From October 22 (Mon.) to 26 (Fri.), 2018, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) held its 82nd IEC General Meeting in Busan, the Republic of Korea. At the meeting, Dr. Kazuhiko Tsutsumi, Executive Officer, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, was selected as the Third Vice-President of the IEC. Moreover, the IEC selected three Japanese people as winners of the Thomas A. Edison Award for their outstanding achievements and contribution in IEC technical committees or subcommittees and a commendation ceremony was held to recognize the winners.
Winners of the Thomas A. Edison Award:
The Thomas A. Edison Award aims to recognize outstanding experts who made significant achievements or contributions involving IEC technical committees or subcommittees or conformity assessment activities. The IEC selected three Japanese people as winners of the 2018 Thomas A. Edison Award out of seven winners in total.
The Japanese winners are as follows.
•Mr. Hiroyuki Ohsaki, University of Tokyo ◦He made a contribution to the IEC as the Chair of TC77 (electromagnetic compatibility).
•Mr. Hiroaki Sugiura, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation ◦He played a proactive role in activities of TC100 (audio, video and multimedia systems and equipment).
•Mr. Shigeyuki Kondo, Japan Quality Assurance Organization ◦He made a contribution to the IEC as the Vice-Chair of the IEC System for Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components (IECEE).
As representatives of Japan, a mission, including Dr. Hiroshi Tomono, President of the Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (JISC), and many other experts attended the 82nd General Meeting. At a variety of sessions, participants exchanged proactive views on: enhancement of the IEC system, vitalization of activities, standardization activities in respective technical fields and other issues.
In addition, Dr. Junji Nomura, who served as the IEC President between 2014 and 2016, served as IEC officer as the immediate past president for the following two years and is currently serving as a corporate advisor at Panasonic Corporation, will retire from office at the end of 2018. To honor Dr. Nomura’s achievements, Mr. James M. Shannon, IEC President, offered a memorial badge to Dr. Nomura at the end of the General Meeting. Following this, Dr. Nomura delivered a speech on his retirement and earned great applause from the participants.
