Honorary Member

  Dr. Sawaya graduated from the Department of Electrical Communications, Faculty of Engineering, Tohoku University in March 1971. He completed his doctorate course in the Department of Electrical and Communication Engineering at the same university and was awarded a Ph.D. in March 1976. He became a research associate in the Faculty of Engineering of Tohoku University in April of the same year and was promoted to an associate professor in December 1987 and professor in July 1993. From August 1992 through May 1993, he was a visiting researcher at the ElectroScience Laboratory, Ohio State University. He retired from the School of Engineering, Tohoku University in March 2013. For two years immediately after retirement, he was a Research Fellow in the New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University. Since then, he has been a Specially Appointed Professor of the Center for Promotion of Innovation Strategy, Tohoku University.
   Dr. Sawaya has undertaken a wide range of research related to antenna engineering and electromagnetic wave engineering, and he also devoted himself to educating a large number of students who went on to become excellent researchers and engineers in academia and industry.
   In his research into antennas in plasma, he analyzed, both theoretically and experimentally, the input impedance of a dipole antenna positioned in any direction with respect to the direction of the static magnetic field in magneto-plasma. He was the first to clarify the effect of Faraday shield located in the vicinity of a loop antenna used for ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) heating, which is one of the methods for high-frequency heating of nuclear fusion plasma. In addition, he found the optimal feed phase distribution for a plasma generation antenna used for film production. Using film-production experiments based on this result, he demonstrated that it is possible to obtain a uniform film thickness, which makes it possible to enhance the performance of large-area film-forming.
   In his research into mobile communications antennas and methods for their analysis, Dr. Sawaya developed a new analysis method that can take account of mobile terminal housings, and he theoretically clarified the relation between housing dimensions and antenna directivity for the first time. His research into base station antenna technology resulted in his proposal to install a reflectarray on which passive scattering elements are placed in a planar manner. He demonstrated that this reflectarray is effective for eliminating radio blind zones, such as spaces shaded by buildings.
   In researching design of antennas used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices, he developed a high-precision design method that can take account of shields installed around a human body or an antenna. This design technology is used commercially by manufacturers of diagnostic image systems, thereby making a significant contribution to widespread use of MRI.
   In his study on electromagnetic compatibility, he conducted trailblazing research into analysis and visualization of the electromagnetic fields of undesired emissions.
   For the achievements mentioned above, Dr. Sawaya has received the Young Researcher’s Award, two Best Paper Awards, two Communications Society Best Paper Awards, the KIYASU-Zen’ichi Award, and the Distinguished Achievement and Contributions Award from the IEICE. He has been elevated to fellowship status by the IEICE and the IEEE. He also received the Award of the Central Association for Clean Receiving Environment for his activity within the Tohoku Association.
   Within the IEICE, Dr. Sawaya has been chair of the Technical Committee on Antennas and Propagation, director of the Tohoku Section, and president of the Communications Society. He was vice chair of the Organizing and Steering Committees for the 1999 International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility, vice chair of the Steering Committee for the 2000 International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation, and chair of the Organizing and Steering Committees for the same symposium held in 2004, all of which were sponsored by the IEICE. Outside of the IEICE, he served in various important offices: chair of the Tohoku Section, Institute of Image Information and Television Engineers; chair of the IEEE Sendai Section; President of the Tohoku Association for Clean Reception Environment; and sub-leader of the Sendai EMC Research Center, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology.
   As described above, his contributions to the electronics, information and communication field have been truly outstanding and we recommend that he be designated as a fellow, honorary member of the IEICE.