The History of BPEL

With experiences of veteran researcher- Prof. Shiro Usui, who has done several researches while studying at University of California and started up several research studies at University of Nagoya, “Biological and Physiological Engineering Laboratory”(BPEL) was founded in April 1979 in Toyohashi University of Technology, Department of Information and Computer Sciences with its aim to start a new research field, Biological and Physiological Engineering. During the last 40 years, over 200 members of BPEL earned bachelor, master or doctor degrees (picture: name tags of successive members in our meeting room), and now doing excellent jobs at private companies and universities both at home and abroad.

Name Plates of the VPAC members.They are on the wall of the meeting room in the lab.


The Research Subjects of BPEL

To comprehend complex physiological systems in brain, it is insufficient to obtain new data by physiological experiment or physiological physical experiment, nor to simply propose new mathematical principle models. It is necessary to make a research cycle starting from analysis of the experimental data, statistical analysis, model construction, parameter estimation, simulation, evaluation and verification function, fusing experimental approaches, modeled and theoretical mathematical approaches. In our laboratory, we have been progressing researches related to biological and physiological systems based on the mentioned research technique.

VPAC taking over BPEL

After Prof. Shiro Usui moved to RIKEN Brain Science Institute in April 2003, Prof. Shigeki Nakauchi took over BPEL. From year 2010, BPEL changed its name to “Visual Perception And Cognition Laboratory”(VPAC Lab). Today, we focus mainly on human vision and progress researches which aspire fusion of basic and applied research.

Along the change of laboratory name, the logo mark was changed.
On the page of VPAC logo, It is explained about a meaning of the VPAC logo mark.

The transition of laboratory’s logo mark.