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Active Matter Lab
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A lab that tackles the mysteries of life through active matter, materials that move on their own.
AboutAbout the lab
Even small molecules become a great force when they swarm.
The Active Matter Lab (Spatiotemporal Order and Biological Physics) studies "active matter," materials that convert energy stored in chemicals or light into motion and move spontaneously.
Using biomolecular motors (such as microtubules and kinesin), DNA, microorganisms, and colloids as materials, the lab investigates swarming, self-assembly, and pattern formation.
By pursuing these principles, the lab aims to create new materials and approach the mysteries of life.
It is an experimental lab that uses the methods of physics to elucidate biological phenomena and non-equilibrium and nonlinear phenomena.
Key terms
- Active matter
- Matter made up of many particles or cells that use energy on their own to move
- Biomolecular motor
- A molecular component in cells that moves using chemical energy, such as kinesin, which walks along microtubules
- Marangoni convection
- A flow that occurs at a liquid surface when surface tension varies from place to place because of differences in temperature or concentration
NewsLab news
A paper measuring the force of microtubule swarms with electromagnetic tweezers was published in ACS Nano
Associate Professor Marie Tani was selected for the 13th Toshiko Yuasa Prize (Silver Prize)
Associate Professor Marie Tani was selected for the 4th (2026) AAPPS-JPS Award
A master's student received the Outstanding Student Presentation Award from the Physical Society of Japan
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies active matter, which converts energy stored in chemicals or light into mechanical work and moves spontaneously. By pursuing its scientific principles and creating new materials, the lab aims to uncover the mysteries of life.
*Illustrative imageSwarming Molecular Robots
Molecular robots made of biomolecular motors are each tiny, but when they swarm they can do work such as transporting large crystals. The lab is also measuring the force of swarms of microtubules driven by kinesin using electromagnetic tweezers.
*Illustrative imageReaction–Diffusion Patterns Made with DNA
Using DNA as components, the lab designs mechanisms in which patterns emerge from the combination of reaction and diffusion (reaction–diffusion systems), and programs artificial pattern formation.
*Illustrative imageSelf-Propelled Droplets and Non-Equilibrium Interfaces
When a temperature or concentration gradient exists at an interface, Marangoni convection occurs, and surface tension spontaneously breaks symmetry, driving droplets and interfaces autonomously. The lab studies the bifurcation of motion modes and the deformation mechanisms that appear in this process.
MembersFaculty
The Active Matter Lab consists of faculty members, doctoral, master's, and fourth-year undergraduate students, and technical assistants.As of 2026
- ProfessorAkira Kakugo
- Associate ProfessorIbuki Kawamata
- Associate ProfessorMarie Tani
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: “DNA Origami Triangular” Matthias A. Fenner / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Swarming Molecular Robots: “Motility of kinesin en” Motility_of_kinesin.png: Slagt derivative work: Bcjordan (talk) / Public domain (cropped)
- Reaction–Diffusion Patterns Made with DNA: “DNA ( )” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- Self-Propelled Droplets and Non-Equilibrium Interfaces: “Wine legs shadow” FlagSteward / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Statistical Physics and Dynamics Lab): “Phase separation in Kupchan partitioning” Ikramul Hasan Imran / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kyoto University Uematsu Lab): “Cluster of sea foam bubbles on Muriwai Beach” Avenue / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Theoretical Chemistry Lab): “Bovine F1-ATPase inhibited by DCCD (dicyclohexylcarbodiimide) PDB 1e79” Emw / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Mochizuki Lab): “Gene-gene-interaction-network-of-84-genes-upregulated-in-both-PT-and-LM” Zhenyuan Qian, Guobing Zhang, Guangyuan Song, Ji Shi, Lijie Gong, Yiping Mou, Yong Han / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
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