About me

Wataru Kawabe (川辺 航 / 川邊 航) is a Cooperative Research Fellow at the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo. He received his Ph.D. from The University of Tokyo in 2025 under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Yusuke Sugano. His interest lies in interactive AI/machine-learning systems and human-centered AI/machine-learning applications. He is especially focused on exploring ways to make AI and related information technologies more accessible and user-friendly for beginners who lack a technical background or knowledge.

News

• ETRA2025 has successfully concluded. Thank you to all the SVs for your great support and cooperation!
• I have successfully defended my doctoral dissertation and will be receiving my Ph.D.!
• We are presenting a poster at SIGGRAPH Asia 2024. We also uploaded a longer manuscript on arXiv.

Education

• Ph.D. in Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Apr. 2022 - Mar. 2025
  Supervisor: Assoc.Prof. Yusuke Sugano
• M.S. in Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Apr. 2020 - Mar. 2022
  Supervisor: Assoc.Prof. Yusuke Sugano
• B.Eng, Department of Systems Innovation, The University of Tokyo, Apr. 2015 - Mar. 2020
  Supervisor: Prof. Kazuhiro Aoyama

Experience

• Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc., Apr. 2025 -
  Researcher/Consultant

• Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Apr. 2025 -
  Cooperative Research Fellow

• Singapore Management University, May. 2023 - Nov. 2023
  Visiting Postgraduate Research Student

• Preferred Networks, Oct. 2022 - Mar. 2023
  Project Engineer

• Preferred Networks, Aug. 2022 - Sep. 2022
  Research Intern

• SPRING GX, Apr. 2022 - Mar. 2025
  Member

• AIP Challenge, Apr. 2022 - Mar. 2023
  Member

• Ghelia Inc., Apr. 2020 - Mar. 2021
  Machine Learning Engineer

• UTokyo Spring Founders Program, Mar. 2019
  Member

Research

Please check my projects page.

Events

• A workshop in Miraikan (The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, Japan), Dec. 2024
  This event is a workshop using xMod and an LLM-based training strategy.

• A workshop in VIVISTOP Kanazawa, Aug. 2024
  This event is an ideation workshop for children using a tangible machine learning device.

• A workshop in Miraikan (The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, Japan), Jun. 2024
  This event is a workshop using the same interactive system as the one in March.

• A workshop in Miraikan (The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, Japan), Mar. 2024
  This event is a workshop using a tangible interactive machine learning system that uses sound as input and motion as output.

• A workshop in Miraikan (The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, Japan), Jul. 2022
  The event allowed Miraikan visitors to easily try out interactive machine learning systems on the spot.
  Video of this event

Talks

• Green Transformation (GX) in The University of Tokyo, Apr. 2024
  I participated in research introductions and roundtable-style interviews.

• Lab Encounter with CUDANLab, Tallinn University, Apr. 2024
  Lab members including me gave a presentation about published topics.

• A presentation in Graduate Student Forum, The University of Tokyo, Mar. 2022
  This talk is about end-user involvement with interactive machine learning systems.

Academic Services

• Student Volunteer Chair, ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research & Applications (ETRA), May. 2025