Biography
Professor Keiichi Watanuki, Dr.Eng.
(E-mail: watanuki[at]mech.saitama-u.ac.jp)
Dr. Keiichi Watanuki received his Doctor of Engineering in the Department of Precision Machinery Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, in 1991. From 1991, he was a member of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Saitama University, and from 2005, he has been a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Saitama University. He also serves as Director of Human-Machine Interaction Systems Engineering; Deputy Director-General, Research Management Bureau; Director, Advanced Institute of Innovative Technology; Director, Institute of Ambient Mobility Interfaces; and Professor of the Brain and Body System Science Institute at Saitama University. He has also served as a Visiting Scholar, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA; Invited Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg, Germany; and Visiting Professor, University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom.
Dr. Watanuki's research interests include systems designs that support various human activities in the field of design and manufacturing. Specifically, he develops intelligent computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) systems, design systems for environment, knowledge management and technology transfer systems, virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR), cognitive neuroscience, emotional engineering, human-machine interface (HMI), brain-machine interface (BMI), artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), healthcare and medical technology, intelligent assistive technology, human gait analysis, ambient mobility interface, and intelligent robots. He has published over 213 articles in peer-reviewed core international proceedings and journals, 19 books and chapters, and 288 articles in the engineering field. He has also delivered over 62 plenary, keynote, and invited talks in various international conferences and in institutions world-wide, as well as over 401 talks in various domestic conferences. The research in the lab has been featured and discussed by NHK World News, NHK BS-1, NHK, BS Japan, Saitama TV, Nikkei, Asahi Shimbun, Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, and Aichi World EXPO, among others.
Dr. Watanuki has received 32 awards, including the Machine Design and Tribology Division Award, Design and Systems Division Award, Education Award, Best Presentation Award from the Japan Society for Mechanical Engineers (JSME), Computers and Information in Engineering Division Award, and the Best Design Award from the Japan Society for Design Engineering (JSDE), among others. He is an elected Fellow of JSME. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Advanced Mechanical Design, Systems, and Manufacturing, JSME; Associate Editor, Transactions of the ASME, Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering, and core international journals in the field of mechanical engineering, and frequently served as conference chair and on the program/advisory committees of international conferences. He has been Chair of the Machine Design and Tribology Division (2010-2011), the Design and Systems Division (2014-2015), the Technology and Society Division (2015-2016), the Kanto Branch (2016-2017), the Executive Board Director, Engineering Activities (2018-2020), JSME and Vice President (2015-2017) of JSDE.
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