Professor OBI holds a Bachelor (BSc) and a Master of Science (MSc) degree in mechanical engineering from Keio University and a Doctor of Engineering (Dr.-Ing.) degree from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. His research interests include fluid mechanics, turbulence modeling, and computational mechanics.
He has held several international leadership positions at the university, including dean of the International Center and vice president for International Collaboration.
He has also served on various committees of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) dealing with international education and scholarship programs.