Prof. Kazuo Arakawa, Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University, Japan

Kazuo Arakawa is a professor of Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University, Japan. He received his PhD from Osaka University in 1982. He became a research associate, Kyushu University in 1982, a visiting researcher at University of Washington (USA) from 1988 to 1989, and promoted to an associate professor in 1989, and a full professor in 2001. His research interests include fracture mechanics and experimental mechanics, particularly on polymers and composite materials, impact phenomena of golf balls, and biomaterials and biomechanics. His recent research includes harvesting technologies of airborne wind energy at high altitude, and experimental and theoretical analysis of dynamic contact and sliding friction. He has published over 200 papers in Japanese and International Journals. He was members of executive boards of academic societies including the president of the Japanese Society for Experimental Mechanics (JSEM). He has received several kinds of awards from academic societies including the best paper award, advanced technical award, and the Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Materials Science, Japan (JSMS) in 2010.