Team Director
2021- Professor Adjunct, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University
2018- Team Leader, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (from 2025, name changed to Team Director)
2014: Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo
2009: Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo
2009: Ph.D. in Chemistry, The University of Tokyo (Prof. Eiichi Nakamura)
2006: Visiting Researcher, The University of Chicago (Prof. Rustem Ismagilov)
Accolades: RIKEN BAIHO Award (2023), JSPC Award for Excellence, Japanese Society for Process Chemistry (2021), Incentive Award in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan (2015); The Young Scientists’ Prize (The Commendation for Science and Technology by MEXT, 2015); Thieme Chemistry Journal Award (2015); Banyu Chemist Award (2014); Diploma of Excellency from the Ministry of Education of Romania (2013); Incentive Award of the Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo (2009); Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship (DC2); Tonen International Foundation Scholarship; Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship
Motto: Be a simple kind of man / Be something you love and understand. (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Hobbies: tennis, sport bikes, ski, outdoors
Sobi ASAKO Researchmap ORCID ResearcherID
Senior Scientist
2023-present: JST FOREST (Fusion Oriented REsearch for disruptive Science and Technology) researcher
2021–present: Visiting Researcher, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
2019–presnet: Senior Scientist, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
2018–2019: Visiting Researcher, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
2014–2019: Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University
2014: Ph.D., Science, The University of Tokyo (Prof. Eiichi Nakamura)
2011–2014: Research Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS, DC1)
2011: Visiting Student, Pierre and Marie Curie University（Prof. Max Malacria, Prof. Etienne Derat）
Accolades: Dean’s Award of the Faculty of Science, The University of Tokyo (2009)、Dean’s Award of the Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo (2011)、Best Poster Award, The 58th Symposium on Organometallic Chemistry (2011)、4th HOPE Meeting fellow (2012)、Best Student Presentation Award, The 93rd Annual Meeting of the Chemical Society of Japan (2013)、17th IUPAC International Symposium on Organometallic Chemistry Directed Towards Organic Synthesis (OMCOS 17) Poster Award (2013)、Best Poster Award, The 3rd Chemical Society of Japan (CSJ) Chemistry Festa (2013)、Science and Technology Award, Okayama Foundation for Science and Technology (2017)、Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Award, Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry of Japan (2018)、Presentation Award at the 99th Annual Meeting of the Chemical Society of Japan (2019)、Synthetic Organic Chemistry Award (Technology), The Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan (2020)、Young Scholar Lectures of Chemical Society of Japan (2020)、RIKEN Industry Partnership Award (2021)、JSPC award, the Japanese Society for Process Chemistry (2021)、CSRS Incentive Award (2023)、Thieme Chemistry Journals Award (2023)、RIKEN BAIHO Award (RIKEN Excellent Achievement Award) (2023)、The Chemical Society of Japan Award for Young Chemists (2023)
Motto: Aut viam inveniam aut faciam
Hobbies: visiting temples and shrines, cheering for teams in Yokohama, learning French
Yuichiro MUTOH link
Senior Scientist
Email: yuichiro.mutoh(at)riken.jp
2021: Adjunct Lecturer, Faculty of Science Division II, Tokyo University of Science
2020: Senior Scientist, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
2020: Researcher, Faculty of Engineering, Gifu University (Prof. Toshiaki Murai)
2012: Assistant Professor / Junior Associate Professor, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science (Department of Chemistry, Prof. Shinichi Saito）
2007: Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University (Department of Applied Chemistry, Prof. Youichi Ishii)
2005: Postdoctoral researcher, Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University (Prof. Fumiyuki Ozawa)
2005: Ph.D. (Engineering), Material Engineering Division, Graduate School of Engineering, Gifu University (Prof. Toshiaki Murai）
2002: Visiting student, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University (Prof. Masahiro Murakami）
Accolades: 日本学術振興会平成28年度「科研費」審査委員表彰 (2016), Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Award in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan (2013), Best Student Presentation Award, The 84th Annual Meeting of the Chemical Society of Japan (2004).
Motto: Chance favors the prepared mind (Louis Pasteur)
Hobbies: watching sports on TV
Akash TATHE CV
Postdoctoral Researcher
Email: akash.tathe(at)riken.jp
2023- Postdoctoral researcher, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
2018-2023: Ph.D. (Chemistry) at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal, Bhopal – 462 066, India (Supervisor: Dr. Nitin T. Patil)
2017: Project assistant, Department of Chemistry, Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar - 388 120, Gujrat, India
2014-2016: MSc. (Organic Chemistry) at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University Aurangabad, Aurangabad 431 004, India
Motto: Simple Living - High Thinking
Hobbies: Watching suspense movies and web series (Bollywood and Hollywood) and Listening to music (Old Bollywood and Marathi songs)
Justin LAMB
Postdoctoral Researcher
Email: justin.lamb(at)riken.jp
2024-present: Postdoctoral researcher, RIKEN
2020-2024: Ph.D. (Green Science and Engineering), Sophia University
2018-2020: M.Sc. (Green Science and Engineering), Sophia University
2014-2018: B.Sc. (Materials and Life Sciences), Sophia University
Accolades: CSJ Poster Presentation Award 2023 for Excellent Research, CSJ Poster Presentation Award 2021 for Excellent Research
Motto: One is all, All is one.
Hobbies: bowling, baseball, writing music, guitar
Suvankar DEBBARMA CV
Postdoctoral Researcher
Email: suvankar.debbarma(at)riken.jp
2025- Postdoctoral researcher, RKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
Apr, 2023 – Jan, 2025: Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (WPI-ICReDD), Hokkaido University. (Prof. Dr. Tsuyoshi Mita)
Apr, 2022 – Nov, 2022: Assistant professor, Department of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. (Prof. Dr. Yujiro Hayashi)
Jun, 2020 – Mar, 2022: Institute Research Associate (RA), Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT-Kharagpur), India. (Prof. Dr. Modhu Sudan Maji)
Sep, 2019 – Jan, 2020: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Chemistry, Fudan University/Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC), CAS, China. (Prof. Dr. Shengming Ma)
2014-2019: Ph.D. (Chemistry) Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT-Kharagpur), India. (Prof. Dr. Modhu Sudan Maji).
Jul, 2011 - Jul, 2013: M.Sc., Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras), India (Prof. Dr. S. Baskaran).
Aug, 2008 - Jun, 2011: B.Sc., Chemistry Honors (First class), Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India.
Motto: Achieve something which can be useful for mankind
Hobbies: Playing table tennis (TT), Cricket, Travelling to any beautiful places
Jayakumar SEKAR
IPA Student Trainee (Saitama University, doctoral course)
Email: jayakumar.sekar(at)riken.jp
2023- doctoral student, Saitama University / IPA student trainee, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
2020-2022: M.Sc. (Chemistry), Government Arts College, Chennai, India
2017-2020: B.Sc. (Chemistry), Pachaiyappa`s College for Men, Kanchipuram, India
Accolades: poster award, The 70th Symposium on Organometallic Chemistry (2024); poster award, The RIKEN Interdisciplinary Exchange Evening (2024).
Motto: Don’t dream until sleep is lucid, dream it until achieving.
Hobbies: drawing, Hollywood movies, volleyball, driving, travel.
Hank OKUYAMA
Student Trainee (Saitama University, master course)
Email: hank.okuyama(at)riken.jp
2024- master course, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University
2024: BS, Department of Chemistry, Tokyo University of Science
Motto: Rigid step, soft perspective.
Hobbies: reading books (math, physics)
Ryoichiro NAGAYA
Student Trainee (Saitama University, master course)
Email: ryouichiro.nagaya(at)a.riken.jp
2024- master course, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University
2024: part-time worker, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Research Science
2024: BS, Department of Chemistry, Tokyo University of Science
Motto: Every cloud has a silver lining.
Hobbies: traveling in Japan.
Keita ITONAGA
Student Trainee (Saitama University, master course)
Email: keita.itonaga(at)a.riken.jp
2025- master course, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University
2025: BS, Department of Chemistry, Tokyo University of Science
Motto: La vie fleurit par la curiosité et la pensée.
Hobbies: singing(a cappella), table tennis, movies, and languages.
Sho HAMADA
Student Trainee（Tokyo University of Science, B4）
Email: sho.hamada(at)a.riken.jp
2022- Tokyo University of Science, Faculty of Science Division, Department of Chemistry
Motto: Always be full of curiosity.
Hobbies: Reading Japanese books.
Yukiko MOMOSE
Assistant