Researcher Information

TAKAHASHI Lauren

Assistant Professor

AI and Robotics for Automated Chemistry

Department of Chemistry, Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry

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Theme

Development of Chemical AI Using Machine Learning, Ontologies, and Large Language Models, and DIY Chemical Robots

FieldArtificial Intelligence, Robotics, Materials Informatics, Catalyst Reactions & Design, Ontology, Natural Language Processing

Introduction of Research

I am pursuing the complete automation of chemistry by developing artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous robots that can think, formulate hypotheses, and conduct experiments like human researchers.
In AI development, I utilize natural language processing and semantics to construct intelligent systems capable of understanding and reasoning about chemical reactions and catalyst design from scientific data. In parallel, I design and build robots that autonomously synthesize and evaluate catalysts, employing embedded systems, 3D printing, and CAD to create precise experimental apparatus.
By integrating AI and robotics, my goal is to realize a data-driven yet hypothesis-driven research system a thinking research system — that collaborates with human scientists as an intelligent research partner.

Representative Achievements

"AI and automation: democratizing automation and the evolution towards true AI-autonomous robotics", L Takahashi,M Kuwahara, K Takahashi, Chemical Science (2025) , 16, 15769-15780
"Constructing catalyst knowledge networks from catalyst big data in oxidative coupling of methane for designing catalysts", L Takahashi, TN Nguyen, S Nakanowatari, A Fujiwara, T Taniike, K Takahashi, Chemical Science (2021) 12 (38), 12546-12555 (Pick of the Week)(Cover Art)
"Representing the Methane Oxidation Reaction via Linking First-Principles Calculations and Experiment with Graph Theory", L Takahashi, J Ohyama, S Nishimura, K Takahashi, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (2020) 12 (1), 558-568
"Visualizing Scientists’ Cognitive Representation of Materials Data through the Application of Ontology", L Takahashi, K Takahashi, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (2019) 10 (23), 7482-7491 (Invited)
"Redesigning the materials and catalysts database construction process using ontologies", L Takahashi, I Miyazato, K Takahashi, Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling (2018) 58 (9), 1742-1754

Related industries

Chemical Industry, Information and Communication Industry, Energy Industry
Academic degreePh.D.
Academic background2008, B.A., Department of Linguistics, The University of Arizona
2011, M.S., Department of Applied IT, Gothenburg University
2018, Research Assistant, Mi2i, National Institute for Materials Science
2019, Research Fellow, Department of Chemistry, Hokkaido University
2020, Ph.D, Department of Chemical System Engineering, The University of Tokyo
2022, Specially-appointed Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Hokkaido University
Affiliated academic societyAmerican Chemical Society

Department of Chemistry, Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry

TAKAHASHI Lauren

Assistant Professor

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What is your dream that you want to achieve through your research?

I want to make true human-machine collaborative research possible by developing knowledge-based AI that (1) can understand and process sophisticated information just like people can, and (2) can participate in research on the same level as a fully-functional member of a research team.

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What made you decide to become a researcher?

When I looked at the natural world, I always wondered how something that seems so complex is actually made up of very simple patterns that makes nature what it is. As I explored nature, I found myself becoming a researcher.

Simulating a snowflake
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What do you usually do when your research work gets stuck?

I try to exercise my mind by playing chess and other exercises on a regular basis. I also train at the gym five days a week because living a healthy lifestyle and training my body gives me inspiration.

Handmade lunch
Chess – My favorite strategy, Queen’s Gambit