2015 IEEE INNOVATION IN SOCIETAL INFRASTRUCTURE AWARD

– Sponsored by Hitachi, Ltd. and the IEEE Computer Society

The IEEE Innovation in Societal Infrastructure Award is an IEEE Technical Field Award presented to individuals for achievements for significant technological achievements and contributions to the establishment, development, and proliferation of innovative societal infrastructure systems through the application of information technology with an emphasis on distributed computing systems. This year, this most prestigious IEEE Technical Field Award, will be presented at DSN’2015. There are three co-recipients, namely

TAKEMOCHI ISHII, HIROKAZU IHARA, and ATSUNOBU ICHIKAWA

For pioneering the concept of dependable autonomous decentralized systems and contributing to its practical application in early transport control systems

The development and refinement of the autonomous decentralized system (ADS) by Takemochi Ishii, Hirokazu Ihara, and Atsunobu Ichikawa has enabled the safe and timely operation of urban and long-distance transportation infrastructures. Modeled on biological systems, the ADS incorporates a distributed database and broadcast communication protocols to provide a flexible system that can adapt to environmental disturbances or failures. With ADS, repairs or changes can be made without having to shut down the entire network as with a centralized system. Drs. Ishii, Ihara, and Ichikawa jointly conceived the ADS, developed its theories and tools, and applied it to several high-impact infrastructures. First introduced in 1982 in the Kobe municipal subway system, ADS has been incorporated in practically almost all of subway operations in Japan.

Dr. Ishii is an Emeritus Professor with the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Dr. Ihara, Former Chief Engineer, Corporate Technology with Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan, is an IEEE Life Fellow and an Emeritus Member of IFIP WG 10.4

Dr. Ichikawa is an Emeritus Professor with the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan