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Document summary:
- Title: Dr. S. Kosugi Passed Away on October 14th, 2004
- Author: International Freight Pipeline Society
- Source: http://www.freightpipeline.org/news.htm
- Copyright: IFPS
- Date: October 2004
Dr. S. Kosugi Passed Away
Dr. Sanai Kosugi, a world renowned expert in freight pipeline, passed away in Tokyo on October 14, 2004, due to cancer.
Dr. Kosugi, the General Manager of the Pipeline Department of the Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd., was instrumental in bringing the new technology of pneumatic capsule pipeline (PCP) for use to transport freight in Japan. He designed and supervised the construction of several PCPs in Japan for transporting different materials: minerals, solid waste and construction material. The one in the town of Kuzuu, Japan, constructed in 1980 and still being used today to transport 2 million tons of limestone each year from a mine to a cement plant over a distance of 3.2 km, is especially significant because it demonstrated the first successful and economic use of the modern PCP technology. For his contribution to the technology of PCP, Dr. Kosugi received the "Distinguished Lecture Award" of the International Freight Pipeline Society (IFPS) in 1992, and the "Land Development Award" of Japan Institute of Construction Engineering in 2003. His Distinguished Lecture, entitled "A Capsule Pipeline System for Limestone Transportation", was presented at the 7th International Symposium on Freight Pipelines, which took place in Woloongong, Australia, 1992. Japan's success in using PCPs, made possible through Dr. Kosugi's contribution, is described in a new book "PIPELINE ENGINEERING", published by the CRC Press in 2003.
According to Dr. Henry Liu, an expert in PCP and the President of Freight Pipeline Company in Missouri, U.S.A., "Dr. Kosugi has made enormous contribution to the field of capsule pipeline. Japan and the world have lost a giant in freight pipeline and in engineering."
The successful use of PCP in Japan led by Dr. Kosugi has laid the foundation for expanded future use of this new technology for freight transport not only in Japan but also around the world. For instance, under the sponsorship of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), a study was completed in August 2004, which showed that the same PCP technology used in Japan, with minor modifications, can be used economically in New York City for underground transportation of freight carried on pallets or in boxes, crates, and containers. Such future use of PCP in large cities including New York City and Tokyo will reduce their reliance on trucks for transportation, thereby reducing traffic congestion and air pollution caused by trucks. Dr. Kosugi was a key consultant for this study.
Dr. Yutaka Tsuji, Professor of the Osaka University and the President of the International Freight Pipeline Society (IFPS), said the following about Dr. Kosugi's death: "All of his friends are shocked and saddened, but we should succeed to continue his great achievement in freight pipelines." Dr. Masatoshi Tomabechi, the former boss of Dr. Kosugi at Sumitomo Metal Industries, said of Dr. Kosugi's death: "He was a sincere and honest person, and an excellent research engineer dealing with pioneering research. He pursued the PCP technology for industrial use as his life-time endeavor, and has left us with ever-lasting achievements."
Dr. Kosugi received his Master Degree from the Department of Applied Mathmatics and Physics, Kyoto University, in 1971. In 1985, he received his Doctor of Engineering Degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Osaka University. The title of his doctoral dissertation is "Fundamental Study of System Design of Pneumatic Capsule Pipeline Transportation". He first joined Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. in 1971.