Researcher · Nagaoka University of Technology
Handityo Aulia Putra
Decoding how brains and machines understand each other.
Dr.Eng. · Neuroimaging × Machine Learning × Human-Computer Interaction
I run machine-learning analyses on large-scale brain MRI to understand driving safety, fatigue, and attention. I also design EEG experiments and pneumatic interfaces that show how people actually interact with technology.
- 15+Peer-reviewed publications
- 9First-author journal articles
- N1JLPT Japanese
About
Engineer by training, neuroscientist by curiosity
I work at the intersection of neuroscience, machine learning, and human-computer interaction. At Nagaoka University of Technology I analyze large-scale structural brain MRI with machine learning — linking regional gray matter to driving safety, fatigue, and attention traits — through long-running collaborations with Kochi University of Technology, ATR, and Iwate Medical University, published in journals including Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, Scientific Reports, and Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.
My path runs from electrical engineering in Indonesia (ITB), through networked-systems research in South Korea, to a doctorate in Japan on air-based interaction: pneumatic input and haptic devices that work even inside an MRI scanner. Five years as an assistant professor at Keimyung University added teaching, student supervision, and gamification research along the way.
That mix shapes how I do science: reproducible pipelines, honest statistics, hardware I can build myself, and tools other researchers can actually use. I work across four languages, including Japanese at JLPT N1.
- PositionResearcher
- AffiliationDept. of Electrical, Electronics & Information Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology
- ConcurrentAssistant Professor (Lektor), Indonesia Defense University, Indonesia (since 2025)
- DegreeDr.Eng. — Kochi University of Technology (2016)
- LocationNagaoka, Niigata, Japan
- FocusNeuroimaging · ML · EEG · HCI · Driving safety
- LanguagesIndonesian · English · Japanese (JLPT N1) · Korean
- ORCID0000-0002-1218-9977
Research areas
Four channels, one question
How do we measure the way human minds and machines work together, and how do we make it better?
Ch · Fz — frontal
Neuroimaging & machine learning
Voxel-based morphometry of structural MRI in cohorts of thousands, combined with interpretable ML (feature selection, regression, SHAP) to link regional gray matter volume with driving safety, fatigue, and ADHD traits.
Ch · Cz — central
Brain-computer interaction
EEG studies of motor execution built on Fitts' Law paradigms with LSL-synchronized pipelines and age-simulation suits, plus fMRI-compatible pneumatic interfaces evaluated inside a 3.0 T scanner.
Ch · Pz — parietal
Human-computer interaction
Air-based input and haptic feedback, gamified physical computing, and hand-built experiment platforms, including validated web questionnaires (NASA-TLX, SUS, SSQ and more) that run entirely in the browser.
Ch · Oz — occipital
Traffic safety & human factors
On-road driving assessments of older adults linked to brain structure, occupational fatigue by work type, and behavioral safety, all in search of practical biomarkers that keep drivers safe and mobile for longer.
Experience
Research timeline
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Apr 2024 — present
Researcher
Nagaoka University of Technology — Nagaoka, Japan
Machine-learning analysis of large-scale brain MRI data in the Department of Electrical, Electronics and Information Engineering, alongside an active EEG × Fitts' Law research line on motor aging.
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Sep 2025 — present
Assistant Professor (Lektor)
Indonesia Defense University (Universitas Pertahanan RI) — Indonesia
Master's program in Cyber Defense Engineering (Program Studi Rekayasa Pertahanan Siber), Faculty of Defense Engineering and Technology (Fakultas Teknik dan Teknologi Pertahanan), held concurrently with the research position in Japan.
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Apr 2024 — Aug 2025
Visiting Lecturer
Indonesia Defense University (Universitas Pertahanan RI) — Indonesia
Taught in the master's program in cyber defense engineering before the appointment as Assistant Professor.
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Dec 2022 — Mar 2024
Assistant Professor (Project) · Research Associate
Kochi University of Technology — Kochi, Japan
Intelligent Informatics Laboratory, School of Informatics. Structural MRI and driving-safety research with collaborators at ATR and Iwate Medical University.
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Sep 2017 — Aug 2022
Assistant Professor
Keimyung University — Daegu, Republic of Korea
Five years of course teaching, research, and student supervision, including gamified physical-computing systems. During the same years I was also a remote Visiting Researcher with the Traffic Medicine Laboratory at Kochi University of Technology (2017–2022).
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Oct 2016 — Aug 2017
Visiting Researcher
Kochi University of Technology — Traffic Medicine Laboratory / Center for Human-Engaged Computing
Brain-MRI and driving research bridging human-computer interaction and traffic medicine.
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Oct 2013 — Sep 2016
Doctoral Research (Dr.Eng.)
Kochi University of Technology — Center for Human-Engaged Computing
Dissertation: A Study of Air-based Interaction: Input and Haptic Feedback — pneumatic input and haptic devices, including fMRI-compatible interfaces evaluated in a 3.0 T scanner.
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Sep 2011 — Aug 2013
Graduate Research (M.Eng.)
Kumoh National Institute of Technology — Gumi, Republic of Korea
IT Convergence Engineering, in the Networked Systems Lab (NSL) under Prof. Dong-Seong Kim: discovery schemes and QoS configuration for the Data Distribution Service in combat management systems.
Education
Degrees
Doctorate · 2016
Doctor of Engineering (Dr.Eng.)
Kochi University of Technology, Japan. Dissertation: A Study of Air-based Interaction: Input and Haptic Feedback.
Master · 2013
M.Eng., IT Convergence Engineering
Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Republic of Korea. Thesis on discovery schemes and QoS configuration for DDS in combat management systems.
Bachelor · 2011
B.Eng. (S.T.), Electrical Engineering
Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Indonesia. Control Engineering concentration with a minor in Biomedical Engineering.
Funding
Grants
External funding · Principal investigator
JSPS KAKENHI — Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Investigation of the Neurological Basis of Fatigue Using Large-Scale MRI Data from Brain Dock — sole principal investigator, FY2025–FY2027, ¥4,680,000. Co-investigators at Nagaoka University of Technology, ATR, and Iwate Medical University.
External funding · Co-investigator
RIIM Kompetisi (BRIN-LPDP)
Pengembangan Sistem Structural Health Monitoring Berbasis MEMS Sensors pada Mobile Devices dan IoT untuk Mitigasi Resiko Gempa pada Bangunan (Development of a MEMS Sensor-Based Structural Health Monitoring System on Mobile Devices and IoT for Earthquake Risk Mitigation in Buildings) — co-investigator, 2026–2028, Rp 439,000,000 total over three years (Rp 115,000,000 in year one).
Skills
Toolbox
Research methods
Machine learning & data
Engineering
Languages
Teaching & service
Beyond the lab
Teaching
University teaching
Across five years as Assistant Professor at Keimyung University (2017–2022), I taught ten courses in English, from graduate-level Machine Learning and User-centered Software Design to game programming and Java, always bringing hands-on data analysis, physical computing, and experimental methods into the classroom. I co-advised a doctoral student, supervised undergraduate final projects, and served as an external co-supervisor for a graduation project at Telkom University (2021). Since 2024 I've taught in the master's program in Cyber Defense Engineering at Indonesia Defense University (Universitas Pertahanan RI), first as a Visiting Lecturer and, since 2025, as Assistant Professor (Lektor).
Editorial boards
Journal editorial roles
Associate Editor for The South East Asian Journal of Advance Engineering and Technology, and an editorial team member of the Journal of Computer Networks, Architecture and High Performance Computing.
Peer review
Reviewing
Listed Peer-Reviewer for the Journal of Mechatronics, Electrical Power, and Vehicular Technology, published by Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and indexed in DOAJ. Completed peer reviews for BMC Public Health, BMC Psychology, Discover Neuroscience, Structural and Congenital Heart Disease, and the Indonesian Journal on Computing.
Memberships & community
Societies and community roles
Member of ACM SIGCHI and the Japan Human Brain Mapping Society. Vice-Chair of the Indonesian Students' Association in Niigata (PPI Niigata) since 2025; previously Head of Media and Communications for the Association of Indonesian Researchers in Korea (APIK), where I remain a member, and Chair of PPI Kochi from 2014 to 2016.
Contact
Let's collaborate
Open to research collaborations, reviewing, and conversations about neuroimaging, machine learning, and human-centered technology. The fastest ways to reach me:
