Tanaka Award


Tanaka_Award
The late Dr.Yutaka Tanaka, the first head of the Bridge Division of The Imperial Capital Reconstruction Board established following the Great Kanto Earthquake, is widely known even today as the man responsible for construction of many bridges. Some of those bridges are familiar to the general public as the symbols of Tokyo such as Eitaibashi and Kiyosubashi bridges spanning Sumida River in those days. Dr. Tanaka was recognized as an authority on bridge and structural engineering and today is respected as the father of those disciplines in light of his outstanding achievements.

After Dr.Tanaka'death, his family endowed the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) a fund for the purpose of promoting the civil engineering profession. Meanwhile, the doctor's students, friends, colleagues and admirers initiated and donated gifts to establish a memorial fund in honor of his outstanding achievements and contributions to the enhancement of bridge and steel structural engineering profession. In 1965, "Dr. Yutaka Tanaka Commemorative Foundation" was established. After that, numerous individuals and groups made donations to the foundation. Based on those contributions, the JSCE, on behalf of the foundation, instituted "JSCE Tanaka Award" to recognize excellent in bridge and steel structural engineering in 1966 and announced the first recipients of Tanaka Award among other JSCE Awards recipients.

Over the last thirty years JSCE, together with the members, people in bridge, steel structural engineering and other disciplines, has promoted the award to get recognized as one of the most honorable awards in the country. Due to the efforts, the Tanaka Award has gained an excellent reputation and recognized both nationally and internationally as one of the highest honors in the civil engineering profession. Also, the promotion has contributed to the development of bridge engineering technology.

The Tanaka Awards is granted to each of the three categories:
  1. Outstanding Achievement in Research: the award is made to recognize outstanding achievements and contributions to the advancement of the field of bridge engineering. This award, established in 1993, is relarively new, but has already established itself as one of the most prestigious award in the country. Many of the recipients are the country's most eminent bridge engineers.
  2. Best Research Paper: the award is made to recognize the author, or authors of a paper: thesis or research report, published in a JSCE journal/ magazine which contains the most valuable conribution to the development of bridge engineering in planning, design, production/ construction, maintenance and management, innovative ideas, history, etc.
  3. Excellence in Bridge Design and Construciton: the award is made to recognize a constructed, or reconstructed bridge, or related structures which possess excellent quality in planning, design, construction, maintenance and management and exhibit technical and aesthetic excellence. The award is made not to individuals who were involved in construction of bridge, but rather to the work produced based on those individuals' superb collaboration and performance under the supervision and management of an organization, or organizations during the entire construction process.

Award for 2009

Project Name Location
Incheon Bridge Incheon, Korea
Stonecutters Bridge Hong Kong
Kyushu Shinkansen Matsubara Intersection Bridge Fukuoka Pref., Japan
Sarutagawa Bridge and Tomoegawa Bridge Shizuoka Pref., Japan

Award for 2008

Project Name Location
Toyoshima Bridge Hiroshima Pref., Japan
Sannai Maruyama Bridge Aomori Pref., Japan
Tabegawa Bridge Fukuoka Pref., Japan
New Metropolitan Bridge Saitama Pref., Japan

Award for 2007

Project Name Location
Shin-Toyo Bridge Tokyo, Japan
Kokonoe "Yume" Otsuribashi Oita Pref., Japan
Minato Bridge Structural Renaisance on Seismic Retrofit Osaka Pref., Japan
First Yamakiri Viaduct Shizuoka Pref., Japan
Tama Grand Bridge Tokyo, Japan

Award for 2006

Project Name Location
Bai Chay Bridge Cua Luc Strait in the Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
New Meishin Expressway Ohmi-Ohdori Bridge Shiga Pref., Japan
Tenmagawa Bridge Aomori Pref., Japan
Shin Saikai Bridge Nagasaki Pref., Japan
Seishun Bridge Gunma Pref., Japan
Uchimaki Viaduct Shizuoka Pref., Japan

Award for 2005

Project Name Location
Megami-Ohashi Bridge Nagasaki Pref., Japan
Transplantation of Lateral Girder of Shimoueno Viaduct Kyoto Pref., Japan
Nanairo Viaduct Nara Pref., Japan
New Kita-Kyushu Airport Connecting Bridge Fukuoka Pref., Japan
Kiseimiyagawa Bridge Mie Pref., Japan
Katsurashima Viaduct Shizuoka Pref., Japan

pdficonAward for 2004

Project Name Location
Kobe New Transit CFT Girder Bridge Hyogo Pref., Japan
Hamayu-Ohashi Bridge Shizuoka Pref., Japan
Yahagigawa Bridge Aichi Pref., Japan
Kenshinko-Ohashi Bridge Niigata Pref., Japan
Himiyume-Ohashi Bridge Nagasaki Pref., Japan
Seiun Bridge Tokushima Pref., Japan
Fujikawa Bridge Shizuoka Pref., Japan

pdficonAward for 2003

Project Name Location
Chitose Bridge Osaka Pref., Japan
Kitakami-Ohashi Bridge Iwate Pref., Japan
Nozomi Bridge Gifu Pref., Japan
Ukai-Ohashi Bridge Gifu Pref., Japan
Shibakawa Viaduct Shizuoka Pref., Japan
Warashinagawa Bridge Shizuoka Pref., Japan
Kinokawa Viaduct Wakayama Pref., Japan

Award for 2002

Project Name Location
Imabeppu River Bridge Kagoshima Pref., Japan
Mori no Waku Waku Hashi Fukushima Pref., Japan
Hozu Bridge Kyoto Pref., Japan
Japan-Egypt Friendship Bridge Ismailia, Egypt
Yeongjong Grand Bridge Yeongjong Island, Korea
Jingashita Viaduct Kanagawa Pref., Japan
Ganmon Bridge Ishikawa Pref., Japan
Kiso River Bridge, Ibi River Bridge Mie Pref., Japan
Irtysh River Bridge Semipalatinsk, Republic of Kazakhstan

Award for 2001

Project Name Location
Ujina Bridge Hiroshima Pref., Japan
Shikari Bridge Hokkaido Pref., Japan
Miyakodagawa Bridge Shizuoka Pref., Japan
Tensho Bridge Miyazaki Pref., Japan

Award for 2000

Project Name Location
Akinada Bridge Hiroshima Pref., Japan
Ikeda-Hesokko Bridge Tokushima Pref., Japan
Ujina-Ohashi Bridge Hiroshima Pref., Japan
Kushimoto Bridge Wakayama Pref., Japan
Shinko Circle-Walk (Pedestrian Bridge) Kanagawa Pref., Japan
Second Mandaue-Mactan Bridge Mactan/Cebu Islands, Philippines
Naruse River Bridge Miyagi Pref., Japan

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