International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 85 (2015) 916–917

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International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhmt

In Memoriam

Professor Ichiro Tanasawa (1936–2014)

It is with deep sorrow that we note the passing of Professor Ichiro
Tanasawa on June 6, 2014 at the age of 78. Professor Tanasawa was
one of the outstanding editors of the International Journal of Heatand Mass Transfer and of the International Communications in Heatand Mass Transfer as well as a leading ﬁgure in the international
heat and mass transfer community.
Professor Tanasawa was born on January 1, 1936 in Sendai, anold feudal capital in Japan where he lived until the age of 18. In
1954, he moved to Tokyo where he spent most of his life.
Professor Tanasawa started his professional career in 1963 when
he completed his Doctor of Engineering thesis supervised byProfessor Fujio Tachibana on the application of extended surfaces
to boiling heat transfer. Subsequently, he remained at Institute ofIndustrial Science, The University of Tokyo (IIS) as an Associate
Professor and was promoted to Professor in 1976. During his careerat IIS, Professor Tanasawa visited the University of Michigan from1968 to 1969 where he started his work in the ﬁeld of bioengineering, and Queen Mary College, University of London from March toMay in 1982. After 33 years of intensive contribution to research,education and national scientiﬁc committees, Professor Tanasawa
retired from The University of Tokyo in 1996 and moved toTokyo University of Agriculture and Technology where he was professor for 3 years, followed by a move to Nihon University, where
he retired in 2006.
As a researcher, Professor Tanasawa was a pioneer of several
topics in the ﬁeld of heat and mass transfer. His works in dropwise
condensation, MHD, EHD and biotransport have been published inover 100 journal articles and 17 books. His papers entitled ‘‘TheEffect of an External Magnetic Field on Natural Convection during
the Crystal Growth Process from a Melt’’ and ‘‘DesigningPre-Freezing and Freezing Process of Biological Tissues’’ wereawarded the Medal for Outstanding Paper by the Japan Society of
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2015.02.030

Mechanical Engineers (JSME) in 1989 and in 2001. His contribution
in these ﬁelds was also recognized by a Prize for Credit from JSME
Bioengineering Division in 1998 and with an OutstandingLeadership Award from JSME Thermal Engineering Division in1999.
Professor Tanasawa was acknowledged as an important andvalued opinion leader of the Japanese research society in the ﬁeldof thermal engineering and of heat and mass transfer. His standing
in this regard was recognized by the facts that he was elected president of several academic societies including the JSME (2000),
Heat Transfer Society of Japan (1993), and Japan Society ofThermophysical Properties (1992). He also devoted much effort
to scientiﬁc committees of the Japanese government and served
as an expert member of the Council for Science and Technology,
Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture between 1984
and 1988, and between 1993 and 1996.
Professor Tanasawa served the Japanese Ministry ofInternational Trade and Industry as a member of the Energy andEnvironment Committee (‘‘Moon Light Project’’), the Agency ofIndustrial Science and Technology between 1986 and 1992 andas an expert member of the Industrial Structure Council for a further two years. He also served the Science Council of Japan as amember of the Thermal Engineering Committee for 10 years from1980 and the Science and Technology Agency as a member of theSpace Development Committee for two years from 1994.
Professor Tanasawa’s international activities are especiallynotable. As well as his role as an editor of the International
Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer and of International
Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer from 1986 until 1999
he enthusiastically contributed to forming an international network for researchers in the ﬁeld of thermal engineering and heatand mass transfer. He organized a number of international conferences, including The International Symposium on Molecular andMicro Scale Heat Transfer in Materials Processing and Other
Applications at Yokohama in 1996, the Oji International Seminaron Advanced Heat Transfer in Manufacturing and Processing ofNew Materials at Tomakomai in 1990, the ASME/JSME ThermalEngineering Joint Conference at Honolulu in 1987 and co-chaired,with Jerry Taborek and John Rose, the Engineering Foundation
Conference: Condensation and Condenser Design held in St
Augustine, Florida in 1993. For his international research activities,
JSME Thermal Engineering Division honored him with The
International Contribution Award in 1995.
His ofﬁcially recorded contributions are only a part of the legacyof Professor Tanasawa. Those who know him appreciated his generous and warm personality. His frank and open attitude withhelpful and insightful suggestions inspired and often sparked
new ideas in those who had contact with him. Professor
Tanasawa was beloved by his many friends in Japan and in theinternational community. One of us (JWR) would like toIn Memoriam / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 85 (2015) 916–917

acknowledge a sincere debt of gratitude to Professor Tanasawa
whom he ﬁrst met at the International Heat Transfer Conferencein Paris 1970. We had similar views about dropwise condensation
which differed from those of almost all other workers in the ﬁeld atthat time. We subsequently became lifelong friends and throughhim began my long and happy association with Japan and closefriendships with many Japanese professors and colleagues inindustry and their families.
On behalf of the editors of this journal, his colleagues andfriends, former students and co-workers and the world-wide heattransfer community, we offer our sincere condolences to his wifeand to his daughter. We all shall miss him.

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John W. Rose
Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom
Shigefumi Nishio
Ryo Shirakashi
The University of Tokyo, Japan
Yoshio Utaka
Yokohama National University, Japan