Makoto Kawano received his B.A. from the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, in 2014, his master’s degree from the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo, in 2016, and his Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, in 2019. During his doctoral studies, he was supported by the JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists (DC1). He joined the Matsuo Laboratory at The University of Tokyo as a Project Researcher in 2019, became a Project Assistant Professor in 2022, and has also served as a Lecturer at ZEN University and a Senior Researcher at Matsuo Institute since 2025. His research interests include transfer learning, deep generative models, foundation models, robotics, autonomous driving, world models, and machine learning for real-world data.

He organized the JSAI organized session on World Models from 2022 through 2025 and is organizing the 2026 session “Physical AI in the Foundation Model Era.” He is also involved in operating the HUMAI Program through the Second Matsuo Lab, served as a judge for the 1st HUMAI Essay Final Review at Genron Cafe on April 5, 2026, and gave an invited talk on Physical AI at the HUMAI Summer Camp in 2025.

Education

• Ph.D. (Media and Governance), 2019

  Keio University

• M.A. (Interdisciplinary Information Studies), 2016

  The University of Tokyo

• B.A. (Environment and Information Studies), 2014

  Keio University

Interests

• Machine Learning for Real-world Data
• Transfer Learning
• Deep Generative Models
• Foundation Models
• World Models
• Robotics and Autonomous Driving
• Knowledge Distillation
• Continual Learning

Hobby

• Disney
• Camera
• Road Bike