Shinya Takamaeda
Associate Professor, Information Science and Technology

Shinya Takameada received his doctorate in 2014 from the Department of Computer Science, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology. He was an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Information Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology between 2014 and 2016. He was an associate professor the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, at Hokkaido University between 2016 and 2019. He’s been holding his current position as an associate professor at the Department of Computer Science at the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo since 2019. He received The Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology - The Young Scientists’ Award in 2023.

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Q. What were your favorite subjects as a child?
A. Arithmetic and science
I was not very fond of memorization. I liked arithmetic and science because there was not much to memorize, and I could solve problems once I understood the logic. I was also interested in electricity. I remember I made a toy electric circuit as my elementary school craft project during summer break.

Q. What were your interests when you were in junior high or high school?
A. Singing and songwriting (music production)　
I admired a certain musician and wanted to produce my own music. I had neither the talent nor the passion and gave up on that path. Now, I am a “producer” of research, so saying that my dream has come true might not be an exaggeration after all.

Q. What is your motto?
A. “It’ll work out.”
When I think “it’ll work out,” in my experience, it usually does work out in the end. Similarly, if I have a cheerful attitude, something actually fun usually happens sooner or later.

Q. What are your hobbies?
A. Going to Japanese downer rock concerts
This genre of music makes me feel like I can be forgiven for my weaknesses and inadequacies. Negative x negative = positive.

Q. Do you consider yourself lucky?
A. Yes
I must be very lucky because I had many opportunities appear out of the blue. I believe that at the end of the day, whether things turn out well for people is outside of their control.

Q. What are your sources of inspiration?
A. The times of lively discussions and thinking quietly alone
I usually come up with general ideas when I engage in lively discussions with students and other researchers. In contrast, I often come up with specific strategies when I am walking alone or taking a bath.

 

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School of Science News, July 2023 issue

Meet the Researchers in the Sciences

 

― This article is from the "Meet Researchers in the Sciences" series in The Rigakubu News ―

Translated by Office of Research Strategy and Development