Haruki Sugiyama

Papers

Total Citations

139

H-Index

About

Haruki Sugiyama is a pioneering materials scientist whose work bridges the realms of crystal engineering and soft robotics. His primary research focuses on the dynamic mechanical behavior of crystalline materials, particularly how phase transitions can be harnessed to generate complex, lifelike motions. Sugiyama’s most celebrated contribution is the discovery of walking and rolling locomotion in chiral azobenzene crystals, triggered solely by thermal stimuli. This breakthrough, published in a 2018 paper that has garnered 139 citations, demonstrated for the first time that simple crystals could perform coordinated, directional movement—a feat previously thought impossible without external mechanical parts. By revealing how reversible single-crystal-to-single-crystal phase transitions can produce such motions, Sugiyama opened new pathways for developing autonomous, self-propelled microdevices and actuators. His work has been recognized for its elegance and potential applications in microrobotics and smart materials. For students and researchers, Sugiyama’s research exemplifies how fundamental insights into molecular behavior can lead to transformative technologies, challenging conventional limits of what crystalline matter can do.