PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Takayuki Arai

Also known as Arai Takayuki, 荒井 隆行

Takayuki Arai is a speech scientist whose physical vocal-tract models make speech production visible for learners. After engineering study at Sophia University, he takes research posts in Oregon and Berkeley, visits MIT, and joins Sophia's faculty. His work includes a 2007 teaching system, a 2017 static articulator model, and a dynamic speaking-machine model presented in 2025; he also coauthors a 2025 study of how listeners hear a speaker's direction. ISCA elects him a Fellow in 2024 for developing speech-production models, and he has been a professor in Sophia's Department of Information and Communication Sciences since 2008.

Works
507
Citations
5,295
h-index
40
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1992–2000

    Sophia training and US posts

    At Sophia University, he earns engineering degrees and completes doctoral study in electrical and electronics engineering. He visits Oregon Graduate Institute's Department of Computer Science and Engineering in 1992–1993, becomes a research associate in Sophia's Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering with Professor Yoshida in 1994–1995, returns to Oregon's Department of Electrical Engineering in 1995–1996, joins Berkeley's International Computer Science Institute as a research fellow in 1997–1998, becomes an assistant professor at Sophia in 1998 and an associate professor in 2000.

  2. 2003–2006

    MIT and Sophia appointments

    At MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics, he is a visiting scientist in 2003–2004. He becomes a professor in Sophia University's Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering in 2006.

  3. 2007

    Teaching acoustics with models

    In 2007, he presents an educational system for acoustics and speech science built from physical models of the human vocal tract. The models demonstrate how vocal-tract shape and tongue movement affect vowel quality, and the system supports voice and articulatory training in speech pathology and language learning.

  4. 2017

    A static vocal-tract model

    In 2017, he designs a static hybrid model that produces one vowel while displaying the lips, teeth and tongue. He describes how vocal-tract models may support acoustics and phonetics education, pronunciation training and clinical speech therapy.

  5. 2024

    An ISCA Fellowship

    ISCA elects him a Fellow in 2024 for developing models of speech production and applying them in speech science, technology, pathology and education.

  6. 2025

    A model for a speaking machine

    At Interspeech 2025, he presents a static vowel model embedded in a dummy head and a dynamic model for a speaking machine. Blocks simulate articulatory movements, and cam mechanisms change the vocal-tract shape in real time.

  7. 2025

    Hearing a speaker's direction

    In 2025, he coauthors a study that asks listeners to identify which direction a speaker faces from sound recordings. The team tests recordings with varied and constant loudness; listeners judge direction from loudness and spectral cues.

  8. Since 2008

    Professor at Sophia

    Since 2008, he has been a professor in Sophia University's Department of Information and Communication Sciences. His research spans speech production, speech analysis and synthesis, speech signal processing, speech and language recognition, spoken-language processing, speech perception and support for people with communication disorders.

Career

  1. Since 1994Sophia UniversityResearch Associate, Assistant Professor
  2. 2008–2014Institute of Science Tokyo
  3. 2007–2011University of Hyogo
  4. 2003–2004Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyVisiting Scientist
  5. 2002–2006National Agriculture and Food Research Organization
  6. 1997–1998University of California, BerkeleyResearch Fellow
  7. 1997–2002International Computer Science Institute
  8. 1995–1998Nippon Sanso Corporation
  9. 1995–2025Chiba University
  10. 1992–1996Oregon Graduate Institute
  11. 1985–1994Gunma University

Education

  1. Sophia University

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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.
  3. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Sophia University. 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.
  4. Direct Form 990 pay in the latest returns of 39 nonprofits with AI people on this site is highest at $2.1M at the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) (2024)Includes International Computer Science Institute. IRS Form 990 compensation across 39 nonprofits with AI people on this site from 2012 to 2025: in the latest returns, Mozilla reports $6.1M including related-company pay (2024) and the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) leads direct nonprofit pay at $2.1M (2024).

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

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  1. Takayuki Arai - Sophia University, Faculty of Science and Technology fst.sophia.ac.jp. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. Exploring the mechanisms of sound for applications in engineering, language education, medical care and social welfare | Sophia University sophia.ac.jp. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. Education system in acoustics of speech production using physical models of the human vocal tract jstage.jst.go.jp. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. Vocal-Tract Model with Static Articulators: Lips, Teeth, Tongue, and More isca-archive.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. ISCA Fellows 2024 isca-speech.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. Vocal-tract model with two directions: Static design for a dummy head and dynamic design for a speaking machine isca-archive.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  7. Hear Here: How Loudness and Acoustic Cues Help Us Judge Where a Speaker is Facing | Sophia University sophia.ac.jp. Checked 22 October 2026.