Lab for Innovative Infrastructure Systems

From September 22 to 24, the 24th Behavioral Modeling Summer School was held in a hybrid format, both in person in Univ. Tokyo and online. Six students from our laboratory—one first-year master’s student and five fourth-year undergraduates—took part in the event.
This year, participants were provided with a newly developed panel dataset that traces residential transitions over more than a decade in the three Tohoku prefectures (Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima), including data from individuals affected by the Earthquake.

Our team took on the challenge of analyzing this dataset by constructing a residential location choice model using a multinomial logit (MNL) framework, with the goal of exploring policy measures to mitigate population outflow to Tokyo.
While we were able to identify variables characterizing migration to Tokyo relatively easily, pinpointing factors associated with “staying in Tohoku”—such as regional attachment—proved to be extremely challenging, making the analysis quite demanding.

Nevertheless, through repeated trial and error and close teamwork within the limited time available, we continuously refined our model and carefully interpreted its parameters.
As a result, our team was awarded sixth place overall among all participating groups.

By boldly tackling the challenging task of analyzing difficult data, this experience proved invaluable. It taught us both the depth of behavioral models and the essential lesson that persistent effort is indispensable for building good models.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for providing us with such a wonderful opportunity.

[Ito]

On September 19, we had the honor of hosting a special seminar featuring Professor Mogens Fosgerau of the University of Copenhagen, a world-renowned scholar in transportation economics.

During the seminar, Dantsuji sensei (Waseda University), Fujiwara sensei (our laboratory), and Oyama sensei (The University of Tokyo) each delivered research presentations. Professor Fosgerau provided insightful questions and valuable comments in response to these presentations.

The discussions reached a remarkably high academic level. Each presentation extended well beyond an hour, and the exchange between leading scholars in the field and the students in attendance got an invaluable and intellectually enriching experience.

This seminar provided a strong source of inspiration, both for the upcoming Summer School on Behavioral Modeling and for the advancement of our future research.

[Uemachi]

From September 12th to 13th, we had the opportunity to participate in a joint seminar in Nagato, Yamaguchi Prefecture, with the Sakakibara Lab at Yamaguchi University and the Kamiya Lab at the University of the Ryukyus.

At the start of the afternoon seminar on the first day, Mr. Moriyama from Mine City gave a lecture on discussions regarding the restoration of the Mine Line, which had suspended operations along its entire route due to rain damage. It was an invaluable opportunity to hear the perspectives and initiatives of local governments concerning the maintenance of regional railways.

After that, we held poster presentation sessions and oral presentation sessions throughout the first day and the morning of the second day. We received questions and advice from professors and students offering perspectives different from our usual laboratory seminars, gaining valuable insights crucial for advancing our research.

On the evening of the first day, we held a social gathering at a nearby restaurant. It was the second consecutive year we held a joint seminar with the Kamiya Lab at the University of the Ryukyus. We hope to continue these cross-regional interactions.

[Uemachi]

On August 2nd and 3rd, we had the pleasure of visiting Waseda University’s Karuizawa Seminar House to participate in a joint seminar camp with the members of the Kuniaki Sasaki Laboratory.

The first day began with a tour of a rockfall prevention construction site on the Joshin-etsu Expressway. Afterward, we moved to the seminar house, where we enjoyed a BBQ and had a wonderful time getting to know the members of the Sasaki Lab.

During the joint seminar on the second day, we had the opportunity to listen to fascinating research presentations from the Sasaki Lab, whose work in urban transportation is closely related to our own. We were particularly impressed by their insightful problem-setting, which is rooted in the real-world challenges facing modern Japanese cities and makes use of diverse urban data.

The two days were incredibly rewarding, offering a valuable opportunity not only for academic discussion but also for connecting on a personal level. We talked about everything from our research to general university life during the social gatherings. We hope to continue this wonderful exchange through future seminars, academic conferences, and other opportunities.

Finally, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to Professor Kuniaki Sasaki, Dr. Takao Dantsuji, and all the members of the Sasaki Lab for their immense effort and hospitality in organizing this fantastic event.

[Tanaka]

How are you doing in these hot days?

We held the closing seminar of the summer term, where all B4 and M2 students presented their research progress and have Q&A sessions.

This semester, we had two types of seminars: a weekly rotating research progress seminar and a basic seminar on economic theory.

I feel that both seminars provided good learning opportunities through discussions on economic theory and sharing of research content among lab members.

In addition, this semester we started an open channel on Slack for each member’s research so that others can see their research progress, such as the papers they are reading and the ideas they are thinking about. I believe that we now know more about other members’ research and can comment on each other’s work.

After the seminar, we had a launch party.
What a taco party this time! 🌮
Under the planning of Miyu from M1, we all gathered around the tacos and cheered for everyone’s hard work this semester!

We will do our best in the summer vacation, which will be filled with various events such as joint seminar camps , graduate school examinations, midterm presentations, and summer school of behavior modeling.

[M1 Tanaka]

On June 7 and 8, our M1 students, Kanaoka, Matsunaga, and  Tanaka, gave presentations at the 71st Spring Meeting of the Society of Civil Engineering and Planning held at Kagawa University.

I am very happy and deeply moved to be able to return to this conference as a presenter with all of my labmates, having attended last year as an auditor.

I was very nervous about my presentation in front of many professors specializing in infrastructure planning, but I managed to complete my presentation, which was a very valuable experience for me. During the Q&A session, there were occasions when my past efforts were highly evaluated, which was very encouraging. In the future, I would like to further develop my research by taking into consideration the suggestions and ideas given to me by people from various universities and institutions.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Fukuda, who has consistently provided me with tremendous guidance and support, not only for this presentation but also for all the years since my graduation research. Thank you.
[Kota Matsunaga(M1)]

Furthermore, Watanabe(M2), Ito, Saratani, and Tanese(B4) attended as audience members for research reference.

It was the first time for me to participate in a conference, and I realized that there are so many terms and areas that one must have some understanding of as a given.In terms of terminology, for example, presentations and discussions proceeded on the assumption that one understands abbreviations such as UE (User Equilibrium) and SO (System Optimum), and in terms of areas, not only behavioral models and economics, but also optimization algorithms, machine learning, quantum computers, etc.It was very difficult for me, a B4 student, to keep up with the very wide range of fields presented, but it was a good stimulus for me to learn more.

[Ito]

It was my first time to attend a conference.I attended the conference as an observer, and it was a very good experience for me to be exposed to cutting-edge research and discussions among researchers.On the other hand, there were many presentations that I could not keep up with, and I keenly felt the need to continue my studies.

I would like to work hard on my graduation research so that next year I will be in a position to be a presenter and be able to have meaningful discussions.

[Saratani]

Although the first conference in my life was one in which I did my best just to listen and understand, I was exposed to thought-provoking presentations and discussions, and was able to experience firsthand the forefront of the field I am trying to tackle.I will keep looking forward to the research that I will be able to conduct fruitfully based on the stimulation I gained from this experience.Thank you very much for this precious opportunity.

[Tanese]

Krittanai(D2), Kota(M1), and Miyu(M1) attended the Transportation Research Symposium (TRS), a four-day academic conference held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Having two fellow lab members there helped me ease my nerves, especially since it was my first time presenting at a conference.
Preparing the poster was more challenging than I expected. Deciding what information to include and how to lay it out visually took a lot of thought. During the presentation, I realized that simply standing by the poster and hoping people would stop by wasn’t enough. Attracting interest required me to take the initiative and actively engage in conversation, which was a valuable lesson.I had a great time connecting with researchers from around the world. Their diverse perspectives and work inspired me in many ways. Outside the conference, I also enjoyed exploring the city and soaking in the local atmosphere. It was my first time in Europe, and the experience was both refreshing and memorable.
[Kanaoka]

On May 1st, Dr. Keishi Fujiwara came from Hiroshima University as a new project-appointed assistant professor in our lab. Dr. Fujiwara is going to engage in our SATREPS project in Bangkok. 

We held Fujiwara Sensei’s welcome party(sushi party) in the seminar room. We enjoyed the conversation with him a lot. 

We look forward to engaging in meaningful research discussions with Dr. Fujiwara in seminars and to deepening our daily interactions within the lab community.

[Tanaka]

The new academic year has officially begun, and we held our first seminar of the year!

We are pleased to welcome three new undergraduate seniors—Haruto Ito, Yuta Saratani, and Manami Tanese—who have joined our laboratory as thesis students. With these new members, we are excited to see how the lab’s activities will unfold throughout the year.

At present, our laboratory consists of 14 student members. We will continue to share updates on our lab life on this website!

[Tanaka]

With the start of the new academic year, the towering big tree in front of Building of our lab is turning a fresh shade of green, signaling the arrival of spring.

We would like to share that Dr. Takao Dantsuji, who was with us as a research fellow until the end of March, has taken up a new position as a lecturer at Waseda University. Although his time with us was short, we are truly grateful for his contributions to our lab. We sincerely wish him continued success in his new role.

At the same time, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Qian Ge, who is one of our lab’s alumni,  as a visiting associate professor.

In addition, three new master’s students continue their research in this lab following their undergraduate studies.

With new members joining us, our lab is becoming even more vibrant and energetic. We look forward to another fruitful year of research together.

[Tanaka]