May 31, 2006, Bellingham, WA--Teruo Hiruma, president of Hamamatsu Photonics (Hamamatsu City, Japan), has received the SPIE Visionary Award. Hiruma is only the second recipient of SPIE's Visionary Award. The first recipient was the late Nobel laureate Richard Smalley who campaigned for the application of nanotechnology to address major problems facing humanity, especially the complex problem of energy and the environment.
Hiruma was honored for his visionary guidance of Hamamatsu Photonics to international recognition as a world leading supplier of high quality products to research and industry, his work in expanding the frontiers of photonics technology, and his advocacy for photonics research for the betterment of the human condition.
SPIE President Paul F. McManamon and Executive Director Eugene G. Arthurs recently returned from a trip to Japan, where they presented Hiruma with the prestigious award. Arthurs said that for many years Hiruma has promoted photonics as having an important role in addressing some of the problems facing all of humanity, such as energy and environment. Photonics also has much more to contribute in healthcare and communications. "He has gone way beyond the immediate interests of his company which, consistent with his vision, is strong in these technical areas."
Hiruma's views are encapsulated in a short quote from his writings that is cited in the company literature: "What mankind knows is still very little in the overall realm of knowledge, and there are endless subjects and possibilities that are not yet known or explored. We at Hamamatsu Photonics are committed, through the ongoing pursuit of truths which have not yet been clarified or defined, to achieving health and peace for all mankind."