| Makoto Ando |
Prof. Makoto Ando completed his doctorate (Ph. D degree) at the Graduate School of Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) in 1979 and joined Yokosuka Electrical Communication Laboratory, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (NTT). In 1982, he moved back to Tokyo Tech as a Research Associate. He became an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Electronics in 1985, moved to the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 1987, and became a Professor in 1995.Prof. Ando has been playing leading roles in the technical areas of antennas, radio propagation and electromagnetic theory over a long period of time both at Yokosuka Electrical Communication Laboratory, NTT and Tokyo Tech and has made many outstanding achievements. He has also been active and enthusiastic in education of students and many excellent students graduated from his laboratories. Specifically speaking, he first focused on electromagnetic theory, and was a pioneer in establishing high-frequency diffraction theory, arriving at new interpretations of diffraction phenomena, and a new method for the design of reflector antennas. Then, in the field of antenna and propagation, he led the development of high-efficiency planar antennas, establishing a whole new engineering field, which has received international recognition and high reputation. He has also made significant achievements in advanced radial line slot antennas from the research to the commercialization stages. These achievements have led to the development of antennas used in many actual fields, including those designed to receive TV broadcast signals sent from satellites, plasma excitation antennas for use in the plasma process, and data transmission antennas mounted on two planetary probe satellites, Akatsuki and Hayabusa 2, thereby making outstanding contributions to the progress of these fields. He is currently playing a leading role in the promotion and for wide range of applications of millimeter-wave wireless communications in Japan.
His achievements cover the entire spectrum of radio science and engineering. His input into the formulation of Japan’s radio policy has been invaluable. He has played a key role in the creation of new scientific fields by serving as a program officer in the Information and Communications Council, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and as a temporary member in the Advisory Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and been engaged as an expert advisor (electrical and electronic engineering) to the Research Center for Science Systems, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. His services in international scientific organizations, such as president of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society, chair of Commission B, International Radio Scientific Union (URSI), and vice president of URSI, represent Japan’s most important contributions to these fields. He has also contributed to the progress of IEICE through activities that cut across different societies, including his service as chair of a technical committee, editor of the IEICE journal, president of the Electronics Society, and vice president of the IEICE. He played a central role in the launch and establishment of many scientific conferences, in particular, the Antenna and Propagation Workshop Series and International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation (ISAP), which later developed into a key meeting in the Asian region. He demonstrated his exceptional creativity in planning and running these conferences.
For the achievements mentioned above, Prof. Makoto Ando received the Young Researchers Award, the Achievement Award and the Paper Award from the IEICE. He also received the Telecommunications Advancement Foundation Award, the Inoue Prize for Science, and both the Meritorious Award on Radio and the Meritorious Award on Contributions to the Promotion of Computerization from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. He is a Fellow both in IEICE and IEEE.
For his outstanding contributions, as described above, to the development of the electronic, information and communication fields, including the antenna, radio propagation and electromagnetic fields, we are convinced that Prof. Makoto Ando is a worthy recipient of the IEICE Distinguished Achievement and Contributions Award.
