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PHILADELPHIA, PA — 4 November 2005 — The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) today announced that Masao Horiba will receive the fifth annual Pittcon Heritage Award. Jointly sponsored by the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon) and CHF, this award recognizes outstanding individuals whose entrepreneurial careers have shaped the instrumentation community, inspired achievement, promoted public understanding of the modern instrumentation sciences, and highlighted the role of analytical chemistry in world economies. The award will be presented at Pittcon 2006 in Orlando, which begins 12 March.
"Masao Horiba, an intrepid instrument innovator, launched his first company at the end of World War II and found continued success in the midst of great adversity," said Arnold Thackray, president of CHF. "He developed Japan's first electrode-type pH meter as a graduate student, then built on that success to form an international instrumentation business. His scientific knowledge, technical skill, business acumen, and entrepreneurial drive are the stuff of legend and an inspiration to us all."
Horiba will receive the Pittcon Heritage Award at the 57th annual Pittsburgh Conference. Pittcon is the largest and most inclusive conference and exposition on laboratory science and instrumentation in the world. The annual event brings together more than 30,000 conferees and exhibitors from more than 70 countries. Pittcon 2006 will include approximately 3,000 presentations in addition to short courses, invited symposia, workshops, and new-product forums featuring instrumentation manufacturers from the life sciences, analytical chemistry, and other scientific fields. Proceeds from the conference are used to advance science education. More information is available at www.pittcon.org.
About Masao Horiba
Masao Horiba is the founder of HORIBA, Ltd., a global leader in advanced analytical and measurement technology. A true pioneer, Horiba founded Horiba Radio Laboratory in 1945, while still a student at Kyoto Imperial University. In the years that followed, he developed Japan's first electrode-type pH meter. This led to the establishment of HORIBA in 1953.
Following the success of his pH meter for fluid analysis, Horiba began research in 1954 on infrared measurement for use in the analysis of gases. Applying this technology to products for the measurement of air pollution and automobile exhaust gas, the company's scope of business grew rapidly.
Although Horiba had majored in physics at the university, he used his experience in the research and development of products for his own company as a platform to undertake the study of medicine, and in 1961 he was awarded a doctoral degree in medicine.
Adopting the corporate philosophy "Joy and Fun," the entire company worked as a team to create a model venture business. Through the years, as one of the top manufacturers of analytical instruments, HORIBA has continued to lead the industry with innovative advances in technology.
In 1978 Horiba became chairman of the company, and in 2005 he retired from the board of directors and assumed the position of supreme counsel. While chairman, he received several awards from the Japanese government and a national Blue Ribbon Medal.
Horiba continues to play a highly active role in Kyoto's start-up business community. As the special advisor of the Advanced Software Technology and Mechatronics Research Institute of Kyoto (ASTEM), one of the largest start-up incubator organizations in Japan, he has worked particularly hard to help entrepreneurs build strong, new companies. Since the establishment of the Japan Association of New Business Incubation Organizations (JANBO) in 1999, he has served as a representative of this nationwide network for the support of new businesses in Japan.
About the Chemical Heritage Foundation
The Chemical Heritage Foundation serves the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present, and inspiring the future. CHF carries out a program of outreach and interpretation in order to advance an understanding of the role of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries in shaping society; maintains a world-class collection of materials that document the history and heritage of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries; and encourages research in its collections.
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