Professor Nobuhiko Sugano

Biography

Shigeki Sugano holds B.S., M.S., and Dr. of Engineering degrees in mechanical engineering from Waseda University, where he has spent his entire academic career. After serving as a Research Associate at Waseda and a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University's Department of Mechanical Engineering, he joined Waseda's faculty in 1991, where he is currently Professor in the Department of Modern Mechanical Engineering. He served as Dean of the School of Creative Science and Engineering from 2014 to 2020, Senior Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering from 2020 to 2024, and has served as Chairperson of the Future Robotics Organization at Waseda since 2025. Since 2020 he has also served as Program Manager of the JST Moonshot Project "Smart Robot that is Close to One Person for a Lifetime." He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers. His research centres on anthropomorphic robots, dexterous manipulation, and human-robot interaction, with a sustained focus on developing robots capable of coexisting with and adapting to humans in real-world environments. His current work on the AIREC project pursues this vision at scale, developing humanoid robots capable of operating as genuine partners across healthcare, welfare, and everyday human environments. His awards include the IEEE RAS Distinguished Service Award (2008), the IROS Harashima Award (2016), the Commendation for Science and Technology from Japan's Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2017), and the Tateisi Prize from the Tateisi Science and Technology Foundation (2024). He is a fellow of IEEE, the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers (SICE), and the Robotics Society of Japan, and has served as President of both SICE and the Robotics Society of Japan.