Abstract
I am highly honored and pleased to receive the Award of Merit of the Japanese Society of Starch Science (JSSS). My connection with Japan and starch began when I was a graduate research assistant in the laboratories of Professor Roy L. Whistler at Purdue University. In the early 1960's, Professor Jiro Nikuni visited Professor Whistler's laboratory several times, and their common interest and love of starch science captivated many others. Within those same years, Professor Hidetsugu Fuwa returned to Purdue as a research associate in the laboratories of Professor Bernard Axelrod. In 1983, I visited Dr. Keiji Kainuma at Tsukuba City, and with his encouragement, I began to attend the meetings of the JSSS. Since then, I have returned to Japan often, where I have come to know and admire the qualities of its people, including talent, hospitality, discipline, allegiance, diligence, frugality, harmony, and love of solitude. I thank the members of the Society; my nominator; the Selection Committee; and the President of the Society, Professor Susumu Hizukuri, for this great honor.
