Dr Hideo Nishida, of the Japan Hydrographic Association, has been presented with the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office’s (UKHO) Alexander Dalrymple Award at a ceremony in London.
Dr Nishida was honoured for his outstanding contribution to Hydrography over a long and illustrious career with the Japan Coastguard, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Japan Hydrographic & Oceanographic Department (JHOD).
The award also acknowledges the many areas of Dr Nishida’s work throughout an illustrious career. These include the actions taken following the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on 11 March 2011. The speedy and professional response of JHOD to this disaster under his leadership was undoubtedly a major contributor to Japan’s remarkable recovery from this terrible event. His work clearly demonstrated the indispensable role that hydrographic surveys and charting can play in recovering from natural disasters.
Dr Nishida also conceived the idea of the Japan Capacity Building Project, a phenomenally successful collaboration between the JHOD, the International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB) and the UKHO, with the generous financial support of the Nippon Foundation. This initiative, to annually train six cartographers to the highest international standard is now in its fourth year and Dr Nishida will be visiting the students at UKHO’s offices in Taunton during his visit to the UK.
The award was presented by UKHO Chief Executive, Ian Moncrieff CBE and UK National Hydrographer, Rear Admiral Nick Lambert. Making the award, Ian commented: “Dr Nishida is a modest, selfless and consummately professional hydrographer with a world vision. He holds immense respect amongst the international hydrographic community well beyond his own region in which he is equally a legendary figure. It is for his very significant and long-standing contribution in capacity building and his high-order leadership in response to natural disaster that he is presented with the 2012 Alexander Dalrymple Award.”
Dr Nishida, who attended the ceremony with his colleague Chief Hydrographer Dr Shigeru Kato, told the audience that he was honoured to receive the award.
The ceremony took place at the UKHO’s celebration of World Hydrography Day at a joint event with The Nautical Institute held at Trinity House. The Nautical Institute’s London branch presented a seminar entitled ‘Generation Y – professional navigators’ which focussed on the challenge of acquiring and combining traditional and technological skills.
The prestigious award is dedicated to Alexander Dalrymple who formed the Hydrographic Office in 1795 and is a symbol of recognition for outstanding dedication and contribution to world hydrography.
[mappress] Press Release, October 04, 2012