Dr. Hideo Kuwahara has been engaged in trailblazing optical communications technology since the 1980s and has led research and development in high-speed, high-capacity optical fiber communication systems since their inception. He has also led exploration of their underlying technologies, as well as their commercial implementation, particularly in coherent modulation/demodulation; optical amplification; and wavelength-division multiplexing. Under Dr. Kuwahara’s leadership, these efforts subsequently brought about a staggering 10,000-fold increase in optical communications capacity over 30 years, and resulted in dramatic reduction in the cost of communication networks.

Commercial utilization of optical communications technologies has led to enormous growth in optical fiber communication systems. Dr. Kuwahara can rightly be deemed a direct contributor to today’s critical communications and social infrastructure: the Internet, mobile services, and, by extension, the advanced information society.

Dr. Kuwahara’s work modularizing various modulation/demodulation devices made it possible to develop an optical phase modulation/polarization diversity demodulation system, which is still in widespread use. He transformed this technology, hitherto verified only on a theoretical level on an optical vibration isolation table in a laboratory, into a commercially viable system. For this achievement, he received the Kenjiro Sakurai Memorial Award in 1990.

In the mid-1990s, fierce global competition erupted over the development of optical amplification and wavelength-division multiplexing technologies. In 1995, the research team led by Dr. Kuwahara established a world-record rate of 1.1 Tbps. This attracted wide attention, including from the New York Times, one of the leading newspapers in the US, and was later recorded in the Guinness World Records. Later, his team’s commercial development of these technologies gave domestic suppliers of systems and devices immeasurable help in winning substantial business in Japan and the U.S. These efforts brought Japan’s technological prowess into the global spotlight. These accomplishments earned him an Achievement Award from the IEICE of 1997.

Dr. Kuwahara has also been an outstanding leader in managing engineering societies, both in Japan and other countries. For example, he became the second Japanese president of the IEEE Photonics Society and thus helped to enhance Japan’s presence in the photonics field. Within the IEICE, he has advanced the institute’s activities while holding several important posts, including the vice presidency of the institute. In addition, through his wide-ranging international scientific activities, he has actively promoted science and technology, raising awareness of the photonics field, and of the need to recruit and train young engineers.

As mentioned above, Dr. Kuwahara has been dedicated for decades to the research and development of coherent modulation/demodulation, optical amplification, and wavelength-division multiplexing technologies. These are bedrock technologies in today’s optical fiber communications. His outstanding achievements have helped to lay the foundation for Japan to lead the world in optical fiber communication technology.

Dr. Kuwahara received his master’s degree in electronic engineering from the University of Tokyo and joined Fujitsu Laboratories, Ltd. in 1974. He received his Ph. D. in engineering in 1984, also from the University of Tokyo. He has held several positions of significant responsibility and technological leadership including executive manager of Fujitsu’s Optical Systems Laboratory (1991); senior vice president of Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc. in the U.S. (1999); acting director of Fujitsu’s Network Systems Laboratory (2003); as well as serving as both director (2004) and fellow (2006) of Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. He retired from Fujitsu in 2017 and was elected as an honorary fellow.