WORDS OF MEMORY TO OUR COLLEAGUE PROF. AKIRA MATSUNAWA

摘要

I started my research at Welding Research Institute (WRI) of Osaka University, Japan in 1977 where I was working with Prof. Yoshiaki Arata (then the director of WRI) until 1978. Just that year Prof. Akira Matsunawa from Welding Department of the same university has joined the WRI. Thus I got aquainted with Akira from that time. Later we had few chances to meet and to get more familiar with each other. We were working on different projects. He had been deeply involved in studying welding process with CO2 laser and especially in understanding the phenomenon of key hole welding mechanism. My field of interest at that time was studying different factor influencing productivity and quality of metal cutting with high power CO2 laser. From time to time we had a chance to speak and to discuss our results at one or other meetings at the Institute. Already then I was impressed by deep knowledge and proffesional experience of my new colleague, his friendly attitude to people, his kindness in relations with colleagues. By the way I learned about the death of Akira just as I had been departing from Kobe where we had the annual General Assemly of CIRP -^sInternational Academy of Production Engineering at the end of September - beginning of November last year. The colleague of mine, Prof. Kazuyuki Enami who used to work at the same Osaka University while I had been working there, informed me about that sad news and I send a message to Peter Baker. Prof. Kazuyuki Enami said that for the whole University as well as for the whole Japanese welding community that sudden death had been a great blow.