Profile
Naomichi Ogihara received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, in 1995, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Biomedical Engineering, in 1997 and 2000, respectively, all from Keio University, Japan. From 2000 to 2009, he was an assistant professor of Department of Zoology, Kyoto University, Japan. In 2009, he moved to Department of Mechanical Engineering, Keio University, Japan, as a senior assistant professor, and he was promoted to an associate professor and a professor in 2011 and 2016, respectively. He joined the faculty of Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan, in 2018 and is currently a professor.
Dr. Ogihara is interested in biomechanics and motor control of complex human and animal movements, seeking for fundamental understanding of mechanisms underlying adaptive motor behaviors due to dynamic interactions among musculoskeletal system, nervous system and environment, and emergence of such adaptive motor behaviors through the process of evolution, particularly in humans and non-human primates. His work draws on computational biomechanics using musculoskeletal models, experimental analyses of movements using motion capture systems and force sensors, and morphofunctional analyses of musculoskeletal system using biomedical imaging. He has published more than 100 scientific journal papers and book chapter articles on these topics. He has co-edited (and co-authored) three book publications: gHuman Origins and Environmental Backgroundsh from Springer in 2006,gDynamics of Learning in Neanderthals and Modern Humans Vol. 2 Cognitive and Physical Perspectivesh from Springer in 2014, and "Digital Endocasts: From Skulls to Brains" from Springer in 2018.
Dr. Ogihara has received several awards for his research, including Andrzej J. Komor New Investigator Award awarded by Technical Group of Computer Simulation, International Society of Biomechanics (1997), 5th Computer Visualization Contest New Frontier Award (1999), Young Investigator Award awarded by Society of Biomechanisms, Japan (2003), Anthropological Science Achievement Award for Young Investigators awarded by Anthropological Society of Nippon (2010), and Zoological Science Award awarded by The Zoological Society of Japan (2017). He is a member of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, Society of Biomechanisms Japan, Anthropological Society of Nippon, Primate Society of Japan, Japan Association for African Studies, International Society of Biomechanics, American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Japanese Neural Network Society, Japan Neuroscience Society, and Robotics Society of Japan.
