Distinguished Achievement and Contributions Award

  Dr. Seizo Onoe graduated from the Department of Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University in 1982 and joined Yokosuka Communication Laboratory, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (now Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation or NTT) in the same year. He became director of the Wireless Network Development Department, NTT DoCoMo in 2002, senior vice president of NTT DoCoMo, director of its Research and Development Promotion Department in 2008, and executive vice president, chief technology officer of NTT DoCoMo and director of its Research and Development Center in 2012. Since 2014, he has been executive vice president and director of the R&D Innovation Division of the same company.
   Since joining Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation, he has been devoted to research and development of mobile communication systems and promotion of widespread use of mobile communication. He has brought innovations to mobile communication services by developing a number of novel schemes and technologies and by promoting their use, thereby helping to create a productive ICT society.
   Among his notable achievements was his proposal to the world of wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) for use in IMT-2000 wireless access. He conceived this access in order to make possible a third-generation mobile communication system. Disclosure of the results of the research and development of this new technology, ahead of other countries, served as a powerful testament to the superiority of Japan’s technology and led to adoption of the proposed access scheme as an international standard.
   To help make fourth-generation mobile communication possible, he carried out a variety of vital work. First, he proposed the Super3G concept (3.9th-generation system), which provides performance greater than that of the third-generation system and ensures smooth migration to the fourth-generation system. He came up with a number of innovative technologies for using resources effectively in order to handle fast-growing traffic. He led the efforts to formulate specifications for international standards and to develop commercial products. Through these efforts, he completed the long-term evolution (LTE), a high-speed, high-capacity and low-delay wireless access network.
   For the former achievement described above, he received the 39th Achievement Award from the IEICE in 2001, the 48th Maejima Hisoka Award from the Teishin Association in 2002, and the Science and Technology Award from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2008. For the latter achievement, he received the 49th Achievement Award from the IEICE in 2011, and the Science and Technology Award from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2014. His receipt of these awards is evidence that his achievements have made significant contributions to industry and academia related to mobile communication.
   Currently, he is leading formulation of the international standard specifications and commercial development for LTE-Advanced, a next-generation version of LTE. He also drives research and feasibility tests on next-generation wireless access technology for a fifth-generation mobile communication system. Thus, he is making significant contributions to the ongoing evolution and enhancement of mobile communication systems.
   Within the IEICE, he served as vice president of the Communication Society and chair of the International Committee of the same society from May 2009 through May 2011. He also served as an expert member of the Radio Propagation Committee and the Satellite Communication Systems Committee, both of which come under the Information and Communications Council, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication. Within the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses, he served as vice chair of the Advanced Wireless Communication Research Committee, chair of the Standards Conference, and deputy chair of the Promotion Strategy Committee. He also serves on the board of directors of Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN). As described above, his contributions to development of the mobile communication field and to the electronics, information and communication field, both in Japan and internationally, have been outstanding, and we are convinced that he truly deserves to be a recipient of the Distinguished Achievement and Contributions Award.