IEEE, an association dedicated to advancing innovation and technological excellence for the benefit of humanity, is the world’s largest technical professional society. The number of memberships surpasses 430,000 in more than 190 countries, and the number of Japanese memberships was 14,384 at the end of 2013. IEEE established the Milestones Program in 1983 to recognize the achievements of the Century of Giants which formed the profession and the technologies represented by IEEE. Each milestone recognizes a significant technical achievement that occurred at least 25 years ago in an area of technology represented by IEEE and having at least regional impacts. To date, more than a hundred Milestones have been approved and dedicated around the world. Japanese Milestones are Directive Short Wave Antenna, Mount Fuji Radar System, Tokaido Shinkansen (Bullet Train), etc.

The design of large-scale atmospheric radars is started in Kyoto University in the 1970s. The Incoherent Scatter (IS) radar was initially studied in order to observe the upper atmosphere for the first time in Asia. Studies on radar design showed that radars with specific features are required for observing the middle atmosphere, called “the unknown region”. Research was hence focused on designing radars that are primarily used for observing the middle atmosphere and part of the upper atmosphere. This research led to the origin of the MU radar.
The radar research team of Kyoto University decided to adopt the active phased array radar technique for high-resolution observation of the important wave motions in the middle atmosphere. At that time, many radar experts thought it was impossible to realize a large-scale two-dimensional active phased array radar. When a manuscript on the MU radar design was submitted to a journal in the late 1970s, peer reviewers referred to the design as a “Pie in the sky”. Nevertheless, Kyoto University and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation began jointly developing the active phased-array radar from scratch. In 1983, the radar system development was partially completed with 57 antennas having an output power of 120 kW. In the subsequent year, development of the entire system was completed with 475 antennas (103 m in diameter) having an output power of 1 MW in 1984.
The MU radar enables real-time observation of the atmosphere up to a distance of a several hundred kilometers using computer controlled radar beam scanning at a maximum rate of 400 μs. After development of this system, the researchers conducted regular technical meetings. The system was continually developed, and it has provided useful results for several fields such as space and atmospheric physics, meteorology, astronomy, electrical and electronic engineering, and astrophysics. The MU radar is one of the world's best atmospheric radars. More than 160 technical meetings have been held thus far. These meetings have enabled the joint development of the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR) and the Lower Troposphere Radar (LTR). Moreover, the research results have been used in the atmospheric radar network, named Wind Profiler Network and Data Acquisition System (WINDAS) of Japan Meteorological Agency, and in the MST/IS radar, named Program of the Antarctic Syowa (PANSY) of the University of Tokyo and the National Institute of Polar Research in Japan. These systems were both designed and manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. Kyoto University is continually focused on constructing the Equatorial MU radar, a highly sophisticated and high-performance radar that compiles the MU radar technology in equatorial Indonesia, where the most active cumulus convection spreads.

Date: May 13 2015 (Wed.) 10:30-14:30
Location: Shirankaikan, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University

Host: IEEE Kansai Section Time: 10:30-11:00 Place: Inamori Hal
MC: Hironori Yamauchi, Chair, IEEE Kansai Section

Address by IEEE Headquarter	President and CEO, IEEE	Howard E. Michel
Presentation of the Plaque
Receiving Address	President, Kyoto University	Juichi Yamagiwa
	President and CEO, Mitsubishi Electric Corp.	Masaki Sakuyama

　

Host: Kyoto Univ. & Mitsubishi Electric Corp. Time: 11:15-12:45 Place: Yamauchi Hall
MC: Mamoru Yamamoto, Professor, Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere (RISH), Kyoto University

Opening Address	Director, RISH, Kyoto University	Toshitaka Tsuda
Addresses by Guests	Chair, IEEE Japan Council	Tomonori Aoyama
	Director-General, Research Promotion Bureau, Ministr of Education,	Yutaka Tokiwa
	Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
	Executive Member, Council for Science, Technology and Innovation,	Kazuo Kyuma
	Cabinet Office
	Former President, The Institute of Electronics, Information and	Susumu Yoshida
	Communication Engineers
Toast	Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University	Susumu Kato
Appreciation Address	Executive Officer, Public Utility Systems, Mitsubishi Electric Corp.	Takahiro Kikuchi

　

Host: IEEE Kansai Section, Co-host: Kyoto Univ. & Mitsubishi Electric Corp. Time: 13:00-14:30 Place: Inamori Hall
MC: Jun Cheng, Chair, Technical Program Committee, IEEE Kansai Section

「Overview of IEEE Milestone」
IChair, History Committee, IEEE Japan Counci	Isao Shirakawa
「Summary of 30 Year Achievement of the MU Radar」
Director, RISH, Kyoto University	Toshitaka Tsuda
「Radar Development in Mitsubishi Electric Corp.」
Former Project Manager, Electronic Systems Group, Mitsubishi Electric Corp.	Kyosuke Hamazu

　

Date: May 13 2015 (Wed.) 16:00-17:30
Location: Shigaraki MU Observatory, RISH, Kyoto University
MC: Hiroyuki Hashiguchi, Associate Professor, Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere (RISH), Kyoto University