Prize Recipient

Akira Hasegawa
Kobe Womens University & Himeji Dokkyo University

"For innovative discoveries and seminal contributions to the theories of nonlinear drift wave turbulence, Alfvin wave propagation in laboratory and space plasmas, and optical solitons and their application to high speed communication."

Dr. Hasegawa is a native of Japan, graduating from Osaka University with a B. Eng. and a M. Eng. degree in 1957 and 1959 respectively. As a Fulbright scholar, he received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1964 on his work on plasma physics. In 1967, he received a Doctor of Science degree from the Nagoya University. He was an Associate Professor at Osaka University from 1964 until he joined Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ in 1968. He returned to Osaka University in 1991 as a Professor of Communications Engineering. Upon retirement from Osaka University in 1998, Dr. Hasegawa was appointed to Research Professor at Kochi University of Technology and as a consultant at NTT Science and Core Technology Laboratory Group. Currently, he is a Lecturer at Kobe Womens University (where he teaches a course entitled "Theory of Happiness for Women") and a Professorial Advisor to the President, Himeji Dokkyo University.

Dr. Hasegawa has written over 250 technical papers and several books. He is a recipient of the 1991 Rank Prize (British), the 1993 Shida Rinzaburo Prize (Japanese Ministry of Post and Telecommunications), the 1993 Hattori (Seiko) Houkou Prize, 1995 Moet Hennesy, Louis Vuitton Da Vinci of Excellence Prize (French), 1995 C&C Prize (Japanese), 1996 Achievement Prize of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (Japan), and the 1999 IEEE/LEOS Quantum Electronics Award.

Dr. Hasegawa was the Chair of the APS Division of Plasma Physics in 1990 and the Chair of the Executive Committee of Laser, Quantum Electronics Institute of Electronic Information and Communication Engineers in 1994. Currently he is a member of the Planning Committee of the Kansai Science Forum. In 1996 he initiated and chaired the ten year project "STAR-Soliton based Total-All optical communications Research" of the Japanese Ministry of Post and Telecommunication. During 1998-1999, he also initiated and chaired the two year project, "Research and Development of New Node Technology" sponsored by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Besides being a fellow of the APS and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Dr. Hasegawa is a member of the Physical Society of Japan, Sigma Xi, and the Optical Society of American. He is also a member of the Rotary Club, Kyoto East Chapter.

Jeffrey Friedberg (Chair), Szymon Suckewer, J. B. Taylor ('99 Recipient), Jill Dahlburg(Vice Chair), Gerald Navratil