About

Tatsuaki Nakato (1942-2016)- talented hydraulician, devoted colleague and friend, and vital connection between hydraulics in the USA and Japan, passed away on September 3, 2016. His life personifies a significant strand in the development of hydraulic engineering. The uniqueness of the connection he forged between Japan and the USA is exemplified by the banquet speech he gave during the 1993 Tokyo Congress of the International Association of Hydraulic Research (IAHR). He spoke about his two mentors: Professor Shohei Adachi of Japan and Professor John F. Kennedy of the USA. Both men had recently passed away. Nakato described how their guidance and wisdom had critically influenced his career path and guided his approach to hydraulic engineering. Kennedy in particular had a major influence on Nakato’s career, as the two men developed a mutually reliant working relationship. Kennedy once said that Nakato epitomized a hydraulician’s hydraulician – one who is comfortable with theory, labs, numerical modeling, and practical applications, while always remaining current with technological developments.

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