About the Lab

Overview

The Woodward Laboratory is a scientific research group based at the University of Tokyo in Japan. The group is involved in many aspects of scientific research which relates to a unique kind of chemical reaction intermediate known as a Spin Correlated Radical Pair.

Radical Pairs (RPs) are rather unique entities, in that they provide a mechanism by which very low energy magnetic fields, such as those from a fridge magnet, or even the earth’s magnetic field, can influence high energy chemical reactions through a mechanism known as the Radical Pair Mechanism (RPM).

This is of great interest to scientists for a number of reasons, including (but by no means limited to) the ability to control the outcome of chemical reactions, the question over potential deleterious or beneficial effects on human health of magnetic fields in our environment, and the ability of some animals to exploit the geomagnetic field for navigational purposes.

These pages contain some general information about Radical Pairs and electron spin, details about the research carried out by the group and links to other useful Spin Chemistry resources. To find out what has been going on in the group recently, visit the news section.

The primary operating language in the Woodward Laboratory is English but our members come from both inside and outside Japan. Prof. Woodward and other members often communicate in Japanese when needed and lab social events often involve a mixture of the two languages.

Group photos