Maki Kawai


Maki Kawai is a Japanese chemist who developed spatially selective single-molecule spectroscopy. In 2018, she became the first woman to become president of the Chemical Society of Japan.

Early life and education

Kawai earned her bachelor's degree at the University of Tokyo in 1975. She completed her doctoral studies at the University of Tokyo in 1980. Her PhD was supervised by Kenji Tamaru.

Research and career

Kawai was a postdoctoral researcher at Riken between 1980 and 1982. She joined the University of Tokyo as a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science fellow in 1982. Her research considers the vibrational dynamics of single-molecules at surfaces. Her group use STM to monitor molecules and atoms on top of surfaces. She uses this to understand the chemical and physical phenomena of nanowires, nanodots and biomolecules. She was awarded fellowships from the Surface Science Society of Japan and American Physical Society to develop single molecule spectroscopy. Her group monitor the vibrational and relaxation energies of single molecules using scanning tunneling microscopy and inelastically tunnelled electrons. She has contributed to several books and hundreds of peer-reviewed publications. Kawai continued to be supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, investigating nanoscale electron transport through molecular layers. By combining single molecule spectroscopy with inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy to identify electron transfer channels. She discovered a new reaction pathway in titanium dioxide.
Kawai became Chief Scientist and Director of Surface Chemistry Laboratory at Riken in 1991 and an executive director in 2010. She was made a professor at the University of Tokyo in 2004. Kawai joined the Institute of Molecular Science as Director General in 2016. She was appointed President of the Chemical Society of Japan in 2018.

Awards and honours