SR0320 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0320 LRB096 13227 KXB 27886 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Dr. Akihiko "Aki" Yokosawa of Naperville, who passed away on May 25, 2009; and

WHEREAS, He was born in Kofu, Japan, into a centuries-old prominent samurai family, and grew up in Sendai, where he graduated from Tohoku University; in his youth, he earned a 2nd degree black belt in traditional jukendo, a rare and challenging martial art that combines judo with sword fighting; and

WHEREAS, He later earned his doctorate in physics at Ohio State University and became a member of Sigma Xi, an elite scientific research society that honors excellence in scientific investigation; and

WHEREAS, In 1954, Dr. Yokosawa joined the teaching staff at Illinois State University in Normal, where he became the youngest professor of physics at age 27; there he met his wife of 51 years, Sirkka, who was studying English as a Fulbright scholar from Finland; the couple married in Copenhagen in 1957; and

WHEREAS, He went on to work as a high-energy nuclear physicist at Argonne National Laboratory from 1959 until retiring in 2001; while at Argonne, Dr. Yokosawa advanced research into the existence of a diproton, described as "a six-quark object", and traveled extensively, conducting experiments to that end; and

WHEREAS, In the 1990s, he headed a project that brought scientists from around the world to Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York to study measurements of polarized beams; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Yokosawa was an avid tennis player and enjoyed attending sporting events with his family; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Akihiko "Aki" Yokosawa is survived by his wife, Sirkka; his sons, Martin and Kenneth; his daughter, Tina Buhelos; his sister, Midori Tashiro; and his seven grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Dr. Akihiko Yokosawa; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Dr. Akihiko Yokosawa as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.