Satoshi Takahashi
Associate Professor Department of Computer and Network Engineering.

Satoshi Takahashi is using his expertise in mathematical optimization and game theory to address practical social issues including optimizing transportation timetables, factory work schedules, economic problems like price determination, and stock trading.

His group is creating mathematical models to determine optimal solutions for minimizing or maximizing specific goals, such as finding the most efficient traffic routes or maximizing factory production plans. His research is based on using fundamental mathematics including linear algebra, statistics, and probability.

Game theory, particularly mechanism design, is another key tool in his research. This involves creating rules to achieve economically desirable outcomes in resource allocation and decision-making. For instance, the Vickrey-Clarke-Groves mechanism is applied in auction designs to meet these criteria.

One of Takahashi’s recent notable projects, "Beat the Traffic Jams," addresses congestion issues in urban Japan, including car traffic, human traffic on railways, and airport runway congestion. Takahashi and his group are developing and scheduling transportation networks and designing effective traffic rules using mathematical optimization and game theory. Importantly, despite efforts, congestion persists due to selfish behavior, necessitating models that predict congestion levels under such conditions.

To tackle this aspect of traffic jams, the team uses selfish routing games to find equilibrium states of congestion, employing evolutionary computation techniques like replicator dynamics, which they have significantly accelerated. This equilibrium helps quantitatively evaluate network congestion and traffic regulations.

The goal of this research is to develop systems that evaluate and optimize traffic control during events and disasters, facilitating better planning and regulation. Their broader goal is societal optimization, and Takahashi welcomes suggestions for real-world problems to resolve through his expertise. As Takahashi puts it, "Optimization of society is our slogan."