○ International Award
Prof. Hiroshi ITO
He received the B.E., M.E., and Ph.D.degrees in Electrical Engineering from Keio University, Yokohama,Japan in 1990, 1992, and 1995,respectively. From April 1994 to March 1995, he was a research fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. He has been with the Department of Control Engineering and Science, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan, since 1995. He is currently a Professor at the Department of Intelligent and Control Systems. From 1998 to 1999, he held visiting positions at Northwestern University and University of California, San Diego. He received the Pioneer Award and the H. Kimura Award from the Control Division of SICE in 2008 and 2015, respectively. He served as the Chair of the Technical Committee on Nonlinear Systems and Control of the IEEE Control Systems Society from 2016 to 2019. He is the Chair of the Technical Committee of Non-Linear Control Systems in The International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC).

受賞論文「Some Implications of Positivity with Interior Equilibria via Asymmetrically Scaled Sectorial Supply Rates」
This paper presents implications of some results helping to develop asymmetric dissipative systems theory in terms of
asymmetrically scaled sectorial(ASSEC)supply rates. Theyare illustrated through simple numerical examples of affine
compartmental systems for which symmetric methods are ineffective. The ASEEC supply rates, which describe strict
passivity on asymmetric spaces, were proposed recently by the author to simultaneously verify stability and positivity of
dynamical systems whose equilibria are interior points of positive state spaces. For scalar systems admitting ASSEC
supply rates, this paper demonstrates that stationary points dictate system positivity. The positivity-guaranteed subset of ASSEC systems has finite asymmetric gain. Positivity and global asymptotic stability are maintained when ASSEC systems are connected circularly, provided that all components are individually positive and one is strict. These illustrations
allow us to see the usefulness of Lyapunov functions constructed systematically via ASSEC supply rates for positivity-maintained systems synthesis.

Mr. Yusei SUZUKI
He received his B.E., and M.E.degrees in mechanical engineering from Osaka University, Japan, in 2022,and 2024,respectively. He has been with Panasonic Holdings Corporation,since 2024. His research interests include robotic manipulation and active sensing.

Dr. Akihide SHIBATA
He received his B.E. degree in electrical and electronic systems engineering from Osaka Prefecture University in 2005 and his M.E. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Osaka University in 2007 and 2018, respectively. He is currently a specially appointed researcher at Osaka University. His current research interests include robotic manipulation and active sensing.

Prof. Kazuhiro HORI
He is a dentist who specializes in prosthodontics, dysphagia rehabilitation,and gerodontorogy. He received the Ph.D. degree in dentistry from Osaka University in 2002. He is currently a Professor with Division of Comprehensive Prosthodontics, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences. He has a lot of enthusiasm for the dental treatment and research for patients after surgery of oral tumor. His main research theme is tongue pressure
measurement during swallowing, mastication and squeezing,masticatory performance and behaviors, and oral functional
assessment of older patients.

Prof. Kazuhiro HORI
He is a dentist who specializes in prosthodontics, dysphagia rehabilitation,and gerodontorogy. He received the Ph.D. degree in dentistry from Osaka University in 2002. He is currently a Professor with Division of Comprehensive Prosthodontics, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences. He has a lot of enthusiasm for the dental treatment and research for patients after surgery of oral tumor. His main research theme is tongue pressure
measurement during swallowing, mastication and squeezing,masticatory performance and behaviors, and oral functional
assessment of older patients.

Prof. Mitsuru HIGASHIMORI
He received the B.E. degree in Systems Engineering, the M.E. degree in Information Engineering, and the Ph.D. degree in Artificial Complex System Engineering from Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan, in 1996,1998, and 2006, respectively. From 1998 to 2002, he was with Toshiba Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. From 2002 to 2006, he was a Research Associate with Department of Artificial Complex Systems Engineering, Hiroshima University. From 2006 to 2019, He was an Associate Professor with Department of Mechanical Engineering, Osaka University. He is currently a Professor with Department of Mechanical Engineering, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan. His research interests include robotic manipulation and its applications to food sensing and handling.

受賞論文「Robotic Mastication Simulator That Can Reproduce Food Bolus Formation」
Humans combine complex motions of the teeth, tongue, and cheeks during mastication to crush food, mix it with saliva, and
form a swallowable food bolus. The fields of food science and industry desire to reproduce such a human food bolus
formation with machines to evaluate the texture, taste, and aroma of food objectively and quantitatively. In this paper, we proposed a novel robotic mastication simulator dedicated to the faithful reproduction of food bolus formation. First, three fundamental operations involved in food bolus formation were defined as primitives: crushing, mixing, and gathering.
Subsequently, the structure and motions of the robot were designed to execute these primitives, and the robotic mastication simulator was developed. Sequentially performing the primitives, the robot attempted to reproduce the human
food bolus formation. Finally, human and the proposed robot masticated test foods, and the resulting food bolus images were analyzed using a convolutional neural network. It was shown that the robot using the appropriate sequence of  primitives has a potential to reproduce human food bolus formation.

○ Young Authorʼs Award
Mr. Jyothiraditya RAMASWAMY
He received his B.E. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from SSN College of Engineering. He gained industry experience as an Electrical Engineer at Caterpillar,India. Currently, he is pursuing an M.S. in Chemical Engineering at IITMadras. His research focuses on system identification and the application of Gaussian process models, with a particular interest in bridging theoretical and practical aspects of dynamic systems.

受賞論文「Enhancing System Identification through Transfer Learning in Gaussian Process Models: Bridging Sim-to-Real
and Cross-Environment Applications」
This study introduces a framework leveraging transfer learning within Gaussian Process Nonlinear Autoregressive with
Exogenous Inputs (GP-NARX) models to address system identification challenges in dynamic, data scarce dynamical
systems, with a focus on Sim-to-Real applications. It adeptly employs transfer learning to navigate the complexities of
transferring knowledge from extensively studied source environments to novel, less understood target contexts,
particularly emphasizing cross-environment adaptation. The framework showcases significant improvement in predictive
accuracy, demonstrating considerable reductions in mean-squared error and achieving marked improvements in log predictive density and mean standardized log loss across different environmental settings. Rigorous thermal control system lab evaluations and detailed illustrative examples validate the frameworkʼs effectiveness in bridging knowledge gaps between
disparate environments, positioning it as potentially scalable solution for  Sim-to-Real challenges. This method improves
identification and modelling of dynamical systems across different environments, advancing our understanding of them.