University of Electro-Communications Research and Innovation: Applied mathematics for optimization of society

TOKYO, Jan. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Electro-Communications (UEC) proudly announces the release of the January 2025 issue of its Research and Innovation newsletter.

This edition highlights cutting-edge research and innovation, featuring a video profile of UEC faculty Satoshi Takahashi on applied mathematics for optimization of society (Innovation), and the Research Highlights section describes research by Yuichi Sei (Innovation) on "face recognition", and Keisuke Hosokawa (Research) on "gigantic auroras". The News section covers the signing of a memorandum of understanding for student exchange with Roskilde University (Denmark) and the visit of the New Zealand Chair of the Japan-New Zealand business committee and Aurecon representatives to UEC.

January 2024 issue of UEC Research and Innovation 
http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/randi/

Video Profiles (Innovation)

Applied mathematics for optimization of society

Satoshi Takahashi
Associate Professor, Department of Computer and Network Engineering.

http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/randi/video/innovation/202501.html

Satoshi Takahashi is using his expertise in mathematical optimization and game theory to address practical social issues including optimizing transportation timetables, factory work schedules, economic problems like price determination, and stock trading.

Research Highlights (Research)

Space science: Gigantic auroras revealed: Unveiling solar dynamics during rare solar wind disappearance

http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/randi/research-highlights/research/202501.html

An international research team led by Keisuke Hosokawa and including Takuo Tsuda of the University of Electro-Communications, in collaboration with Kyoto University and the National Institute of Polar Research has captured a rare and strikingly large aurora spanning the Arctic region. This unprecedented observation occurred during an unusual solar phenomenon where the solar wind, a stream of charged particles that typically interacts with the Earth's magnetosphere to create auroras, almost completely vanished. The study, published in Science Advances provides new insights into how auroras can form in the absence of normal solar wind conditions and reveals unexpected complexity in auroral behavior under these rare circumstances.

K. Hosokawa, R. Kataoka, T. T. Tsuda, Y. Ogawa, S. Taguchi, Y. Zhang and L. Paxton, Exceptionally gigantic aurora in the polar cap on a day when the solar wind almost disappeared. Sci. Adv. 10, eadn5276 (2024).

URL: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adn5276
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn5276

Research Highlights (Innovation)

Face recognition: Voice coming into the picture

http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/randi/research-highlights/innovation/202501.html

During the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring people to wear facemasks in public places and shops was an important measure taken by governments all over the world. The requirement is no longer in place, but in Japan and elsewhere, many people still choose to wear a facemask as a precaution, and it is expected that facemasks will remain commonplace. This poses a problem to security and identification systems, as it is difficult to correctly automatically identify a person who's half face is covered by a mask. To address this situation, computational methods capable of 'inpainting' masked face images have been developed, with some degree of success. Now, Yuichi Sei and colleagues from The University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, have created a method that not only uses visual information, but also audio — the person's voice — to reconstruct a masked face. The approach enables face shape restoration with improved quality.

Tetsumaru Akatsuka , Ryohei Orihara , Yuichi Sei ,Yasuyuki Tahara , and Akihiko Ohsuga, Estimation of Unmasked Face Images Based on Voice and 3DMM, In: Liu, T., Webb, G., Yue, L., Wang, D. (eds) AI 2023: Advances in Artificial Intelligence. AI 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS), volume 14471. Springer, Singapore.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8388-9_20
DOI: 10.1007/978-981-99-8388-9_20

Sei Lab Home Page
http://www.sei.lab.uec.ac.jp/~sei/en/

News and Events

UEC Signs Memorandum of Understanding for Student Exchange with Denmark's Roskilde University

http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/randi/news/202501_1.html

On Thursday, November 21, 2024, UEC and Roskilde University signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for student exchange. This milestone builds on the comprehensive agreement signed on January 1, 2023, which has fostered active research collaborations. Notably, Visiting Associate Professor Go Yuasa (Office for International Strategy) has been working with Roskilde University on integrating and visualizing traffic volume and air quality data to advance smart city initiatives.

New Zealand Chair of the Japan-New Zealand Business Committee and Aurecon Representatives Visit UEC

http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/randi/news/202501_2.html

On Friday, November 15, 2024, Ian Kennedy, Chair of the New Zealand side of the Japan-New Zealand Business Cooperation Committee, along with Rebecca Mehrtens of Aurecon New Zealand and Kanji Kuwata of Aurecon Australia, visited UEC. They held discussions with UEC President Shunichi Tano and Board of Directors (International and Public Relations Strategy) Kazuaki Oya, responsible for international and public relations strategy.

Further information

International Affairs Section
The University of Electro-Communications
1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo 182-8585, Japan
Telephone: +81(0) -42-443-5000
EMAIL: kokusai-k@office.uec.ac.jp
Website: http://www.uec.ac.jp/

About the University of Electro-Communications

The University of Electro-Communications (UEC) in Tokyo is a small, luminous university at the forefront of pure and applied sciences, engineering, and technology research. Its roots trace back to 1918, with a mission to train maritime communication engineers. UEC was officially established as a national university in 1949 and continues to lead innovation in wireless communications, laser science, robotics, informatics, and material science.

With approximately 4,000 students and 350 faculty members, UEC remains a hub for cutting-edge research and collaboration.

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