Rate My Professor Hiroki Shigemune

Hiroki Shigemune is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Shibaura Institute of Technology, where he leads the Active Functional Devices Laboratory. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering from Waseda University in 2014, a Master of Engineering from the same institution in 2016, and a Doctor of Engineering (early graduation) from Waseda University in 2018. His doctoral thesis focused on paper mechatronics and the creation of a self-folding robot using printing methods. Prior to his current role, Shigemune served as an Assistant Professor at Waseda University in the Department of Applied Physics from 2018 to 2019 and held positions including Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (DC1) from 2016 to 2018, as well as visiting researcher and part-time lecturer roles at Shibaura Institute of Technology.

Shigemune’s research centers on the development of actuators, electronic devices, and self-folding origami-inspired structures using printing techniques and environmentally compatible materials. He has received numerous awards, including the Innovative Technologies 2015 award from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the JTCF Novel Technology Paper Award, the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Japan Chapter Young Award, multiple best presentation and outstanding presentation awards from conferences such as SICE and JSME, and various student and young researcher awards in recent years. His career includes international research visits to institutions such as the Biorobotics Institute at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and the University of Cambridge. Shigemune contributes to the field through peer review for journals including IEEE Transactions on Mechatronics and Soft Robotics, and he maintains active involvement in professional societies such as IEEE and the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers.