Introduction
The structure of our society has become larger and more complicated with the recent progress in automation and information engineering. Now, various systems in the society are rapidly developing and they are deeply related to each other. For example, while energy is indispensable to the support and development of social systems, so have abnormal climate, such as the warming up of the earth, and the destruction and transformation of our natural environment caused by the waste of a large amount of fossil fuel, become serious problems. As the high level of progress in automation and information engineering greatly influences people's lifestyles, it is necessary to design and develop various kinds of social infrastructures and environmental facilities for social life in the new age, and to research and develop engineering technologies related to regional development and in tune with nature. Moreover, in the manufacturing field, it is necessary to establish systematic harmony between human beings and mechanical systems with the help of computers, as well as to fuse various mechanical technologies with electrical, electronic, and information technologies, and to promote high-level automation and high reliability in manufacturing technology.
In consideration of these aspects, the Division of Systems Engineering was founded. It is organized into two laboratories: the Laboratory of Electrical and Information Systems, composed of four research groups (Information processing, Intelligent information systems, Information and communication systems, and Electrical control systems); and the Laboratory of Design Systems, composed of six research groups (Fluid engineering for energy and the environment, Energy systems design, Intelligent electronic mechanics, Architectural planning and urban design systems, Building environment and equipment systems, and Architectural structure systems.) With this arrangement, organized cooperation among the different research fields is promoted toward the aim of developing fundamental and application techniques for various systems related to the fields of electrical, information, mechanical, and architectural engineering, and so forth. Simultaneously with such research activities, the Division aims at the education of researchers and engineers who are capable of systematic thinking and a broad view of coping with the specific needs of the society.