Honorary Member

Yuichiro ANZAI

Professor Yuichiro Anzai graduated from the Graduate School of Engineering, Keiko University and received his Ph.D. in 1974. He then immersed himself in research on cognitive science related to learning and problem solving under Professor Herbert A. Simon, Carnegie-Mellon University, who was later to win the Nobel Prize in Economics. After he returned to Japan, he studied a computer-assisted cognitive interaction model in the Department of Management Engineering, the Faculty of Engineering, Keio University and Hokkaido University. In 1987, he moved to the Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, where he expanded his research to include human-robot interactions, and, as the dean of the faculty, was devoted to the reform of the university’s departments and graduate schools, including the establishment of the Department of Bioscience & Informatics. He was elected president of Keio University in 2001 and served in this office for two terms (8 years), during which time he notched up several notable achievements, including the establishment of the Faculty of Pharmacy. Currently, as the president of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, he is at the forefront of the development of science and technology in Japan.   Since the 1970s, Professor Anzai has been involved in the study of cognitive science related to thought, problem solving and learning. In the early 1990s, he started an integrated research program to examine interactions between humans and robots, and established a new scientific field, which came to be called human-robot interaction (HRI). Furthermore, he is enthusiastic about the development of a new human science for the 21st century society, one which will integrate research on cognitive science related to thought and learning and research on information science related to interactions. He has played an important role in leading the fields of information science and cognitive science by launching a variety of research projects and serving as the president of the Information Processing Society of Japan and president of the Japanese Cognitive Science Society. In 2015, he was selected a “person of cultural merit,” and received the associated award on November 4. The citation of the award declared that he has “broken new ground as a pioneer in cognitive science and led the convergence of information science and cognitive science.”   Furthermore, he has been involved in a wide range of administrative and policy-related councils in the spheres of education, science and technology and innovation. While he was the president of Keio University, he contributed to the advance of private schools by serving as the president of the Japan Association of Private Colleges and Universities, and the representative of the All Private School Association. He also strove to establish international collaboration between universities as the president of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. For these distinguished achievements he has received numerous awards, including best technical paper awards from the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers and the Information Processing Society of Japan, the achievement award from the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence, Commandeur de l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques from France, and the Medal with Purple Ribbon from the government.   As stated above, Professor Anzai has always led us with deep insight and enthusiasm in the science field as well as in administrative and policy-making roles in the areas of education, science and technology, and has contributed to the development of electronics, information and communication technologies. His achievements are of such an outstanding caliber that we recommend that he be designated as a fellow, honorary member of the IEICE.