IFHTSE Medal will be awarded to Prof. Tadashi Furuhara of Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

Tadashi Furuhara was born in 1960 in Japan. He received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the department of metal science and technology at Kyoto University and his PhD degree from Carnegie Mellon University in USA. From 1989 to 2005 he was employed at Kyoto University. Since 2005 he is professor at the Institute of Materials Research (IMR) at Tohoku University in Sendai. During his career Prof. Furuhara has served as director of IMR; he is currently director of both The Iron Steel Institute of Japan and The Japan Society for Heat Treatment. Furthermore, he is editor of Acta Materialia and Scripta Materialia.
Prof. Furuhara’s research achievements concern diffusive and displacive phase transformations in metallic materials, microstructure control by thermochemical processing in ferrous and non-ferrous alloys as well as shape memory alloys and surface engineering of steels. His academic work from the University of Kyoto and Tohoku University is very well-known and well-cited in the discipline of physical metallurgy. He is particularly recognized for his work on variant pairing and variant selection in ferrous martensite and bainite. For his research activities Prof. Furuhara and team excel in the application of a suite of electron microscopy and electron diffraction techniques as well as atom probe tomography.
Prof. Furuhara has fostered independent thinking among students by promoting open discussions. His holistic approach based on fundamental principles provides students with an exemplary model of logical thinking and designing experiments. He has supervised 21 Ph.D. students, including 10 researchers from industry and 7 international students. Moreover, he has hosted over 20 visiting professors and students in his research group from various countries, including the United States, Canada, China, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Brazil. His efforts in building an international network contribute to the development of the international steel research society.
Prof. Furuhara passionately disseminates acquired knowledge in the metallurgical society through collaborative research and consultation for over 30 companies. These companies encompass a diverse range, including steel and special steel companies, heat treatment enterprises, automotive component manufacturers, construction equipment manufacturers, and heavy industry corporations. The application of advanced microstructure analysis techniques and suggestions based on his profound understanding of physical metallurgy in steels contributes to the development of new products and the training of the engineers in these industries.