| Shojiro Nishio |
Dr. Shojiro NISHIO received his B.E., M.E., and Ph.D. degrees from Kyoto University, Japan, in 1975, 1977, and 1980, respectively. Since August 1992, he has been a Full Professor at Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan, where he is currently the Director of Multimedia Data Engineering Laboratory in the Department of Multimedia Engineering at the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology. He served as the Founding Director of the Cybermedia Center of Osaka University from April 2000 to August 2003, and as the Dean of Graduate School of Information Science and Technology of the same university from August 2003 to August 2007. He also served as a Vice President and Trustee of Osaka University from August 2007 to August 2011. Dr. Nishio was bestowed the prestigious title "Distinguished Professor of Osaka University" in July 2013.In recent years, data engineering has become increasingly important for several reasons, including making it possible for massive amounts of electronic data (Big Data) to be used effectively in social, economic and cultural settings, in the promotion of science and technology, and in our daily lives. Dr. Nishio’s world-class achievements can be found in the three main research areas of data engineering: data management technology, database modelling, and technology for data discovery from a huge volume of data. In particular, his outstanding research has consistently driven paradigm shifts, such as research into data management technology that foresaw the recent cloud computing environment, and also groundbreaking research into deductive and object-oriented databases which is one of the most powerful database models. Many of his creative and yet highly practical results have overturned conventionally accepted concepts. They opened up new horizons in data engineering, and at the same time provided useful guidelines for constructing commercial information systems. He has also served as a mentor and teacher in these areas for many years, and a number of internationally renowned and active researchers are indebted to his expert advice and assistance.
For these prominent research achievements, Dr. Nishio received the Medal with Purple Ribbon from the Government of Japan, the Achievement Award and the Best Paper Award from the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE), the Achievement Award and three Best Paper Awards from the Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ), the Distinguished Achievement and Contributions Award and the Best Paper Award from the Database Society of Japan (DBSJ), and the Achievement Award from the Tateishi Science and Technology Foundation. He is a Fellow of the IEICE, IPSJ, and IEEE.
As the Chair of the Technical Committee on Data Engineering of the IEICE, Dr. Nishio made significant contributions to the development of this technical field. Also, as Vice President of the IPSJ and President of the DBSJ, he vigorously promoted research into information and communications technologies in Japan. In particular, as Chair of the Organizing Committee for the Forum on Information Technology, which involves both the IEICE Information and Systems Society and the IPSJ, he endeavored to strengthen the relationship of the two organizations. His international contributions to the profession are also remarkable. In particular, he was instrumental in the creation of ACM SIGMOD Japan Chapter. He has served as program chair, member of the program or organizing committees of many distinguished international conferences, such as the Executive Committee of the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Data Engineering (Asian Coordinator), and the Board of Trustees of the Very Large Data Bases Conference Organizing Committee. Furthermore, he served as an editor of many international transactions published by IEEE, ACM, and other organizations.
Dr. Nishio has held or currently holds a number of important posts. He was or is a member of the Science Council of Japan (Chair of Informatics Area of the 22nd term), the Program Director in the area of information and networking for the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the Program Director in the area of information and communication technologies for the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), a member of the Program Advisory Council for University-Industry Research Cooperation for the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), and a task force member of the Council for Science and Technology Policy (CSTP), Cabinet Office. He has served as member of numerous committees under the MEXT, thereby playing a significant role in the promotion of research and education in the electronic, information and communication fields and the development of inter-industry-academia cooperation in Japan.
In summary, he has played prominent roles in the development and globalization of science and technology in the electronics, information and communication fields, including his activities within the IEICE. We are highly convinced that Dr. Nishio deserves the Distinguished Achievement and Contributions Award from the IEICE.
