Hitoshi Narita

Hitoshi Narita is a Japanese naval architect, researcher and business executive. He was one of the Managing Directors of Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Co. in the 1990s. He is currently senior advisor for science and technology at the US Office of Naval Research's International Field Office, Asia.

Early life and education As a child growing up in Nagoya, Japan, he recalls having been fascinated by large mobile structures—airplanes, ships, trains—anything which was large, mechanical, and moved. He believes that his career interests were sparked by having watched the large cargo ships coming in and out of the ports near his home. Narita earned a B.A. in Naval architecture from the University of Tokyo, a M.A. in Naval architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Fulbright Scholarship, and a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Tokyo. For a time, Narita was one of the Managing Directors of Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Co. in the 1990s.

In 2002, Narita's contributions to naval architecture—particularly the SWATH configuration and the MIDP assembly—were recognized by his election to Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering, joining an elite group of only 86 other Foreign Members in the Royal Academy. and pre-dinner photos commemorating this gala event were organized in the Drapers' formal Drawing Room.

Narita is currently a senior advisor for science and technology at the US Office of Naval Research's International Field Office, Asia. Narita played a significant role in the steps that led to establishing Japan-US joint participation projects, which meant Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in 2001. He helped to partner AIST with the US Naval Research Laboratory. 2002. Illustration of details of Japanese National Medal of Honor. , purple ribbon, 1990. Medal of the Minister of Transport, 1989. Medal of the Kanto District Marine Bureau, 1988. Ichimura Prize, 1981.