Shun-ichi Amari

Timeline

1. 1954–1963

   Studying mathematical engineering

   He studied at the University of Tokyo from 1954 to 1958 and completed a doctorate in mathematical engineering there in 1963.

2. 1963–1996

   From Kyushu to Tokyo

   At Kyushu University, he began as an associate professor in 1963, moved to the University of Tokyo in 1967, became professor there in 1981, and became professor emeritus in 1996.

3. 1967

   Learning in the middle layer

   He developed a neural network model that let an intermediate layer learn. His 1967 paper on adaptive pattern classifiers set out a theory for learning from data and adaptive classification.

4. 1972

   Teaching networks to organize

   His 1972 work used self-organizing networks for pattern recognition and time-series learning.

5. 1980s–1990s

   Geometry for machine learning

   During the 1980s and 1990s, he established information geometry for statistical models and proposed the natural gradient as an optimization method for machine learning.

6. 1992–2019

   Awards and institute leadership

   IEEE gave him the Neural Networks Pioneer Award in 1992. At RIKEN, he directed the Brain Science Institute for five years. Japan named him a Person of Cultural Merit in 2012 and awarded him the Order of Culture in 2019.

7. 2019–2021

   A lecture and a new post

   At the 2019 Takagi Lectures, he presented on information geometry as a professor emeritus of the University of Tokyo and RIKEN Honorary Science Advisor. In 2021, he took a Specially Appointed Professor post at Teikyo University's Advanced Comprehensive Research Organization.

8. 2025

   A Kyoto Prize for theory

   A mathematical engineer, he received the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology for his work on artificial neural networks, machine learning, and information geometry.