Masaru Kurihara
Research Fellow, Toray Industries.
One of the leaders of Japan's desalination independence from the USA. Former president of the APDA and JDA.
Educated at Tokyo and Iowa, Masaru joined Toray in 1963, starting work on desalination membranes in 1970 as a postdoctoral researcher with the US Office of Saline Water. His research developed Toray's membrane product line and was a driving force in Japanese desal's progress from importing plant, to manufacturing US-designed equipment, to full production.
Masaru held visiting professorships at Kyoto, Tianjin Polytechnic and Shanghai Jiao Tong universities. Since retiring from Toray in 2006 (remaining as an executive advisor) he was a Japanese Cabinet advisor and manages the 'Megaton Water System' programme within Japan's Fund for World-Leading Innovative Science and Technology R&D.
Masaru was a long-term IDA board member as well as president of both the Asia Pacific Desalination Association and the Japan Desalination Association.