Brian Harris, chairman of the International Road Federation-Washington (IRF-Washington) and the board of directors of the International Road Educational Foundation have selected Moriyasu Furuki as the 2010 recipient of the Dr. Mino Award of Excellence.
The award was developed to recognize and honor outstanding graduates of the IRF Fellowship Program who have leveraged their educational experience to make outstanding achievements in roadway development and planning around the world.
“Dr. Mino was a very special man who had a significant impact on the road industry,” said Harris. “Mr. Furuki certainly learned from Dr. Mino’s great example and captured the spirit of his dedication to promote technology transfer to those who need it most. His dedicated involvement to the IRF Fellowship Program has ensured that talented, deserving, young professionals have received a quality education.”
“I am very honored to receive the Dr. Mino Award of Excellence and I am deeply grateful to my colleagues and friends who supported me,” said Furuki. “I would also like to thank my family, who has always shown unflagging understanding and support to me and my work.”
Furuki received his IRF Fellowship in 1973 to study at Purdue University, where, according to Furuki, he learned “to form unique, creative solutions to the challenges which could not be solved by conventional, local ideas and approaches.”
After completing his IRF Fellowship, Furuki returned to Japan and forged an impressive career, which included four years as a project engineer at the Asian Development Bank, thirty years at the Ministry of Construction in Japan and a tenure at the Metropolitan Expressway Public Corporation.
Finally, as the executive director of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, Furuki has grown the organization from a national society to an international organization.
Furuki’s long held belief that human resources are our most valuable assets is demonstrated in his unwavering commitment to the IRF Fellowship Program. As the Japan Road Association’s representative to the IRF, Furuki has influenced hundreds of IRF Fellows and their careers.
"Mr. Furuki's contribution to IRF has been outstanding,” said Yasumasa Torii, an IRF Fellow from 1972. “He is the one not only to get the Fellows and supporting institutions from Japan together, but he also acts as a bridge between Fellows from the Asian region and the rest of the world."
IRF presented the award to Furuki at the opening ceremony of the 16th IRF World Meeting.