Tadashi Sasaki

Biography

For more than 30 years, Tadashi Sasaki has led major accomplishments in the miniaturization and power optimization of small electronics, making the commercialization of liquid crystal display (LCD) technology possible.

Dr. Sasaki joined Hayakawa Electric Industry Co. (now Sharp Corporation) in Osaka, Japan, in 1969, as corporate executive director. Disheartened by the unwieldy technology of the time, he focused on creating a palm-sized calculator. Through the use of LCD and CMOS LSI technology, his team at Sharp unveiled pocket-sized calculators with the smallest displays that had been seen in the field. This development paved the way for LCD use in watches, automobile navigation systems, PDAs, TVs and other consumer electronics.

With the demand for ecologically sound energy becoming increasingly important worldwide, Dr. Sasaki changed direction to lead research in solar power cells and other clean energy sources. His work culminated in Sharp's 1980 release of solar-powered calculators. After retiring from Sharp in 1993 as corporate senior executive vice president, he founded the International Center for Materials Research Inc., in Kanagawa, Japan. He is chairman of the board and chief executive officer leading the research and development of new industrial materials using nanotechnology and under the concept of co-creation.

Dr. Sasaki's honors include Japan's Blue Ribbon Award and Third Degree Order of the Rising Sun, the Ichimura Award, the First Degree Prize from the Dresden Institute of Technology and NASA's Apollo Achievement Award. He has been director of the Society for Nontraditional Technology and the International Media Research Foundation, and president of the Hybrid Microelectronics Association and Japan Business Machine Makers Association.

Further Reading

Tadashi Sasaki Oral History