Makoto Nagao
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese computer scientist
. He contributed to various fields: machine translation
, natural language processing
, pattern recognition
, image processing
and library science
. He was the 23rd President of Kyoto University
, and is currently the Director of National Diet Library
in Japan.
, Japan
, Makoto Nagao graduated from Kyoto University
in 1959, and received a Master's degree
in Engineering in 1961 and a Ph. D. in Engineering in 1966 from the university.
In Kyoto University, He became an assistant professor in 1967, an associate professor in 1968, and a professor in 1973. He served as the 23rd President of Kyoto University (1997–2003).
After retirement from the university, he was appointed to the Director of National Diet Library
in 2007.
He held the 20th Director of the Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ) (1999–2000). In each year from 2005, IPSJ Nagao Special Researcher Award is awarded to young Japanese computer scientists who accomplished notable research.
He is the first President of the Asia-Pacific Association for Machine Translation (AAMT), and in each year from 2006, AAMT Nagao Award is awarded to individuals or groups who made contribution to machine translation.
(MT) systems. Between 1982 and 1986, he led the Mu project which aimed at translations for technical papers and became the first successful MT system between English and Japanese. In addition, example-based machine translation
, an important approach for MT, is the method proposed by him in the early 1980s.
He is also a pioneer of natural language processing
(NLP) for the Japanese language
. In 1994, He created KNP, a dependency analyzer for Japanese, with Sadao Kurohashi.
In 1990s, he directed a project to make a Japanese parsed corpus
, which is now called Kyoto University Text Corpus.
Another NLP resource developed under his laboratory is Juman, a Japanese morphological parser and the first system which merged word segmentation and morphological analysis for languages which do not have explicit word boundaries (such as Japanese or Chinese).
In pattern recognition
and image processing
, he was the first engineer who applied feedback analysis mechanisms to facial recognition system
s, and he introduced various artificial intelligence
techniques into the image processing.
He supervised the Adriadne system, a digital library
system, which made an impact upon digital library research in Japan and over the world. While the National Diet Library of Japan holds a traditional slogan "Truth makes us free" (John
8:32), a new slogan "Through knowledge we prosper" is proposed by him as the director. He is very interested in Wikipedia
and gave a keynote lecture in the Wikimedia Conference Japan 2009.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
. He contributed to various fields: machine translation
Machine translation
Machine translation, sometimes referred to by the abbreviation MT is a sub-field of computational linguistics that investigates the use of computer software to translate text or speech from one natural language to another.On a basic...
, natural language processing
Natural language processing
Natural language processing is a field of computer science and linguistics concerned with the interactions between computers and human languages; it began as a branch of artificial intelligence....
, pattern recognition
Pattern recognition
In machine learning, pattern recognition is the assignment of some sort of output value to a given input value , according to some specific algorithm. An example of pattern recognition is classification, which attempts to assign each input value to one of a given set of classes...
, image processing
Image processing
In electrical engineering and computer science, image processing is any form of signal processing for which the input is an image, such as a photograph or video frame; the output of image processing may be either an image or, a set of characteristics or parameters related to the image...
and library science
Library science
Library science is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and other areas to libraries; the collection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources; and the...
. He was the 23rd President of Kyoto University
Kyoto University
, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...
, and is currently the Director of National Diet Library
National Diet Library
The is the only national library in Japan. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to the U.S...
in Japan.
Biography
Born in Mie PrefectureMie Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan which is part of the Kansai regions on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Tsu.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, Mie prefecture was known as Ise Province and Iga Province....
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Makoto Nagao graduated from Kyoto University
Kyoto University
, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...
in 1959, and received a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Engineering in 1961 and a Ph. D. in Engineering in 1966 from the university.
In Kyoto University, He became an assistant professor in 1967, an associate professor in 1968, and a professor in 1973. He served as the 23rd President of Kyoto University (1997–2003).
After retirement from the university, he was appointed to the Director of National Diet Library
National Diet Library
The is the only national library in Japan. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to the U.S...
in 2007.
He held the 20th Director of the Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ) (1999–2000). In each year from 2005, IPSJ Nagao Special Researcher Award is awarded to young Japanese computer scientists who accomplished notable research.
He is the first President of the Asia-Pacific Association for Machine Translation (AAMT), and in each year from 2006, AAMT Nagao Award is awarded to individuals or groups who made contribution to machine translation.
Work
Makoto Nagao is renowned as one of the first scientists who developed practical machine translationMachine translation
Machine translation, sometimes referred to by the abbreviation MT is a sub-field of computational linguistics that investigates the use of computer software to translate text or speech from one natural language to another.On a basic...
(MT) systems. Between 1982 and 1986, he led the Mu project which aimed at translations for technical papers and became the first successful MT system between English and Japanese. In addition, example-based machine translation
Example-based machine translation
The example-based machine translation approach to machine translation is often characterized by its use of a bilingual corpus with parallel texts as its main knowledge base, at run-time...
, an important approach for MT, is the method proposed by him in the early 1980s.
He is also a pioneer of natural language processing
Natural language processing
Natural language processing is a field of computer science and linguistics concerned with the interactions between computers and human languages; it began as a branch of artificial intelligence....
(NLP) for the Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. In 1994, He created KNP, a dependency analyzer for Japanese, with Sadao Kurohashi.
In 1990s, he directed a project to make a Japanese parsed corpus
Text corpus
In linguistics, a corpus or text corpus is a large and structured set of texts...
, which is now called Kyoto University Text Corpus.
Another NLP resource developed under his laboratory is Juman, a Japanese morphological parser and the first system which merged word segmentation and morphological analysis for languages which do not have explicit word boundaries (such as Japanese or Chinese).
In pattern recognition
Pattern recognition
In machine learning, pattern recognition is the assignment of some sort of output value to a given input value , according to some specific algorithm. An example of pattern recognition is classification, which attempts to assign each input value to one of a given set of classes...
and image processing
Image processing
In electrical engineering and computer science, image processing is any form of signal processing for which the input is an image, such as a photograph or video frame; the output of image processing may be either an image or, a set of characteristics or parameters related to the image...
, he was the first engineer who applied feedback analysis mechanisms to facial recognition system
Facial recognition system
A facial recognition system is a computer application for automatically identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source...
s, and he introduced various artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
techniques into the image processing.
He supervised the Adriadne system, a digital library
Digital library
A digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats and accessible by computers. The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks...
system, which made an impact upon digital library research in Japan and over the world. While the National Diet Library of Japan holds a traditional slogan "Truth makes us free" (John
Johannes Passion
The St John Passion , BWV 245, is a sacred oratorio of Johann Sebastian Bach from the Passions. The original Latin title Passio secundum Johannem translates to "The Suffering According to John" and is rendered in English also as St. John Passion and in German as Johannespassion...
8:32), a new slogan "Through knowledge we prosper" is proposed by him as the director. He is very interested in Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
and gave a keynote lecture in the Wikimedia Conference Japan 2009.
Honors and awards
- 1993: IEEE Emanuel R. Piore AwardIEEE Emanuel R. Piore AwardThe IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award is a Technical Field Award given each year by the IEEE to an individual or small team that has made outstanding contributions to information processing systems in relation to computer science. The award is named in honor of Emanuel R. Piore.The award was established...
- 1997: Medal of Honour with Purple Ribbon
- 1999: C&C PrizeC&C PrizeC&C Prizes is an award given by the NEC Corporation "in recognition of outstanding contributions to research and development and/or pioneering work in the fields of semiconductors, computers, telecommunications and their integrated technologies." Established in 1985, through the NEC's nonprofit...
- 2003: ACLAssociation for Computational LinguisticsThe Association for Computational Linguistics is the international scientific and professional society for people working on problems involving natural language and computation. An annual meeting is held each summer in locations where significant computational linguistics research is carried out...
Lifetime Achievement Award - 2004: Professor Emeritus of Kyoto UniversityKyoto University, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...
- 2005: Japan PrizeJapan Prizeis awarded to people from all parts of the world whose "original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind."- Explanation :...
- 2005: Chevalier de la Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
- 2008: Person of Cultural MeritPerson of Cultural Meritis an official Japanese recognition-honor which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of creative activities in Japan...