Syun-Ichi Akasofu

         Dr. Syun-Ichi Akasofu has been the director of the International 
Arctic Research Center of the University of Alaska Fairbanks since its 
establishment in 1998.  He originally came to the University of Alaska 
Fairbanks in 1958 as a graduate student to study the aurora under Sydney 
Chapman, receiving his PhD in 1961.  He has been professor of geophysics 
since 1964.  Dr. Akasofu has published more than 550 professional journal 
articles, authored and co-authored 10 books and has been the invited author 
of many encyclopedia articles.  He has collaborated with numerous 
colleagues nationally and internationally, and has guided nine students to 
their PhD degrees.
         Dr. Akasofu's auroral work has earned national and international 
recognition.  His paper on the aurora published in 1964 was cited as one of 
the most quoted papers.  In 1980, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus by 
UAF, and in 1981 and again in 2002, he was named one of the "1000 Most 
Cited Scientists".  The Royal Astronomy Society of London presented Dr. 
Akasofu with its Chapman Medal.  He has been honored with the Japan Academy 
of Sciences Award, the John Adams Fleming Award of the American Geophysical 
Union, and in 2003, the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star, 
was conferred on him by the Emperor of Japan.  In 1985, Dr. Akasofu became 
the first recipient of the Chapman Chair Professorship at the University of 
Alaska Fairbanks; and in 1987, he was named one of the "Centennial Alumni" 
by the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant 
Colleges.  In addition, he has received awards of appreciation for his 
efforts in support of international science activities from the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs of Japan in 1993 and from the Ministry of Posts and 
Telecommunications of Japan in 1996.  He was the recipient of the 
University of Alaska Edith R. Bullock Prize for Excellence in 1997, and was 
named a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 1977, and of the 
American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2001.  He received 
also the 1999 Alaskan of the Year Denali Award, and the 2003 Aurora Award 
from the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors' Bureau.
         As Director of the Geophysical Institute (1986-1999), Dr. Akasofu 
concentrated his effort on establishing the institute as a key research 
center in the Arctic.  He also played a critical role in the establishment 
of the Alaska Volcano Observatory and the modernization of the Poker Flat 
Research Range.