of modern industrial quality control. During the Second World War Taguchi learnt about experimental design when working in the Institute of Statistical Mathematics. From 1950 to 1962 he worked in the research and development section of the Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Company. During this period he met both Sir Ronald Fisher and Shewhart. In 1962 he was awarded a doctorate from Kyushu U. From 1964 to 1982 he was a Professor at Aoyama Gakuin U in Tokyo. Following his 1980 visit to Bell Laboratories, Taguchi methods began to be applied in the United States. In 1986 he received the Indigo Ribbon from the Emperor of Japan for his contributions to Japanese economics and industry, and in 1995 he received the Shewhart Medal of the ASQ.

http://www.isi-web.org/recent-pages/555-2012-july-drgenichi-taguchi Obituary and photograph.