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Shimizu Lab
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The lab studies how to control the light carried by heat in order to use energy without waste.
AboutAbout the lab
Sustainable and efficient energy conversion.
The Shimizu Lab studies new energy conversion technologies for extracting and using energy without waste.
It aims at the effective use of new energy sources such as solar and geothermal energy, and of clean energy such as hydrogen and biofuels.
The lab currently works on improving the efficiency of energy systems that use thermal energy, and on fuel cells related to the effective use of hydrogen.
In its research on controlling thermal radiation wavelength by wavelength, the lab works on power generation that produces electricity from heat, cooling of electronic devices, energy-saving window glass, and more.
Key terms
- Thermal radiation
- Light (electromagnetic waves) that an object emits according to its temperature. Sunlight is one example.
- Emissivity
- A measure of how strongly an object emits thermal radiation compared with another object at the same temperature. It varies with wavelength.
- Thermophotovoltaic power generation
- A power generation method that converts the light emitted by a heated object into electricity using a solar cell.
ResearchResearch themes
Focusing on the effective use of limited resources and efficient energy conversion, the lab conducts research on supplying energy stably while protecting the environment. By controlling, wavelength by wavelength, the emissivity of the thermal radiation that objects emit, it aims to raise the efficiency of a variety of energy systems.
*Illustrative imageThermophotovoltaic power generation
This method generates electricity by directing thermal radiation from a heated object (an emitter) onto a solar cell. The lab designs and builds prototype selective emitters that strongly emit light at wavelengths that solar cells absorb easily, and conducts demonstration tests in systems that use solar heat or the combustion heat of gas burners.
*Illustrative imageHighly efficient cooling of electronic devices
Computer CPUs generate a lot of heat, and cooling data centers has also become a social issue. The lab studies technology that selects infrared wavelengths that the package resin absorbs poorly and makes the device emit them, releasing heat directly to the outside.
*Illustrative imagePower generation using the wave nature of thermal radiation
The lab aims at light-wave power generation, which treats light as an electromagnetic wave and rectifies the oscillation of its electric field to extract electric power. By controlling the shape of the barrier in metal-insulator-metal tunnel diodes, it is developing diodes and power generation structures that convert infrared light into electric power with high efficiency.
*Illustrative imageEnergy-saving window glass that changes with heat
Much of household energy is used for heating and cooling, and much of the heat flowing in and out passes through windows. Using thin films of vanadium oxide, whose properties change near room temperature, the lab is developing window glass whose characteristics switch naturally between summer and winter.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Shimizu Lab consist of faculty, secretaries, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2025
- Associate ProfessorMakoto Shimizu
VoicesStudent voices
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Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Shimizu Lab
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Maruta LabFaculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringEnergy dynamics researchThe information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
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: “NASA Earth radiation thermal balance energy budget atmosphere” NASA Earth Observatory / Public domain (cropped)
- Thermophotovoltaic power generation: “Kishimura Industry Ranger Hybrid Wing van Solar power truck” Comyu / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Highly efficient cooling of electronic devices: “ASRock GE PRO-HT - CPU on heat sink-1035” Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Power generation using the wave nature of thermal radiation: “Diode Parade ( )” Dave Ruske / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Energy-saving window glass that changes with heat: “Glass facade building at Bamberg” Sneha G Gupta / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Shigeta-Sugimoto Lab): “Plasma Cutter” Tim Drivas / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Muneoka Lab): “Nano-plasma” Al126 at wiki / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Sato-Yamaguchi Lab): “Battery researcher” Altynay N Zhumabekova / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Maruta Lab): “ISS-65 Mark Vande Hei works on the Combustion Integrated Rack” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
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