Bill Text: IL SR0320 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mourns the death of Dr. Akihiko "Aki" Yokosawa of Naperville.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Passed) 2009-06-24 - Resolution Adopted [SR0320 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-SR0320-Introduced.html

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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

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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

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our sincere sympathy.