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Earth and Planetary Materials Science Lab
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The lab synthesizes minerals itself to explore how Earth and the planets work at the atomic level.
AboutAbout the lab
Reading Earth and the planets through the properties of minerals
The Earth and Planetary Materials Science Lab studies, at the atomic level, the properties of the minerals that make up Earth and the planets.
Minerals are the smallest units of the materials that make up Earth and the planets, and the many phenomena that occur there ultimately trace back to the properties of minerals.
The lab synthesizes minerals itself under controlled conditions, aiming to clarify their physicochemical properties and the mechanisms by which they form.
Because many ceramic materials are made of minerals, understanding the properties of minerals is also important from the standpoint of materials science.
Key terms
- Perovskite structure
- One way atoms are arranged in a crystal. The most abundant mineral in Earth's deep interior also has this structure.
- Biomineralization
- The process by which living organisms form minerals within their bodies, as in shells and bones.
- Subduction zone
- A place where an oceanic plate sinks into Earth's interior. Materials from the surface are carried to depth.
ResearchResearch themes
Minerals are the smallest units of the materials that make up Earth and the planets. The lab synthesizes minerals itself under controlled conditions, aiming to clarify their physicochemical properties and formation mechanisms at the atomic level.
*Illustrative imageCrystal chemistry of perovskite-structured minerals
Bridgmanite, the most abundant mineral on Earth, is a silicate with the perovskite structure found at depths of 670 to 2,700 km. By combining experiments on titanates, which are stable even at atmospheric pressure, with high-pressure devices such as diamond anvil cells, the lab investigates how various elements dissolve into the structure and how they change it.
*Illustrative imageCrystal growth of carbonate minerals and biominerals
Carbonate minerals, which form biominerals such as shells, do not turn directly into a stable phase from an aqueous solution; they form by passing through metastable and amorphous phases. Through synthesis experiments and computer simulations, the lab studies this process, connecting inorganic crystal growth with biomineralization in order to understand, in physicochemical terms, the role living organisms play in making minerals.
*Illustrative imageBehavior of light elements explored through high-temperature, high-pressure experiments
The lab investigates where in Earth, and in what forms, light elements such as hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen exist. Centered on high-temperature, high-pressure experiments that reproduce the temperatures and pressures of subduction zones, it also covers the chemical evolution of organic matter inside icy bodies, and phosphorus and the origin of life.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Earth and Planetary Materials Science Lab consist of research staff, graduate students in the doctoral and master's programs, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorTakaya Nagai
- Associate ProfessorJun Kawano
- Associate ProfessorAyako Shinozaki
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “Calcite-20188” Robert M. Lavinsky / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Crystal chemistry of perovskite-structured minerals: “Perovskite-155026” Robert M. Lavinsky / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Crystal growth of carbonate minerals and biominerals: “Abalone nacre” Mauro Cateb / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Behavior of light elements explored through high-temperature, high-pressure experiments: “PIA19048 realistic color Europa mosaic edited” NASA / Jet Propulsion Lab-Caltech / SETI Institute / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (宇宙測地学研究室): “Sisters07 TheHusband gps station 05-10-07” Dave Sherrod, en:United States Geological Survey / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (岩石学火山学研究グループ): “Sarychev Volcano edit” Sarychev_Volcano.jpg: NASA derivative work: Avenue (talk) / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (地震学研究室): “Ashio Seismological Observatory” Qurren / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (惑星宇宙グループ): “Terrestrial planet sizes” Mercury image: NASA/JHUAPLVenus image: NASAEarth image: NASA/Apollo 17 crewMars image: ESA/MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/RSSD/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA / Public domain (cropped)
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