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As has been reported in a recent press release, RWPPI General Secretary, Dr. Masao Sugimoto passed away of acute pneumonia on December 22nd, 2002.
The sudden news of Dr. Sugimoto's death was a shock to all. A wake was held on December 26th and a funeral service was held on the 27th at Zojo Temple in Shiba, Tokyo. Pioneer Corporation held a farewell ceremony for Dr. Sugimoto at the Radisson Miyako Hotel Tokyo in Shirogane on the 27th of January. A large number of attendees from all over the world paid final respects to the deceased. The ceremony reminded people of the scale of Dr. Sugimoto's achievements, and included a profile, a video edited by NHK, and an overview of his many industry and academic awards.
Dr. Masao Sugimoto, in collaboration with 12 founding companies, established RWPPI in May 2000 to promote the DVD-RW format and DVD-R products, which offer consumers improved compatibility and high performance editing features. Under Dr. Sugimoto's leadership, the number of member companies has increased to 50. We will carry on the work of promoting DVD-R/RW related products and providing consumers with a consistent market environment, and look forward to continued progress in the fields pioneered by Dr. Sugimoto.
We honor the lifetime achievements of Dr. Masao Sugimoto, and respectfully pray for his soul.
RWPPI Executive Office/Secretariat
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Brief Personal History of Dr. Masao Sugimoto
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| May 1934 |
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Born in Tokyo |
| March 1958 |
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Graduated from the Department of Electronic Communication Engineering, School of Science and Engineering, Waseda University |
| April 1958 |
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Joined the Technical Systems Department, Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) |
| September 1961 |
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Television Research Fellow, Science & Technical Research Laboratories |
| June 1973 |
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Research Chairman, General Science & Technical Research Laboratories
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| December 1973 |
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Doctor of Engineering (Waseda University), "Study of Color Television Cameras" |
| August 1976 |
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Technical Headquarters Facilities Chief (Programming) |
| July 1983 |
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Managing Director, New Broadcasting Methods, General Science & Technical
Research Laboratories |
| July 1986 |
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Director, Technical Headquarters Manager, New Media Promotion Headquarters |
| September 1988 |
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Director-General, Broadcasting Technology Research Laboratory |
| April 1991 |
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Director-General, Broadcasting Technology Research Laboratory (Executive Director) |
| May 1991 |
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General Managing Director (Executive Director) |
| March 1992 |
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Joined Pioneer Corporation |
| June 1992 |
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Director |
| June 1993 |
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Managing Director and General Manager of Research & Development Group |
| June 1994 |
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Senior Managing Director and General Manager of Research & Development
Group |
| June 1998 |
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Executive Vice-President |
| June 2000 |
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Executive Corporate Engineering Adviser |
| December 22, 2002 |
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Deceased, aged 68 |
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Honors and Awards
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| May 1982 |
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Award, Institute of Television Engineers |
| October 1985 |
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SMPTE Fellow |
| May 1987 |
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Achievement Award, Institute of Electronics, Information and Communications Engineers |
| May 1988 |
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Niwa Takayanagi Achievement Award, Institute of Television Engineers |
| January 1990 |
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IEEE Fellow |
| May 1991 |
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Achievement Award, Institute of Electronics, Information and Communications Engineers |
| April 1992 |
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HDTV Development Award, Maximum Service Television (USA) |
| November 1992 |
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Chairman's Award, High-Vision Promotion Association |
| April 1993 |
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Achievement Award, Ministry of Science and Technology, Japan |
| May 1996 |
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Niwa Takayanagi Achievement Award, The Institute of Image Information and Television Engineers (formerly, Institute of Television Engineers) |
| March 2001 |
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Maejima Award, Teishin Foundation |
| March 2002 |
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Okochi Memorial Engineering Award, Okochi Memorial Foundation |
| May 2002 |
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Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award, IEEE
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