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Wood Physics Lab
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The lab studies the physical properties of wood and other materials made by living organisms, and how these materials relate to people.
AboutAbout the lab
Connecting wood and people
The Wood Physics Lab studies how tissues made by living organisms, wood above all, come to have their properties as materials.
In addition to mechanical strength as a structural member in timber construction, wood has many other functions, such as regulating indoor humidity and absorbing vibration.
Its physical properties are shaped by intertwined factors at many levels, from molecular and cell structure to the environment in which it is used.
The lab also studies the physiological and psychological responses of people when they use wood, and how institutions and policies should be designed so that biological materials become established in society.
Key terms
- Biological materials
- Materials that use tissue made by living organisms as it is, such as wood
- Physical properties
- Properties of a material itself, such as strength, how easily it conducts heat, and how easily it absorbs moisture
- Heat storage capacity
- The ability to store heat. The stored heat is released later, which softens changes in temperature.
NewsLab news
Students received the Graduate School Dean's Award and the Faculty Dean's Award, respectively
A doctoral student received the Student Excellent Poster Award at the Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society
A master's student received the Student Excellent Oral Presentation Award at the Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society
A student received the Best Poster Award at ISWST 2025
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies wood and other biological materials from a variety of angles. There are three main perspectives: the structure and physical properties of wood, the relationship between wood and heat and water, as in wood drying, and the relationship between biological materials and comfort in living spaces.
*Illustrative imageComfort Evaluation of Wooden Living Environments
This theme evaluates how comfortable indoor environments built with wood are for the people who spend time in them. The relationship between biological materials and comfort in living spaces is one of the lab's main perspectives.
*Illustrative imageHarvested Wood Products and the Global Environment
This theme evaluates how using products made from harvested trees (harvested wood products) affects the global environment.
*Illustrative imageThermal Properties of Wood and Moisture
Using a transient measurement method, this theme investigates the thermal properties of wood and clarifies how moisture moving through the wood affects those values.
*Illustrative imageWood-Based Materials with Heat Storage Capacity
This theme evaluates wood-based materials designed to store heat, in terms of both their physical properties as materials and the comfort that people feel.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Wood Physics Lab consist of faculty members, graduate students in the doctoral and master's programs, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorYukie SaitoPublications ↗
- ProfessorYuko TsunetsuguPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorTakashi ShimaPublications ↗
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
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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: “Plant stem (250 27) Longitudal radial section - woody stem” Doc. RNDr. Josef Reischig, CSc. / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Comfort Evaluation of Wooden Living Environments: “Plot 4.1 The Timber House ( )” Tom Parnell from Scottish Borders, Scotland / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Harvested Wood Products and the Global Environment: “Cross-laminated timber (detail)” Райн Александр Дмитриевич / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Thermal Properties of Wood and Moisture: “Neat organized wood drying rack ( )” edward stojakovic from chicago, United States / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Wood-Based Materials with Heat Storage Capacity: “Biegesperrholz 2009” Elke Wetzig (elya) / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Wood Material Science Lab): “20230630 Structure of Katajanokan Laituri - Helsinki, Suomi, Finland” Aarni Salomaa / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Environmental Materials Design Lab): “Sugi plantation along the Yoneshiro River, Akita Pref, Japan” 掬茶 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (International Plant Materials Science Lab): “Langkon Sabah Kilang-Kelapa-Sawit-Langkon-04” CEphoto, Uwe Aranas / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Forest Biosphere Management Lab): “UonumaPhoto Oshirakawa Buna Forest 201705” 魚沼市 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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