Honorary master's degree to Akihiro Nikkaku

An honorary Master's Degree in Materials Engineering will be conferred on Friday, Oct. 13, 2017, by Federico II University on Japanese engineer Akihiro Nikkaku.

The appointment is at 11 a.m. in the University's Aula Magna Storica, Corso Umberto I, 40, in Naples. Gaetano Manfredi, Rector of Federico II, Piero Salatino, President of the University's Polytechnic and Basic Sciences School, and Pier Luca Maffettone, Director of the Federico II Department of Chemical, Materials and Industrial Production Engineering, will introduce the ceremony.Luigi Nicolais, Professor Emeritus of Materials Science and Technology at Federico II University, will deliver the Laudatio Academica by Akihiro Nikkaku , followed by the Lectio Magistralis by Akihiro Nikkaku, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Toray Industries, Inc. (Japan).

Akihiro Nikkaku has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Toray Industries, Inc. since 2010 and has also served as its Chief Executive Officer since 2011. Born in Japan in 1949, he graduated from the School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo in 1973, the year he began his career at Toray and has always worked within the group, holding a number of executive positions over the years in areas important to Toray's business.

In the belief that new materials can indeed change the world through his work, he has provided a decisive direction toward the development of new products that can improve the environment, health, safety, and quality of life for people.

Currently, he is directing the resources of the Toray Group to lead it to be a world leader in advanced materials, offering products that are widely used in everyday life, such as multifunctional fibers and fabrics, highly engineered films and plastics, carbon fibers, pharmaceuticals, and water treatment membranes. Not least is also the commitment to promoting industrial activities aimed at responding to global environmental issues.

The strategic orientation summarized in the motto"Innovation by Chemistry" and the focus on sustainability issues guide the Toray Group in the development of new eco-friendly materials. It is estimated that such products can lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of more than 200 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2020.

Toray's most important subsidiary in Europe is Alcantara S.p.A., an excellence of Made in Italy worldwide.

Akihiro Nikkaku has strongly contributed to supporting the growth of Alcantara S.p.A., the company that manufactures and markets its namesake material under the registered trademark Alcantara® worldwide.

Akihiro Nikkaku has promoted extremely important and significant investments of about €300 mln aimed at doubling the production capacity and strengthening the international presence of Alcantara, a company that for several years has had a collaborative relationship with the Department of Chemical Engineering, Materials and Industrial Production of theFederico II University.

In addition, he founded Composite Materials (Italy) S.r.l. in January 2015 for the production of advanced carbon fiber-reinforced composites and prepregs, and also acquired the Italian Delta group, which produces high-quality carbon fiber-based prepregs, mainly for the automotive sector, thus increasing the already substantial corporate investments for the carbon fiber-based products market.

Relative to positions held outside Toray, Akihiro Nikkaku is currently vice chairman of the Board of Directors and chairman of the Intellectual Property Committee of the Japan Business Federation. In that role, he has helped globally support economic development and industrial innovation through intellectual property, fostering integration between Europe and Japan.

In 2016, Akihiro Nikkaku was awarded the honor of Chevalier, L'ordre national de la Legion d'Honneur, by the French government in recognition of his contributions to the economic development of numerous local communities through activities promoted by the Toray Group in France.

Nikkaku has given significant impetus to Toray's development of new materials and technologies that reduce environmental impact and increase al sustainability. Under the leadership of Akihiro Nikkaku, the Toray group's sustainable development policy, which is able to balance business interests with concern for the environment, has been consolidated.

Two excellent examples of the success are the achievements in the carbon fiber and water treatment sectors.