Honorary Member

Shojiro NISHIO

Shojiro NISHIO  Dr. Shojiro Nishio received his Ph.D. from Kyoto University in 1980 and became an assistant professor in the Faculty of Engineering of the same university. He successively worked as a visiting researcher and associate professor at the University of Waterloo, Canada, associate professor in the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University in 1988, and associate professor in the Education Center for Information Processing of the same university. In 1992, he was promoted to full professor in the School of Engineering at Osaka University. Thereafter, he served as director of the Cybermedia Center, professor and later dean of the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology at the same university before becoming an assistant to the president, a trustee and an executive vice president. Currently, he is the president of Osaka University.
   Data engineering makes it possible to use massive volumes of data (Big Data) effectively in social, economic or everyday living activities. It has become increasingly important. Dr. Nishio has produced outstanding research achievements, particularly in three main areas in this field: data management technology, database modeling and technology for data mining in a huge volume of data. Many of the results he produced overturned conventionally accepted concepts. They were creative and yet based on real-world systems. They provided important guidelines in both scientific and social aspects.
   An example of his outstanding research achievements was his assertion in the late 1970s of the importance of a deductive object-oriented database, which is a data model with the ability to store complicatedly associated data in a direct and flexible manner and a knowledge processing function capable of responding to complex inquiries. Thus, he made an important contribution by addressing a fundamental issue of establishing a database model. With networks rapidly becoming faster, he proposed a new concept on redundant placement of data, and database migration, which is a unique concept that overturns the conventional approach. This had a significant impact on the fundamental technology for constructing a large database. Furthermore, foreseeing the arrival of the current IoT (Internet of Things) age, he proposed an ambient information environment, a concept that assumes that information technology deeply penetrates our living space, with a view to enabling people to lead safe and fulfilling lives. He led the effort to create fundamental technology for this environment. The ambient information environment was later selected as an important issue for the governmentfs science and technology policy, and it has made great strides toward actual implementation in society.
   Dr. Nishio has also been a dynamic mentor for undergraduate and graduate students. Many internationally active researchers are indebted for his expert guidance. He proposed a new perspective of creating information technology by learning from living things. To promote this perspective, he has educated excellent leaders who can integrate information science, life sciences and cognitive science to build systems that are flexible, robust and sustainable and can support the ever-changing social environment. He has been doing this through the 21st Century COE Program and the Global COE Program, which was aimed at establishing sites for educating the worldfs top-level doctoral human resources, and through the doctoral course education-leading program. All of these programs are supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
   By playing central roles in government councils, the Science Council of Japan, and relevant engineering societies, Dr. Nishio has made significant contributions to the development of science. For these achievements and his huge contributions to science, he had the honor of being designated as a person of cultural merit and received the Medal with Purple Ribbon from the Government of Japan, together with the Minster of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award. He has also received an Achievement Award and the Distinguished Achievement and Contributions Award from the IEICE, and the Achievement Award from the Information Processing Society of Japan. He is a fellow of the IEEE, the Japan Federation of Engineering Societies, the IEICE and the Information Society of Japan. These achievements are so outstanding that we are pleased to recommend that he be designated as a fellow, honorary member of the IEICE.
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