14) “Mister Semiconductor” becomes a Medal
Picture: A copper replica of the Nishizawa Medal (owned by Nishizawa)
Jun-ichi Nishizawa, former President of Tohoku University,
has left a deep impression of receiving domestic and international awards
in an almost monopolizing manner among Japanese researchers as a result of
his achievements in the semiconductor and optical communication fields.
The Nobel prize is one of the few that escaped him, but even with that, being
nominated for the prize several times has made him shed a few tears.
The Japanese electronics industry was given good news in 2004 when the Institute
of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) established the "Nishizawa
Medal Award" in 2004 to commemorate Nishizawa’s achievement. The academy
honored researchers in electric and electronic engineering and peripheral
fields by awarding prizes with individual names such as the "Graham Bell
Medal" and "Edison Medal". The Nishizawa Medal is the twelfth
one of such award, and it is the first time that a name other than a Westerner
has been used.
According to the official IEEE homepage, the object of the award is "semiconductor
materials and devices across optical communication and high power systems",
and Japanese winners also have already been awarded.
The photograph is a copper replica of the Nishizawa Medal owned by Nishizawa
(real medals is gold). In designing, the profile photo of Nishizawa in the
Asahi Shimbun series "Shin-Jinkoku-ki (New Biographic Sketches)"
around 30 years ago was used as a reference.
(Provided by Jun-ichi Nishizawa)