IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine - November 2023 - 9

with the Brain Science Institute, RIKEN,
from 2000 to 2005 and then a Distinguished
Visiting Professor with the Doshisha
University from 2005 to 2010.
Finally, he was an Emeritus Researcher
with the European Centre for Soft Computing,
Spain, from 2010 to 2015.
Dr. Sugeno was the President of the
FIGURE 2 Photo taken during workshop at 2001 American Control
Conference, 24-27 June, 2001, Arlington, VA, USA. (From left to right: Prof.
Hua O.Wang, Boston University, Dr. Michio Sugeno, and Prof. Kazuo Tanaka).
addition, the development ofthe TakagiSugeno
fuzzy model serves as one of the
most significant milestones in the history
of fuzzy control. The appearance of this
modeling framework opened the heavy
door oftheoretical barriers such as the stability
of fuzzy control systems at once. In
fact, with Dr. Sugeno and Prof. Hua O.
Wang, Boston University (see Figure 2), I
was able to organize a workshop entitled
" Design and Analysis of Fuzzy Control
Systems: A System-Theoretic Approach "
at the 2001 American Control Conference
(ACC), Arlington, Virginia, June
24-27, 2001. The ACC is one of the
largest and most important conferences
on control theory and applications. The
organization of this workshop demonstrated
the widespread acceptance of the
new fuzzy control approach as a nonlinear
control method in systems and control
theory.
Dr. Sugeno was in the industry for
three years and then joined the Tokyo
Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan,
first as a Research Associate, rising to an
Associate Professor, and then a Professor
across the timespan from 1965 to 2000.
After retiring from the Tokyo Institute of
Technology, he was a Laboratory Head
Japan Society for Fuzzy Theory and Systems
from 1991 to 1993, and also the
President ofthe International Fuzzy Systems
Association from 1997 to 1999. He
was the first recipient of the IEEE CIS
Pioneer Award in Fuzzy Systems with
Zadeh in 2000. He was the recipient of
the 2010 IEEE Frank Rosenblatt Award
and the recipient of the IEEE International
Conference on Systems, Man, and
Cybernetics 2017 Lotfi A. Zadeh Pioneer
Award.
Dr. Sugeno was an intellectual giant
with a myriad oftheoretical and technical
achievements and led the fuzzy
community as a pioneer throughout his
distinguished career. As one of his former
Ph.D. students, I was fortunate to
learn about his belief and passion for
research through his thought-provoking
advice and guidance.
Outside of research, Dr. Sugeno
loved to play contract bridge and drink
wine and Japanese sake. Even after I
had received my Ph.D. degree, it was a
great pleasure for me to have many
opportunities to drink with him. I also
remember participating in contract
bridge camps hosted by him, where we
enjoyed playing intellectual card games
for more than 12 hours a day!
The last time I met him was on 21
December, 2019 at his private drinking
party (see Figure 3) in Yokohama,Japan,
with some ofhis former students and an
assistant, just before the COVID-19
pandemic. After that, I regret that I
never had another opportunity to enjoy
drinking with Dr. Sugeno due to the
pandemic.
His contribution and leadership to the
FIGURE 3 Dr. Sugeno, his former students, and an assistant, 21 December, 2019, Yokohama,
Japan. (From left to right: Prof. Junji Nishino, University of Electro-Communications, Dr. Michio
Sugeno, Prof. Yasuo Narukawa, Tamagawa University, Prof. Motoya Machida, Tennessee Tech
University, Prof. Toshiaki Murofushi, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ms. Kuniko Miyakawa, a former
assistant, Prof. Kazuo Tanaka, and Prof. Katsushige Fujimoto, Fukushima University).
fuzzy community were invaluable, and
we will miss a great leader. In Japan, professors
are usually addressed with the suffix
of " -sensei. " Finally, I would like to finish
this obituary in theJapanese style.
May Sugeno-sensei rest in peace.
NOVEMBER 2023 | IEEE COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE MAGAZINE 9

IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine - November 2023

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