogen atoms are also easy to see.
- Polymorphs
- Substances that have the same composition but different atomic arrangements (crystal structures).
- Biomineralization
- The process by which living organisms form minerals within their bodies, as in seashells and bones.
NewsLab news
A doctoral student received the Outstanding Student Presentation Award at the JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting 2026
A paper on the incorporation of hydrogen into the high-pressure phase of FeS was published in ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
A master's student received the Graduate School of Science Research Encouragement Award
A paper on the enantiomeric enrichment of amino acids under high pressure was published in ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
Associate Professor Komatsu received the Academic Award of the Crystallographic Society of Japan
ResearchResearch themes
The lab takes on a variety of research topics, centered on spectroscopy and crystallography under high-pressure conditions corresponding to the Earth's deep interior. Using high-pressure experiments, it investigates hydrogen incorporated into the Earth's core, polymorphs of ice, crystallization inspired by how living organisms form minerals, the behavior of elements within minerals, and more.
*Illustrative imageHydrogenation of iron alloys at high temperature and high pressure
Focusing on hydrogen, a candidate for the light elements thought to be incorporated into the Earth's core, the lab uses neutron diffraction to investigate the crystal structures and properties of iron hydrides at high temperature and high pressure. The aim is to place experimental constraints on the amount of light elements in the cores of planets such as the Earth and Mars.
*Illustrative imageExploring the relationships among different forms of ice
Ice has many polymorphs with different crystal structures. By combining dielectric constant measurements under high pressure with neutron diffraction, the lab discovered an ice with a new crystal structure (ice XIX). It also investigates the relationship between high-pressure ice and salts.
*Illustrative imageCrystal growth inspired by living organisms
Inspired by the biomineralization of calcium carbonate, as seen in seashells, the lab produces crystals by heating and pressurizing amorphous calcium carbonate, and investigates their structures.
*Illustrative imageBehavior of elements within minerals
To understand how materials circulate in the Earth's deep interior, the lab uses high-pressure experiments with variable temperature to investigate how elements such as hydrogen, nitrogen, and fluorine behave within specific minerals.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Kagi Lab consist of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, visiting collaborative researchers, technical assistants, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorHiroyuki KagiPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorKazuki Komatsu
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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: “DiamondAnvilCell 003” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- Hydrogenation of iron alloys at high temperature and high pressure: “Widmanstatten patterns 1” Aram Dulyan (User:Aramgutang) / Public domain (cropped)
- Exploring the relationships among different forms of ice: “Snowflake macro photography 1” Alexey Kljatov / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Crystal growth inspired by living organisms: “Calcite crystal, rhomboid” James St. John / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Behavior of elements within minerals: “Peridotite mantle xenolith in phonotephrite (Peridot Mesa Flow, Middle Pleistocene, 580 ka; Peridot Mesa, San Carlos Volcanic Field, Arizona, USA) 26” James St. John / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Mikouchi Lab): “Tissint meteorite” Jon Taylor / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Hirata Lab): “ICP-AES Plasma Torch - 001” Sigmo / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Yamaguchi Lab): “Flexure-chert kyuzo-pass01” KAMUI / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (OFGS (Ocean Floor Geoscience / Okino-Kuroda Lab)): “Louisville seamount chain - bathymetry” World Data Center for Geophysics & Marine Geology (Boulder, CO), National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA / Public domain (cropped)
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