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Kusaka Lab
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A lab with a 100-year history that studies automotive engines and batteries.
AboutAbout the lab
Taking on the challenge of advancing the heart of the automobile
The Kusaka Lab studies automotive engines and the powertrains of hybrid and electric vehicles.
Tracing its roots to the Internal Combustion Engine Laboratory established in 1918, the lab continues hands-on research using actual engines and equipment.
Developing engines and catalysts compatible with carbon-neutral fuels is one of the lab's central research themes.
Key terms
- Carbon-neutral fuel
- Fuel, such as plant-derived fuel, that can be regarded as not increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide when burned
- Powertrain
- The entire system that drives a vehicle, including the engine, motor, and battery
- Catalyst
- A substance that cleans exhaust gas from engines and the like through chemical reactions
NewsLab news
A master's student won the Ono Azusa Memorial Award
Doctoral and master's students won Research Encouragement Awards from the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan
A master's student won a Young Presenter Award at the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Prof. Kusaka and a master's student won the Best Paper Award at the SAE 2024 Energy & Propulsion Conference
A master's student won the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan's FY2023 Graduate Student Research Encouragement Award
ResearchResearch themes
The Kusaka Lab studies automotive engines and the powertrains of hybrid and electric vehicles. Centered on engines and catalysts that use carbon-neutral fuels, the lab conducts hands-on research using actual engines and equipment.
*Illustrative imageEngines with Higher Thermal Efficiency
The lab researches next-generation Otto-cycle engines that greatly increase the thermal efficiency of gasoline engines.
*Illustrative imageDiesel Engines with Higher Thermal Efficiency
The lab researches next-generation Diesel-cycle engines that greatly increase the thermal efficiency of diesel engines.
*Illustrative imageHigher-Performance Exhaust Purification Catalysts
The lab researches making catalysts that purify exhaust gas both higher-performing and more compact, tailored to engines that run on carbon-neutral fuels.
*Illustrative imageOptimal Design of Fuels and Engines
The lab researches jointly optimizing the design of carbon-neutral fuels and the design of engines.
MembersFaculty
The Kusaka Lab's members consist of faculty, technical staff, secretaries, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorJin Kusaka
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.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
On a 4-point scale, ● marks where students' answers fall
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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: “Crankshaft jap grayscale” Alex Kovach / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Engines with Higher Thermal Efficiency: “Match directly after ignition” Pixelmaniac pictures / CC0 (cropped)
- Diesel Engines with Higher Thermal Efficiency: “Smoke Incense AB” Andrzej Barabasz / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Higher-Performance Exhaust Purification Catalysts: “Καταλύτης Βενζινοκίνητου Οχήματος 05” Galadrid / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Optimal Design of Fuels and Engines: “Godorf Cologne Rhineland-Refinery-06” CEphoto, Uwe Aranas / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (中垣研究室): “Red Trail Energy ethanol CO2 capture plant Richardton ND1” Acroterion / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (岩田研究室): “Virginia Tech's CHARLI humanoid robot on display at AAAI 2010” Jiuguang Wang / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (上杉研究室): “Shōfū-an the view of the roji from the nijiriguchi of the koma Chūō-ku Fukuoka” Hirho / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (高西研究室): “Atlas frontview 2013” DARPA / Public domain (cropped)
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