December 27, 2024
(press release)
–
Dr. Masaru Kurihara, the "Legend" of Toray Water Treatment Division, will retire on 31 December. [ I. Brief History at Toray ] [ V. Gallery]
Dr. Kurihara joined Toray Industries, Inc. in 1963. Since then, he has led the expansion of Toray's water treatment business with his passionate and indomitable spirit from the dawn of R&D of water treatment membrane to the present day. The spirit of the legend will be passed on to the remaining Team Toray, and Toray's water treatment business will continue to move forward.
All of us sincerely wish Dr. Kurihara the best of luck in his future endeavors!
March, 1963 Graduated Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Gunma University
April, 1963 Joined Toyo Rayon Co., Ltd. (now, Toray Industries, Inc.)
September, 1970 Awarded a PhD at the University of Tokyo. Titled “Synthesis of new heat-resistant polymers by ring-closing polycondensation reactions”
October, 1970 Postdoctoral research at the University of Iowa with Prof. J. K. Stille, “Research on seawater desalination membrane materials” funded by OSW, USA
October, 1972 Started R&D for reverse osmosis (RO) membrane
June, 1991 Director for Polymer Research Laboratories and Global Environment Research Laboratories
June, 1992 Research Fellow
July, 1997 Cooperate Director for R&D Division and Chemical Research Laboratories
July, 2001 Cooperate Senior Director for Water Treatment Division, Technology Center and R&D Division
June, 2006 Retired Cooperate Senior Director. Senior Executive Adviser for Water Treatment & Environmental Division
December, 2024 Retired Toray Industries, Inc.
[ II. Academic Activities ]
October, 1977 Launched seawater reverse osmosis (PEC-1000) at the International Conference
July, 1997 Part time Lecturer at Faculty of Engineering, Yamagata University
May, 2000 Director, Membrane Society of Japan
2002 to 2005 Part time Lecturer at Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University
2005 to 2006 Part time Lecturer at Faculty of Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology and Shanghai Jiao Tong University
July, 2004 Chairman, Japan Desalination Association
October, 2004 Director, International Desalination and Reuse Association
July, 2008 Chairman, Asia Pacific Desalination Association
September, 2008 Fellow, Polymer Society of Japan
April, 2009 Fellow, Chemical Society of Japan
[ III. Strategic Activities ]
2003 Working Member for Environmentally Friendly Nanotechnologies, Cabinet Office (Japan)
2005 to 2007 Chairperson, Water Subcommittee, Committee on Competitiveness of Key Technology Industries (COCJ), Cabinet Office (Japan)
December, 2006 Expert Member, Water, Innovation 25, Cabinet Office (Japan)
2007 to 2008 Expert Member, Council on Competitiveness-Nippon (COCN)
January, 200 Chairman of the Advisory Board, Global Water Recycling and Reuse System Association (GWRA)
February, 2009 Expert Member, Water Security Council of Japan
2009 to 2014 Leader, “Mega–ton Water System”, Funding Program for World-Leading Innovative R&D on Science and Technology (FIRST), Cabinet Office (Japan)
April, 2014 Leader, Mega–ton Water Team
[ IV. Awards ]
1992 Technology Award, Chemical Society of Japan
1994 Technology Award, Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan
2000 Technology Award, Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan
2002 President Award, International Desalination and Reuse Association
2002 Award, Society of Sea Water Science, Japan
2003 Okochi Memorial Production Prize
2005 President Award, International Desalination and Reuse Association
2007 Japan Creation Award
2011 Lifetime Achievement Award, International Desalination and Reuse Association
2016 Water Reuse and Conservation Awards, International Desalination and Reuse Association
2022 Sydney Loeb Award, European Desalination Society
[ V. R&D History ]
1963-1970 Synthesis of heat-resistant polymers by ring-closing polycondensation reactions
1970-1972 Synthesis of Piez Dialysis membrane materials by block copolymerization
1972-2014 R&D for Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Nanofiltration (NF) membrane
1990-2014 R&D for Ultrafiltration (UF) membrane
1996-2014 R&D for Membrane Bio reactor (MBR) membrane
2009-2014 Mega–ton Water System
[ VI. Field of Expertise ]
Membrane: Reverse Osmosis (RO), Nanofiltration (NF), Ultrafiltration (UF), Microfiltration (MF)
Water Treatment Process: Seawater Desalination, Drinking Water Treatment, Wastewater Treatment
[ VII Key Publications ]
1984 Chemical Society Reviews
1994 Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan
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