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This is the 28th volume of Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and international members. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. Through its members and international members, the Academy...
This is the 28th volume of Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and international members. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. Through its members and international members, the Academy carries out the responsibilities for which it was established in 1964.
Under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering was formed as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. Members are elected on the basis of significant contributions to engineering theory and practice and to the literature of engineering or on the basis of demonstrated unusual accomplishments in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology. The National Academies share a responsibility to advise the federal government on matters of science and technology. The expertise and credibility that the National Academy of Engineering brings to that task stem directly from the abilities, interests, and achievements of our members and international members, our colleagues and friends, whose special gifts we remember in this book.
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BY MASAYOSHI TOMIZUKA
SEIUEMON INABA, founder and former president and CEO of FANUC Ltd., passed away on Oct. 2, 2020, at age 95. He made significant contributions to the development of the robotics industry not only in Japan but also worldwide.
Inaba was born on March 5, 1925, in Akeno, (now Chikusei City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. In 1946, he graduated from the Department of Precision Engineering at the University of Tokyo and joined Fuji Telecommunications Equipment Manufacturing Company (now Fujitsu, Ltd). At Fujitsu, he worked on the research and development of electro-hydraulic pulse motors and numerical controllers (NC), achieving notable success in the early days of NC machine tools. He compiled his work in the thesis, “Study on Continuous Cutting Numerical Control System of Machine Tools Mainly Consisting of Algebraic Expressions, Interpolation Devices and Electro-Hydraulic Pulse Motors,” which he submitted to the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He was awarded a Doctor of Engineering degree in July 1965.
In May 1972, Seiuemon Inaba established Fujitsu FANUC (now FANUC), an independent subsidiary of Fujitsu, and served as its executive director. In 1975, he became president and representative director. He grew the company into a leading manufacturer of NC devices and industrial robots. Emphasizing globalization, he led efforts including the establishment of GMFanuc Robotics Corporation in 1982 and GE Fanuc Automation Corporation in 1986.
Inaba received many honors and awards during his lifetime. These included the First Class Medal from the Bulgarian government (1977); the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon from the Emperor of Japan (1981); the Rond de Chaine from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (1981) (could not confirm); the Commandeur de l'Ordre Grand-Ducal de la Couronne de Chene (1985); the Order of Merit, Second Class, from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (1989); the Medal of Honor with Blue Ribbon from the Emperor of Japan (1990); the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Second Class, from the Emperor of Japan (1995); and the Junior Fourth Rank of the court ranks of Japan (2020) (could not confirm). His technical awards included the Sixth Annual Memorial Award of Joseph Marie Jacquard (1974); the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Engineering Citation Award (1977); the Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Award for Technology (1987); the M. Eugene Merchant Manufacturing Medal (1987); and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Robotics and Automation Award (2005) for “long-standing leadership and technical contributions to the development of Numerical Control machines, industrial robots, and flexible factory automation.”
He loved socializing with friends – including sharing a drink or two – mountain climbing, driving his yellow Corvette (yellow being the color he selected for FANUC), and oil painting. He also had a deep love for trees and flowers. When FANUC headquarters was relocated near Mount Fuji, he instructed the design team to minimize the number of trees that would be cut during construction.
His eldest son, Yoshiharu Inaba, and his eldest grandson, Kiyonori Inaba, followed in his footsteps. Yoshiharu earned a Doctor of Engineering degree from the University of Tokyo and succeeded Seiuemon Inaba as chairman of the company. Kiyonori earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. The three generations of the Inaba family once gathered in Berkeley while Kiyonori was pursuing his doctorate.
Inaba’s love and passion for engineering and invention lived on in the inspiring words he shared with researchers at monthly technical conferences – meetings he continued to host even after becoming president of FANUC. He often told his mentees, “Technology has a history. However, engineers have no past. There is only creation.” His legacy of creation and innovation endures through the many engineers he has mentored and at FANUC and beyond.