International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 226 (2024) 125466

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

In Memoriam

In memoriam - Professor Shigefumi Nishio (1949-2022)

It is with deep regret that we announce the passing of Professor
Nishio on 9 March 2022, at the age of 72. He was editor of the Inter­national Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer and of the International Com­
munications in Heat and Mass Transfer as well as a leading figure in thecommunity of heat and mass transfer.
Professor Nishio was born in Gifu, a central prefecture of the mainisland in Japan. Soon after, he moved to Tokyo at the age of three andspent all his life in this city up to the date when he passed away. Pro­
fessor Nishio started his professional career in 1977, when he wasconferred the doctor degree of engineering supervised by Professor
Masaru Hirata on “the study of direct contact between high temperaturesolid surface and liquid droplet”, and was immediately appointed asLecturer of the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS), The University ofTokyo. In 1978, he was promoted to Associate Professor, and to Pro­
fessor in 1995. Meanwhile Professor Nishio stayed at Professor V. K.
Dhir’s laboratory on phase change heat transfer at the University ofhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2024.125466
Available online 15 April 2024

California, Los Angeles from 1988 to 1989 as a visiting scholar. Professor
Nishio was also appointed as an affiliate associate professor in 1994 andprofessor in 1996 at Kyusyu University. Because of his distinguishedreliable character, in 2002 Professor Nishio was elected to be Director
General of IIS, and appointed as an Executive Director and Executive
Vice-President of The University of Tokyo in 2005. Most unfortunately,
however, a sudden intracerebral breed attacked Professor Nishio inautumn of 2008, and he retired from The University of Tokyo in 2011.
Despite his long struggle with rehabilitation supported by his dedicatedfamily, especially by his wife, Professor Nishio passed away in 2022
during Covid-19 catastrophe. Recognizing the contribution to his aca­
demic field and administration, Professor Nishio was decorated with theOrder of the Sacred Treasure by Japanese government, Gold Rays with
Neck Ribbon, and invested into Jushii (Junior Four Rank in court) byImperial decree.
As a researcher, Professor Nishio made special contributions in thefield of boiling heat transfer and heat transport devices. His work waspublished in over 130 journal articles and 16 books. In recognition ofdistinguished research of Professor Nishio in the field, his papers entitled“Natural-Convection Film-Boiling Heat Transfer. 6th Report. Heat Transfer
Correlation of Film Boiling with Wavy Interface” and “Visualization ofBoiling Structure in High Heat- Flux Pool-Boiling” received the Best Paper
Award from the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME) in 1994
and in 2004. A series of his research papers in the latter field on the heatpipe with oscillatory flow was also awarded as the Distinguished Aca­
demic Work (Koichi Ohshima Prize) by the Japan Association for Heat
Pipes in 2004. His contribution in these fields was recognized with aDistinguished Research Award in 2002 and with an Outstanding Lead­ership Award in 2010, both by JSME Thermal Engineering Division.
Professor Nishio was an editor of the International Journal of Heat andMass Transfer and of the International Communications in Heat and Mass
Transfer from 2003 until 2007. From 2001 until 2006, he was also aChief Editor of the Thermal Science and Engineering (TSE), which istransactions of The Heat Transfer Society of Japan (HTSJ). Besides these
activities in academic societies, he was directors of several academicsocieties. These positions include Division Chair of JSME Technologyand Society Division (1999), Thermal Engineering Division (2005),
JSME Executive Director (2000-2001) and HTSJ Executive Director(1998). Professor Nishio also worked as steering committee member ofmany international conferences, and organized the 6th ASME/JSME
Thermal Engineering Joint Conference in Hawaii and 2004 International
Conference on Microchannels and Mini-channels as chair.
These official records are only a part of engraved memory of Pro­
fessor Nishio. His cheerful and straightforward personality andinsightful suggestions on research that was supported by his character of

R. Shirakashi et al.

International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 226 (2024) 125466b

deep humility and his comprehensive perspective in scientific researchalways encourage those who had any contact with him.
On behalf of the editors of this journal, his colleagues and friends,
former students and co-workers, we all remember his dedication and hisoutstanding work in our society of heat and mass transfer.

University of Fukui, Japan
Kogakuin University, JapandUniversity of California, Los Angeles, United States of Americac*
Corresponding author
E-mail address: aa21150@iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp (R. Shirakashi).

Ryo Shirakashia,*, Niro Nagaib, Hiroyasu Ohtakec, Masahiro Shojia,Vijay K. DhirdaThe University of Tokyo, Japan2