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2024 Masao Horiba Awards

<2024 Theme>

Analytical and Measurement Technologies for a Clean Water Environment and Sustainable Society
 

In recent years, with the environmental changes of our planet, there has been a growing interest in sustainable development in various industries, of which water quality analysis and measurement technologies are becoming increasingly important. Water is the foundation of our life and an indispensable resource in a wide range of areas, including drinking water, agriculture, and industrial activities. Water flows from rivers to the oceans, evaporates from the oceans, falls to the earth's surface as rain and snow, and returns to the oceans through rivers. In our daily lives, we use only a small portion of the water in this never-ending cycle, but there have been numerous occasions in the past when the accumulated impact of human industrial activities has become a major water quality issue.

As our rapidly developing society becomes increasingly concerned about the impact of substances contained in wastewater from industrial activities on the global environment and ecosystems, stricter regulations are inevitable. In addition to new measurement technologies to detect substances that have been difficult to measure in the past, new measurement technologies to quickly and easily detect substances (e.g., microplastics and organic fluorine compounds) that have not yet been established as a means of easy on-site detection, even though they already exist technically as detection methods, are needed to protect clean water and the environment. This new measurement technology will be necessary for the future preservation of a clean water environment.

In addition, upgrading water treatment systems is essential for achieving a sustainable water cycle. Treatment of domestic and industrial wastewater for the purpose of reducing the environmental impact of its discharge, or to maintain a safe drinking quality of river water and groundwater, is necessary to establish a water cycle in any country or region in the world. Water treatment systems are closely related to analysis and measurement in that proper management is achieved by monitoring water quality before and after treatment, and they complement each other. Water quality sensing technology and water quality measurement systems are required to contribute to the advancement of water treatment technology in order to efficiently utilize limited water resources and strengthen the foundation for building a recycling-oriented society.

The 2024 Masao Horiba Awards will be open to the above-mentioned water quality analysis and measurement technologies that are expected to contribute to the conservation of the water environment and are necessary for the creation of a sustainable society. This call also includes advanced research that reduces the environmental burden of conventional water quality analysis and measurement technologies (e.g., miniaturization, resource conservation, and longevity, as well as methods for analyzing and analyzing data to achieve these goals). We welcome applications from researchers and engineers both from and outside of Japan who are eager to advance analytical and measurement technologies to protect all types of water quality around the world.

Masayuki Adachi, Dr., Eng.
Chief of the Organizing Committee for 2024 Masao Horiba Awards
President & COO
HORIBA, Ltd.

2024 Guidelines

Organizing Committee for 2024 Masao Horiba Awards