October 5, 2021
Professor Toshiyuki Masui of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies received the 2020 Foundation Award from the Japan Society for Software Science and Technology and gave a special lecture at the 38th Annual Conference of the Japan Society for Software Science and Technology on September 3.
The Japan Society for Software Science and Technology (JSSST) is active in promoting research and dissemination of science and technology related to computer software, and in cooperating with related fields to contribute to the advancement and development of academic culture.
The Foundation Award was established in fiscal 2008 as a system to honor researchers who have made outstanding achievements in basic research in the field of software science.
Professor Masui was recognized for his many years of research on basic technologies for user interface systems, his numerous research achievements that are widely used in society, his contributions to the development of this field, and his other outstanding achievements and contributions, including his management of the society and his writing activities.
Comments from Professor Toshiyuki Masui
I am currently conducting research on advanced user interfaces at Keio SFC. The reason for my award is the recognition of my many years of research on "universal user interfaces." I have been researching computer user interfaces for many years, even before coming to SFC. The predictive Japanese input system "POBox," which I developed while working at Sony Computer Science Laboratories, and "flick input," which I developed while at Apple Inc., are now used on many mobile phones and smartphones. I also conduct research on visualization systems and programming techniques to create excellent user interfaces, and I teach these in classes and research groups at SFC.
I started my research on user interfaces more than 30 years ago. While user interface research is now considered an important part of computer science, this was not a widely shared view 30 years ago. As a result of advanced research at places like Xerox PARC, personal computers equipped with graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that anyone could use, such as Apple's Macintosh, were becoming widespread. Believing that user interface research would become even more important in the future, I established the "WISS" (Workshop on Interactive Systems and Software) in 1993 as a venue for user interface researchers to hold discussions. WISS is held annually as a workshop of the Japan Society for Software Science and Technology and is known as the most active academic conference for user interface research.
In the past, computers were used by specialists, so a user interface designed for specialists might have been sufficient. However, computers are now used by everyone, and I believe that in the future, the aspect of assisting the vulnerable will become even more important. Japanese input systems, such as Kana-Kanji conversion and predictive input, can be said to enable people who have difficulty remembering kanji or who have physical disabilities with their hands to write text easily. Various search systems can also be seen as systems that help people who have difficulty with memorization. In this way, a major application of future computers will be to assist humans, and the user interfaces for this purpose will become extremely important.
A computer interface that anyone can use is called a "universal user interface." I was able to receive this award in recognition of my many years of research in this direction. I am grateful for this award and intend to continue to devote myself to further research and development.
Source: General Affairs Section, Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) Office