Name
Yuji Kawai, Ph.D.
Affiliation
Associate Professor at Symbiotic Intelligent Systems Research Center, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, the University of Osaka
Contact
Symbiotic Intelligent Systems Research Center, Co-Creative Innovation Building 6F, 1-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
E-mail: kawai [AT] otri.osaka-u.ac.jp
Career
- April 2023 – now: Associate Professor at Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, the University of Osaka
- April 2021 – March 2023: Specially Appointed Associate Professor at Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, the University of Osaka
- April 2020 – March 2021: Specially Appointed Associate Professor at Office of Management and Planning, the University of Osaka
- April 2019 – March 2020: Specially Appointed Lecturer at Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, the University of Osaka
- April 2017 – March 2019: Assistant Professor at Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Osaka
- April 2016 – March 2017: Specially Appointed Assistant Professor at Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Osaka
- April 2013 – March 2016: Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion Science (DC1)
Education
- April 2013 – March 2016: Ph.D. course in Department of Adaptive Machine Systems, Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Osaka
- April 2011 – March 2013: Master course in Department of Adaptive Machine Systems, Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Osaka
- April 2009 – March 2011: Bachelor course in Division of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Science, School of Engineering, the University of Osaka
- April 2004 – March 2009: Department of Control Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Matsue College
Awards
- IEEE Computational Intelligence Society Japan Chapter Young Researcher Award (IEICE Neurocomputing) (2023)
- JSAI Annual Conference Award (2019)
- JSAI Annual Conference Award (2018)
- Research Award of the Japanese Neural Network Society (2018)
- Babybot Challenge Paper Award of the 8th IEEE Joint International Conference on Development and Learning and on Epigenetic Robotics (2018)
- Babybot Challenge Participation Award of the 7th IEEE Joint International Conference on Development and Learning and on Epigenetic Robotics (2017)
- The 1st place for RoboCup Japan Open 2017 Soccer SPL league, RoboCup Japan Committee (2017)
- Best Presentation Award of the 31st Annual Conference of the Japanese Cognitive Science Society (2014)
- JSAI Incentive Award (2013)
- RoboCup Research Award of RoboCup Japan (2013)
- Best Paper Award Finalist of the 16th Annual RoboCup International Symposium (2012)
- AI Award of the 35th JSAI SIG Challenge (2012)
- Microsoft Student Travel Award of the 1st Joint IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning and on Epigenetic Robotics (2011)
- Hatakeyama Award of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (2008)
Research Funds
- April 2025 – March 2030: [Co-Investigator] Grants-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas (A) , Designing artificial faces and bodies with functional expression structure, Project number: 25H01236, Project leader: Hisashi Ishihara.
- April 2025 – March 2027: [Principal Investigator] Grants-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas (A) (Publicly Offered Research), Reservoir computing-based adaptation in body-control-environment coupled dynamical systems under unknown and perturbed conditions, Project number: 25H02612.
- October 2023 – March 2027: [Principal Investigator] JST Strategic Basic Research Programs (PRESTO), Computational studies of movements, cognition, and emotion by whole-brain prediction of the cerebellum, Project number: JPMJPR 23S5.
- October 2018 – September 2021: [Co-Investigator] JSPS Topic-Setting Program to Advance Cutting-Edge Humanities and Social Sciences Research (Responding to Real Society), Creating fundamental concepts of society and value based on technology and brain science, Project number: JSPS00118070707, Project leader: Kazuya Matsuura.
- October 2017 – March 2024: [Co-Investigator] JST Strategic Basic Research Programs (CREST), An exploration of the principle of emerging interactions in spatiotemporal diversity, Project number: JPMJCR17A4, Project leader: Ichiro Tsuda.
- June 2017 – March 2020: [Co-Investigator] MIC, R&D for Computing Platform Inspired by Human Brain Cognition, Project number: 17936067, Project leader: Masayuki Murata.
- April 2013 – March 2016: [Principal Investigator] Grants-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows, Mirror neuron system by sensorimotor abstraction based on reward, Project number: 25-756.
Scientific Activities
- Media Communication of the 2026 IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning (2026)
- Publicity chair of the 2025 IEEE International Conference on Advanced Robotics and its Social Impact (2025)
- Program chair of the IEEE Robotic Computing 2024 (2024)
- Organizer of the IEEE ICRA 2020 Workshop on “How will Autonomous Robots and Systems Influence Society?” (2020)
- Local Chair of the 7th International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (2019)
Editors
- Guest editor of a Special Issue in the Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan, “Ethics, Law, and Psychology towards Responsible Robotics for the Society,” 2020.
- Guest editor of a Special Issue in the Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan, “Philosophy, Psychology, and Law for a Human-Robot Symbiotic Society,” Vol. 38, No. 1, 2020.
Lectures
- April 2017 – March 2019: Fundamental PIER Program (Panasonic II), in Department of Adaptive Machine Systems, Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Osaka
- April 2016 – March 2019: Advanced Programing (C) in Division of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Science, School of Engineering, the University of Osaka
- October 2016 – August 2019: March 2017: Computer and Programming (Project Based Learning) in Division of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Science, School of Engineering, the University of Osaka