Kozo Saito learned TPS directly from the current Toyota Honorary Chairman, Fujio Cho. Dr. Saito is the Director Emeritus of the UK Institute of Research for Technology Development (IR4TD) and an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
Dr. Saito joined UK in 1986 as Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering, was promoted to Professor (1993), and became the Tennessee Valley Authority (Endowed) Professor in Mechanical Engineering (2001-2020). Before UK, Dr. Saito was at Princeton University as a Research Associate to conduct combustion research and later was promoted to Prof. Research Staff. Dr. Saito completed his three degrees (BS 1975, MS 1977, Ph.D. 1980) at Seikei University, Tokyo, Japan. Before joining Princeton, he received post-graduate training at the University of California at San Diego.
Dr. Saito is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the International Scale Modeling Committee chair, and a former National Research Council committee member. He holds visiting lectureship with Nippon Steel Corp, University of Tokyo, had an IPA assignment at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and was a joint research collaborator with NASA and USDA Forest Service.