Interaction between Sea Ice and Various Materials Used
in Offshore Structures
by Professor Hiroshi Saeki, President, Hokkaido University, Japan
One of the conference highlights took place on June 23. It centered on the 2010 Jin S Chung Award, presented to Professor Hiroshi Saeki, President of Hakkaido University, Japan in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the offshore, ocean and polar engineering fields. Professor Saeki’s pioneering leadership and engineering contributions in the field of Ice Engineering span more than 3 decades. Professor Saeki delivered the Jin S Chung Award Lecture that evening at the end of the lecture.
Professor Saeki received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Hokkaido University. Between 1966 and 1968, he worked as an engineer for Japan’s Ministry of Transport. He returned to Hokkaido University to receive his doctorate degree in engineering and taught at his alma mater for almost twenty years before he became the Dean of the Graduate School of Engineering. From 2003 to 2007, he assumed the post of Vice-President. In 2007, Professor Saeki became the President of Hokkaido University.
Since the beginning of his academic career, Professor Saeki has been an active contributor within a remarkably wide field of work: ice engineering; mechanics, materials and structures; and coastal engineering. He has contributed innovative engineering results within both design methods and experimental methods. He has also taken many new technology initiatives; as such, Professor Saeki has been internationally recognized in the field of Ice Engineering for more than 30 years. He has been a pioneer in the Ice Engineering Society in Japan and has provided leadership on the Committee on Civil Engineering in the Ocean in JSCE (Japanese Society of Civil Engineers). Professor Saeki was also a charter member of ISOPE. Professor Saeki has been Chairman of the Science Committee for the research project “Study on Ice Load Acting on Marine Structures” organized by the Japan Ocean Industries Association (JOIA).
Highlights from the long list of challenging technology projects include the development of the ice boom in Saroma Lagoon and the development of oil recovery techniques in icy waters. Professor Saeki has also been responsible for a long range of research grants to explore areas as diverse as environmental protection, the design of submerged floating tunnel, and liquefaction failure of the foundations of coastal structures. Furthermore, Professor Saeki has undertaken challenging theoretical and experimental work within the area of Coastal Engineering on subjects as Cnoidal Wave Theory, Breaker Index under varying conditions, and velocity field of wave breaking.
For all his contributions, accomplishments and life-long dedication to research and leadership in his field, ISOPE is honored to present our esteemed colleague Professor Saeki with the 2010 Jin S Chung Award.
The Jin S Chung Award Lecture presentation is published in the International Journal of Offshore and Polar Engineers, ISOPE’s principal periodical. The ISOPE Conference papers are all peer-reviewed for inclusion in the Proceedings of 20th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, ISOPE (ISBN 1-978-1-880653-77-7; ISSN 1098-6189).
ISOPE Awards Committee: meetings@isope.org