1983 William Bowie Medal to Syun‐iti Akimoto

The 45th William Bowie Medal is awarded to Syun‐iti Akimoto for his pioneering work in the application of high‐pressure, high‐temperature research to geophysical problems. It is a great honor and personal pleasure for me to present to you this warm and generous man, whom I have admired and respected for many years, to receive AGU's most prestigious award. Akimoto joins the ranks of other distinguished scientists in the field of mineral physics who have received the William Bowie Medal: Leason Adams in 1950, Francis Birch in 1960, and A. E. Ringwood in 1974.High‐pressure geophysics research was virtually nonexistent in Japan before 1960. In the 22 years since he joined the faculty of the Institute for Solid State Physics (ISSP) of the University of Tokyo, Akimoto has played the leading role in building Japanese high‐pressure research as applied to the earth's mantle up to the level where, according to Ted Ringwood, Japan leads the world. Ringwood further attests that, “Akimoto has accomplished this by the example of scientific excellence which he has set in all his research and by his generous encouragement of younger workers.”