PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Kazuo Tanaka

Also known as Kazuo A. TANAKA, 田中 一男

Kazuo Tanaka is a control engineer who works on fuzzy systems control, a way of designing controllers for nonlinear systems, and applies it to unmanned aircraft. After a systems science doctorate at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1990, he was a visiting scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1992 and 1993, an associate professor at Kanazawa University from 1994 to 1997, and joined the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo in 1998. He co-wrote the Wiley book Fuzzy Control Systems Design and Analysis: A Linear Matrix Inequality Approach in 2001, and he was named an IEEE Fellow in 2014 and an IFSA Fellow in 2015. The IEEE Computational Intelligence Society gave him its Fuzzy Systems Pioneer Award in 2021. He is a professor of mechanical and intelligent systems engineering at the University of Electro-Communications.

Timeline

  1. 1990

    Systems science doctorate

    In 1990, he earns a Ph.D. in systems science from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and receives the Best Young Researchers Award of the Japan Society for Fuzzy Theory and Systems.

  2. 1992–1997

    Chapel Hill, then Kanazawa

    He is a visiting scientist in computer science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1992 and 1993, then an associate professor in the engineering faculty of Kanazawa University from 1994 to 1997.

  3. 1998–2003

    Joining UEC in Tokyo

    In 1998, he joins the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo as an associate professor in mechanical engineering, and by 2003 he is a professor there.

  4. 1999–2000

    IFAC and IEEE paper awards

    He wins the IFAC World Congress Best Poster Paper Prize in 1999 and the IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems Outstanding Paper Award in 2000.

  5. 2001

    A book on fuzzy control

    With Hua O. Wang, he publishes Fuzzy Control Systems Design and Analysis: A Linear Matrix Inequality Approach with Wiley in 2001. Building on the Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy model, the book covers stability analysis, systematic design procedures, performance specifications, numerical implementations, and practical applications of fuzzy control systems.

  6. 2014–2015

    IEEE and IFSA Fellow

    He is named a Fellow of the IEEE in 2014 for contributions to fuzzy control system design and analysis, and an IFSA Fellow in 2015.

  7. 2021

    Fuzzy Systems Pioneer Award

    In 2021, the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society selects him for its Fuzzy Systems Pioneer Award, with a citation for contributions to fuzzy control systems design and analysis. The award recognizes significant contributions to early concepts and sustained developments in the field of fuzzy systems.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor at UEC

    He is a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Intelligent Systems Engineering at the University of Electro-Communications, where his research covers fuzzy systems control and nonlinear systems control with applications to unmanned aerial vehicles. He is principal investigator of a Grant-in-Aid project for 2025–2027 on fuzzy modeling and strategic control of complex aerial systems, and his 2026 paper on a fuzzy-model-based disturbance observer targets a flying-wing UAV.

Career

  1. Since 1998University of Electro-CommunicationsAssociate professor, Professor
  2. 1994–1997Kanazawa UniversityAssociate professor
  3. 1992–1993University of North Carolina at Chapel HillVisiting scientist

Education

  1. 1990Institute of Science TokyoPh.D.

From the biography.

  1. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Kazuo Tanaka. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Electro-Communications. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  3. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  4. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Kazuo Tanaka yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Kazuo Tanaka Laboratory, UEC, Tokyo, Japan - Biography sites.google.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Kazuo Tanaka Laboratory, UEC, Tokyo, Japan - Awards and Honors sites.google.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. KAKEN — Researchers | Tanaka Kazuo (00227125) nrid.nii.ac.jp. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Fuzzy Control Systems Design and Analysis: A Linear Matrix Inequality Approach | Wiley wiley.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Kazuo Tanaka - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Researcher Information TANAKA Kazuo | The University of Electro-Communications uec.ac.jp. Checked 21 October 2026.