The Shinkishi Hatai Medal
The Shinkishi Hatai Medal was established to honor distinguished leaders in Pacific marine biology. The medal has been awarded at every Pacific Science Congress since the 11th Pacific Science Congress in Tokyo in 1966.
Dr. Shinkishi Hatai was the first professor in biology at Tohoku University, Japan. The Shinkishi Hatai Medal was established in 1966, three years after his death at 87, in honor of his distinguished contributions to Pacific Marine Biology. Dr. Hatai was a member of the Pacific Science Council since 1926, and was a founder of the Palau Tropical Marine Biological Laboratory. One of his important contributions to Pacific science was his service as chairman of the Committee to work out a proportionate quota of official delegates for each member country of the Pacific Science Association. This task was carried out to the satisfaction of all, and the recommendations of his Committee were adopted at the Sixth Congress in 1939. To honor his achievements, the University of British Columbia conferred on him the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws.
The Shinkishi Hatai Medal is awarded at each occasion of the Pacific Science Congress. Selection of awardees is done by the Selection Committee appointed by the National Committee for Pacific Science Association of the Science Council of Japan. Ten medalists have been selected in the past forty years. For the most recent Congress held in Okinawa in June 2007, the committee selected two awardees, Dr. Shirley Winifred Jeffrey from Australia and Dr. Tsuyoshi Kawasaki from Japan.The past recipients are:
Dr. Deogracias V. Villidolid (Philippines), 1966
Dr. Carl L. Hubbs (USA), 1971
Dr. Lauren R. Donaldson (USA), 1975
Dr. Claude E. ZoBell (USA), 1979
Dr. Maxwell S. Doty (USA), 1983
Prof. Dr. Shigeru Motoda (Japan), 1987
Dr. William S. Hoar (USA), 1991
Dr. C.K. Tseng (USA), 1995
Dr. Howard A. Bern (USA), 2001
Dr. Bernard Salvat (France), 2003
2007 Recipients:
Dr. Shirley W. Jeffrey
Dr. Jeffrey is a scientist of the CSIRO Marine Research Laboratory in Hobart, Tasmania and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. She has long worked on the analysis and determination of the pigments of phytoplankton. The method she developed is the essential basis of the standards in quantitative studies of phytoplankton. Since phytoplankton are the only primary producer in oceanic ecosystems, her contribution is among the most fundamental to the science of Pacific marine biology. The Science Council of Japan recognizes the contribution of this insight and research, and decided to confer the Medal to Dr. Jeffrey. Unfortunately, Dr. Jeffrey was unable to attend the 21st Pacific Science Congress, but her video acceptance speech is posted here.
Dr. T. Kawasaki
Dr. Kawasaki, Professor Emeritus of Tohoku University, was the first to identify a synchrony in the change of commercial catch of different sardine and anchovy populations in the world oceans, including the Pacific. This finding started a heated scientific debate on the relationship between climate and marine ecosystems at the global scale. This debate led to the so-called “Regime shift theory,” a modern concept emphasizing the slight but firm control of climate regime on marine ecosystems, and as a result of his role Dr. Kawasaki was given a nickname “Father-of-regime-shift.” He attended the 21st Pacific Science Congress and gave both an acceptance speech as well as his own presentation in Session 1-19.