About Us
Though we are a new Silicon Valley startup, NTT Research comes from a rich lineage of ground-breaking research and development. The NTT R&D Lab in Tokyo, Japan boasts over 1600 patents. We intend to bring that kind of basic research to the Valley, and the world.
Kazuhiro Gomi
President and CEO, NTT Research, Inc.
Kazuhiro Gomi leads NTT Research, Inc. as president and chief executive officer (CEO). Mr. Gomi has been at NTT for more than 30 years and was involved in product management/product development activities at the beginning of his tenure. In September of 2009, Mr. Gomi was first named to the Global Telecoms Business Power100 — a list of the 100 most powerful and influential people in the telecoms industry. He was the CEO of NTT America Inc. from 2010 to 2019 and also served on the Board of Directors at NTT Communications from 2012 to 2019. Mr. Gomi received a MSIE from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a MSEE from Keio University, Tokyo. Mr. Gomi is a member of the board at US Japan Council, a non-profit organization aimed at fostering a better relationship between the US and Japan.
Personal interests include soccer, which he’s followed closely since the 70s. Since his earliest fandom, Mr. Gomi’s favorite number has always been 14.
Hideaki Ozawa
Chief Operations Officer and Chief Technology Officer, NTT Research, Inc.
Hideaki Ozawa is the COO/CTO of NTT Research Inc. He oversees Corporate and Technology strategy at NTT Research Inc. His focus is on research and development of new technologies regarding Environmental Recognition systems. These include image recognition, speech recognition language media recognition etc., Artificial Intelligence for human machine interaction etc, As general manager of the Smart Navigation division at NTT Resonant, he overseas technology-based web services, Web search for mobile, Multimedia search service, Mobile cloud service, Interactive Digital map, Local search service, Tele health service etc. Formerly, as General Manager of the IT development division at Walkerplus.com, he launched a major Japanese local portal service, Walkerplus.com, with Kadokawa Shoten publishing Co. Dr. Ozawa received his Ph. D, M. Eng and B. Eng, from Department of Electrical Engineering at Keio University.
Personal interests include golfing and staying fit: swimming, jogging, etc
Yoshihisa Yamamoto
Director of NTT Research PHI Laboratories
Professor Yoshihisa Yamamoto is a director of the NTT PHI Laboratories and a professor of Applied Physics & Electrical Engineering, Emeritus, at Stanford University. He led research laboratories focused on quantum optics and quantum information processing for more than 30 years. His current research interests are in the areas of quantum information, quantum optics, and mesoscopic physics such as squeezed states, quantum nondemolition measurements, cavity quantum electrodynamics, quantum computers, and mesoscopic electron transport and tunneling. Personal interests include golf and quantum mechanics.
Brent Waters
Director of NTT Research CIS Laboratories
Dr. Waters earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Princeton University in 2004. From 2004-2005, he was a post-doctoral at Stanford University and then work at SRI as a Computer Scientist. In 2008 he joined the faculty at The University of Texas at Austin. In 2019, he was recruited to NTT Research as a Distinguished Scientist. His research interests are within the realm of cryptography computer security. His work focuses on Identity-Based Cryptography, Functional Encryption, and code obfuscation. Recipient of numerous awards and invited papers, he is noted as a founder of Functional Encryption and Attribute-Based Encryption. Personal interests include spending time outdoors with his son and daughter.
Joe Alexander
Director of NTT Research MEI Laboratories
His background is in engineering and medicine. After graduating with a degree in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University, he studied medicine as a fellow of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Johns Hopkins Medical School, receiving both M.D. and Ph.D. degrees – with the latter in Biomedical Engineering. He specialized in cardiovascular dynamics, training with Dr. Kenji Sunagawa in the laboratory of the late Dr. Kiichi Sagawa. Immediately afterwards, he completed a fellowship in research cardiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine before additional training as a Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellow at Kyushu University. Academic faculty positions followed in Biomedical Engineering and Medicine at Vanderbilt University while simultaneously completing his residency in Internal Medicine at Vanderbilt Hospital. During that time, he also helped train astronauts like Dr. Chiaki Mukai for the Neurolab Spacelab Mission. Dr. Alexander collaborated with The National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center as a Visiting Researcher supported by the Science and Technology Agency of Japan. Following academia, he entered Pharma – first Merck, then Pfizer, working in various capacities including Field Medical Director, R&D, Business Development, and Medical Affairs. In Pharma as in academia, his passion for modeling and simulation extended across therapeutic areas. He is credited with creating several Pharma modeling platforms including The Lyrica Virtual Lab, The Neuropathic and Neuropathic-like Pain Virtual Lab, and The Pulmonary Vascular Disease Virtual Lab. Finally, he is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC) with interests in heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and in medical devices. Personal interests include poetry, Russian literature, and TRX functional training.
Robert L. Byer
Distinguished Scientist, NTT Research PHI Laboratories
Professor Robert L. Byer is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Applied Physics at Stanford University. He has made numerous contributions to laser science and technology including demonstration of the first tunable visible parametric oscillator, development of the Q-switched unstable resonator Nd:YAG laser, remote sensing using tunable infrared sources and precision spectroscopy using Coherent Anti Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS). Current research includes the development of nonlinear optical materials and laser diode pumped solid state laser sources for applications to gravitational wave detection and to laser particle acceleration.
Jon Peterson
Distinguished Scientist, NTT Research MEI Laboratories
After obtaining a degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University, he studied the molecular mechanisms underlying cardiac relaxation at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, receiving a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. During postdoctoral and faculty appointments at the University of Vermont, he delved into molecular energetics in the normal and diseased heart. Shortly thereafter he joined a small consulting group, working on biomedical projects ranging from the detection and classification of atrial fibrillation to a teleoperated surgical robotics system. For the past 15 years, he has focused on implanted sensors, systems and simulations for diagnosis of cardiac rhythm disorders and heart failure. His primary interest is in the application of engineering principles to medical challenges. Personal interests include poetry, reading, photography, hiking and bicycling, and coffee roasting at home.
Rae-Ellen Hamilton
Vice President, Human Resources, NTT Research, Inc.
Rae-Ellen Hamilton began her HR career working with actuaries at a consulting firm in Seattle, Washington. Since 2000, she has specialized in international human resources while working in various countries from Europe to Asia. She joined the NTT family in 2009. Rae-Ellen is a Certified Myers Briggs practitioner and has conducted seminars in all areas of organizations, from sales to executive suite. She carries certifications in American and Global Human Resources (Society for Human Resources Management, SHRM) along with expertise in executive compensation and leadership development. Rae-Ellen’s business operations mindset has helped her reshape corporate operations and improve functionality – via both growth and downsizing – in cable television, digital billing, VOIP, web hosting, and Cloud Services. She brings a wealth of human resources experience and knowledge to the NTT Research labs. While her experience has given her expertise in a wide variety of human resources disciplines, she especially enjoys bringing new people to the world of basic research. Personal interests include golfing and traveling with her husband of 40 years as well as frequent visits with her 2 grandsons.
Chris Shaw
Chief Marketing Officer, NTT Research, Inc.
At his core, Chris is a storyteller who believes creativity moves us forward. His marketing career began at a small California firm that employed IBM mainframe computers to read electrocardiogram data over phone, a radical innovation at the time. Later, Chris would write for a TV game show before rejoining the ad world, writing commercial copy for a software startup. That work earned him his first gold Effie, a prestigious industry award that recognizes the effectiveness of a campaign. Landing a creative director role, Chris then shepherded one of the world’s most iconic brands: Coca-Cola. At the time, Chris and his team used the ubiquitous technology of the day, voicemail, to create what could be called the world’s first social network. In 2005 Chris launched his own agency. Always looking for new ways to tell stories, Central Coast Agency embraced the digital space and was a very early proponent of content marketing. For the next 14 years, Central Coast was agency of record for NTT Communications global social media content marketing. In that world, Chris touched many aspects of NTT’s worldwide business. When NTT Research approached him to lead marketing efforts for a new research facility in the vein of Bell Labs, Chris quickly realized that this opportunity exceeds the realm of advertising. As head of marketing for NTT Research, he is part of something extraordinary. With world class thinkers in the fields of Physics, Encryption and Medicine coming together for the fundamental research which will someday improve and even extend human lives, this is a story Chris is eager to tell. Personal interests include gourmet cooking and riding his motorcycle.
Kazuhiro Gomi
President and CEO, NTT Research, Inc.
Kazuhiro Gomi leads NTT Research, Inc. as president and chief executive officer (CEO). Mr. Gomi has been at NTT for more than 30 years and was involved in product management/product development activities at the beginning of his tenure. In September of 2009, Mr. Gomi was first named to the Global Telecoms Business Power100 — a list of the 100 most powerful and influential people in the telecoms industry. He was the CEO of NTT America Inc. from 2010 to 2019 and also served on the Board of Directors at NTT Communications from 2012 to 2019. Mr. Gomi received a MSIE from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a MSEE from Keio University, Tokyo. Mr. Gomi is a member of the board at US Japan Council, a non-profit organization aimed at fostering a better relationship between the US and Japan. Personal interests include soccer, which he’s followed closely since the 70s. Since his earliest fandom, Mr. Gomi’s favorite number has always been 14.
Atsuko Oka
Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development planning, NTT
Upon joining NTT in 1988, Atsuko Oka worked to improve software development productivity while engaging in high-speed Internet research. After transferring to international HQ and studying at MIT, she started a video distribution service at NTT Communications. She served as president & CEO of a subsidiary, chief of the IoT Promotion Office, and general manager of a subsidiary. After this, she became NTT’s first female board member in June 2019. She is now responsible for new technology development for or based on telecommunication.
Hideaki Ozawa
Chief Operations Officer and Chief Technology Officer, NTT Research, Inc.
Hideaki Ozawa is the COO/CTO of NTT Research Inc. He oversees Corporate and Technology strategy at NTT Research Inc. His focus is on research and development of new technologies regarding Environmental Recognition systems. These include image recognition, speech recognition language media recognition etc., Artificial Intelligence for human machine interaction etc, As general manager of the Smart Navigation division at NTT Resonant, he overseas technology-based web services, Web search for mobile, Multimedia search service, Mobile cloud service, Interactive Digital map, Local search service, Tele health service etc. Formerly, as General Manager of the IT development division at Walkerplus.com, he launched a major Japanese local portal service, Walkerplus.com, with Kadokawa Shoten publishing Co. Dr. Ozawa received his Ph. D, M. Eng and B. Eng, from Department of Electrical Engineering at Keio University. Personal interests include golfing and staying fit: swimming, jogging, etc
Tsunehisa Okuno
Head of Global Business, NTT
Tsunehisa is Executive Vice President, Head of Global Business for the NTT Group. He’s responsible for planning and executing global corporate strategy. Mr Okuno joined NTT in 1983. Since then he has engaged in network service promotion and corporate planning including development of the global strategy for NTT Group. In 2007 he was named General Manager of Global Business Strategy Office, Strategic Business Development Division of NTT. He was elected to Senior Vice President and Head of Global Business Office, and Member of the Board of NTT in 2012. Since June 2018, he was elected to his current position of Executive Vice President. Tsunehisa graduated from the MIT Sloan School of Management, Executive Program.
