Published by the MIT News Office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Published by the MIT News Office at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Yaichi Ayukawa Dies at 68; Corporation Life Member Yaichi Ayukawa, a Life Member of the MIT Corporation who worked tirelessly to build strong ties between the United States and and his native Japan where he was a deeply respected industrial leader, died in Tokyo November 30 as a result of a stroke. He was 68 years old. Dr. Ayukawa's long association with MIT began not long after the end of World War II and continued unabated until his death. "Dr. Ayukawa had the unshakable conviction that the future destinies of Japan and the United States were inextricably and appropriately linked, and he devoted his considerable energy to building effective ties between the two nations," said Dr. Paul E. Gray, chairman of the MIT Corporation. Dr. Ayukawa was one-half of a remarkable friendship that began in the late 1940s when he became a graduate student of Professor Samuel A. Goldblith, now emeritus and then a member of the former Department of Nutrition and Food Science. In 1942 Professor Goldblith, then a young lieutenant fresh out of MIT, was captured by Japanese forces, survived the Bataan Death March and was a prisoner of war in Japan until 1945. He returned to MIT to resume his academic career. His first graduate student was Dr. Ayukawa. Not surprisingly, Dr. Goldblith, in the late 1940s harbored what he has described as "a deep resentment of the Japanese government." That attitude changed as the friendship between Professor Goldblith and his new graduate student flourished. In 1984 when Dr. Goldblith was honored by the Japanese government for fostering ties between the United States and Japan he cited his friendship with Dr. Ayukawa as an important factor in his ability to look to the future, rather than to the past. Dr. Ayukawa was born in Japan on June 1, 1923. He received the BS in industrial microbiology from Tokyo Imperial University in 1945. He was a member of the Class of 1952 at MIT where he received a second bachelor's degree, the SM in food technology (1955) and the PhD in food technology and industrial management (1957). In 1975 he became the founding president of Techno-Venture Co., Ltd. after working for several years in research managerial positions for Nippon Reizo K.K. and for CPC Japan Ltd., a subsidiary of CPC International Inc., U.S.A., which he served successively as senior vice president, vice president for technical and business development, and chairman and senior advisor. He held many international patents covering various fields in the life sciences. He became a member of the Corporation Development Committee in 1974 and that same year was named to the Visiting Committee for the Department of Nutrition and Food Science. In the following years he served on Visiting Committees for the Center for International Studies, the Department of Applied Biological Sciences, and the Department of Biology. He served two fire-year terms on the Corporation and was elected to life membership in 1987. Over the years he assisted MIT presidents and chairmen as MIT's major contact in Japan. "His devotion to MIT and his influence in his own country were of great benefit to this institution and their effects will be felt for many years to come," Dr. Gray said. Dr. Ayukawa is survived by his son Junta and his wife, Masako. A funeral service will take place in Japan on Friday, December 6.