| Kenichi MASE |
Dr. Mase has been engaged in research and development of information communication networks over a long period, and, through the power of his imagination and strong leadership, has made an outstanding contribution to the development and systematization of innovative technologies in this field.
After joining NTT, he began research on improving communication traffic control. He demonstrated his leadership in this area by inventing a dynamic routing method, which combined a central control method that calculates alternate routes using a traffic database and a distributed control method that optimizes routing at each switch in real time. Patents for this technology were established in Japan, Europe and Canada. This technology was deployed into NTT’s long-distance networks from 1993. He thus contributed to enhancing the economy and reliability of communication networks. He also led the development of a network design system aimed at simplifying network design. The results of this development were mainly applied in Asian countries. In this way, he contributed to the enhancement and systematization of network design technologies.
After he moved to Niigata University, he drove innovative research and development in the fields of ad hoc and wireless mesh networks. Specifically, he led the development of an outdoor testbed consisting of more than 90 nodes and a routing simulator, which was one of the largest testbeds in the world at that time. He was thus contributed to building an experimental environment, promoting joint research with both domestic and international organizations and formulating international standards in this field. In addition, he opened up a new technical field: wide-area ad hoc networks that utilize balloons, electric vehicles and unmanned aircraft. He took the lead in these practical research and development. He demonstrated the new technology’s usability in restoring services in the wake of a large-scale disaster through his practical activities - building wireless mesh networks in the areas hit by the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake and later those hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake and supporting temporary emergency communication using these networks.
As indicated above, Dr. Mase has led initiatives to bring new technical areas into being in the field of information communication networks and has published numerous papers in transactions of both the IEICE and the IEEE. For these achievements, he received the Best Paper Award (1994) and the Achievement Award (2014) from the IEICE and was raised to the status of fellow by the IEICE (2001) and the IEEE (2005). He has contributed to the development of the IEICE by serving as chair of the Technical Committee on Communication Quality (fiscal 1998-1999), director of finance (fiscal 2004-2005), chair of the Technical Committee on Ad Hoc Networks (fiscal 2007), president of the Communications Society (fiscal 2008), chair of the Shinetsu Section (fiscal 2010), and as vice president (fiscal 2011-2012). He also worked tirelessly on the establishment (2003) of a consortium for the ad hoc network platform that required the collaboration of players from industry, government and academia, and served as the chair of its operating committee for an extended period, thereby contributing to creating research projects, driving joint research and promoting industrial applications in this field. He held important posts in the international sphere as well, serving as chair (2001) of the GLOBECOM Symposium, general chair (2003) of APNOMS, chair (2005-2006) of the ComSoc Japan Chapter and chair (2006-2007) of the CQR Technical Committee, all of the IEEE.
As stated above, Dr. Mase’s contributions to the IEICE and the electronics, information and communication fields cannot be overstated, and we are convinced that he is extraordinarily qualified to receive the Distinguished Achievement and Contributions Award.
