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Dear MTT-S members,
It is with the deepest sadness that I must report to you the passing of Dr. Reynold Shigeru Kagiwada.
Dr. Reynold Kagiwada (M ’72, SM ’79, F’89, LF’05), IEEE MTT-S Past President, passed away peacefully in June 2023. He is survived by his two children, Conan Kagiwada and Julia Kagiwada. He is shown in a 1977 photo. Dr. Kagiwada was an IEEE Life Fellow (1989), the recipient of the IEEE Third Millennium Medal, the MTT-S 2011 Distinguished Service Award and the MTT-S 1997 N. Walter Cox Award. He was recipient of TRW Gold Medal Award and the Ramo Technical Award in 1985. He was a member of Old Crows, Sigma Pi Sigma and Sigma Xi.
This is a tremendous loss to MTT-S and to our profession.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Dr. Reynold Kagiwada and his family.
Nuno Borges Carvalho
2023 IEEE MTT-S President
Reynold Shigeru Kagiwada – 1938 to 2023
(Author: Tim Lee) Dr. Reynold Kagiwada (M ’72, SM ’79, F’89, LF’05), IEEE MTT-S Past President, passed away peacefully in June 2023. He is survived by his two children, Conan Kagiwada and Julia Kagiwada. He is shown in a 1977 photo.
Reynold Shigeru Kagiwada was born on July 8, 1938, in Los Angeles, California, United States. He is the son of Harry Yoshifusa and Helen Kinue (Imura) Kagiwada. He was a survivor of the WWII Japanese American Confinement at Heart Mountain[1]. He remembered his grandfather, Sakanosuke Imura, who stood up for his family in 1945. Reynold was four years old when he entered Heart Mountain and seven when he left. His grandfather Sakanosuke who died in 1949, four years after being released had a major impact on his life, as documented in The American Japanese Incarceration: 50 Objects: Nameplates.[2]
Dr. Kagiwada overcame a difficult early childhood in the internment camp and became a highly respected scientist and engineering leader. He achieved many technical accomplishments and led the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTT-S) as a dedicated volunteer in many roles.
Dr. Kagiwada was an IEEE Life Fellow (1989), the recipient of the IEEE Third Millennium Medal, the MTT-S 2011 Distinguished Service Award and the MTT-S 1997 N. Walter Cox Award. He was recipient of TRW Gold Medal Award and the Ramo Technical Award in 1985. He was a member of Old Crows, Sigma Pi Sigma and Sigma Xi.
Dr. Kagiwada is a Past President of MTT-S (1992)[3] and chaired several committees within MTT-S: Newsletter, Technical Committee, Education Committee, Budget Committee, Long Range Planning and Nomination and Appointment Committees. He was heavily involved with the MTT-S International Microwave Symposium serving on both the Technical Program Committee and Steering Committee. He was the IMS1987 General Chair. He was senior advisor of IMS2007 and IMS2017 which were held in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Dr. Kagiwada was a founding member of the Technical and Steering Committees for the Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Monolithic Circuits Symposium which was later renamed the RFIC Symposium. He served as RFIC Chair in 1989 and prior as Vice Chair, Technical Program Chair, Finance Chair and Local Arrangement Chair. Within the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Society (UFFC), he served as their Adcom Secretary / Treasurer from 1982 to 1988, Publication Chair in 1979 and Technical Program Chair in the 1983 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium.
Dr. Kagiwada received a Bachelor of Science in Physics from University of California Los Angeles in 1960, a Master of Science in Physics from University of California Los Angeles in 1962 and a Doctor of Philosophy in Physics from University of California Los Angeles in 1966. He conducted and managed research and development for over 50 years in the fields of microwave and millimeter waves. Dr. Kagiwada held nine patents and has co-authored over 46 papers.
Dr. Kagiwada’s career spans over 50 years. At Northrop Grumman (Redondo Beach, CA), he was Advanced Technology Director from 2002 to 2018. At TRW (Redondo Beach, CA), he was Advanced Technology Manager (1990-2002), Assistant Program Manager (1989-1990), MIMIC Program Chief Scientist (1988-1989)[4], Project Manager (1987-1988), Laboratory Manager (1984-1987), Senior Scientist, Department Manager, (1977-1983) and Scientist, Section Head and MTS (1972-1977). In academia, he was Assistant Professor in Physics, University of Southern California (1969-1972) and Assistant Professor in Residence Physics, University of California Los Angeles (1966-1969).
He is fondly remembered by generations of colleagues as a great mentor and advocate that brought out the best in everyone around him.[5]
Figure 1. 2018 Adcom Photo: MTT-S Past Presidents, Reynold Kagiwada, Front row, Far right.
[1] Heart Mountain: https://www.heartmountain.org/
[2] 50 Objects: Nameplates: https://50objects.org/object/nameplates/
[3] IEEE MTT-S Newsletter, Fall 1991, Incoming President’s Message by Reynold Kagiwada, https://mtt.org/app/uploads/2022/08/130-Fall-1991.pdf
[4] E. Cohen, “The MIMIC Program—A Retrospective,” IEEE Microwave Magazine ( Volume: 13, Issue: 4, May-June 2012), https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6196342
[5] W. Shiroma, “Reflections of a Perfect Match,” IEEE Microwave Magazine, May 2017, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=7893039