Prof. Fukuda was born in Anzan, Mansyuu-koku in 1945, and then grew up in Fukui-shi, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. He received the B.S., M.S. and D.Sc. degree from Kyoto University, all in geophysics, in 1968, 1970 and 1988, respectively. He was employed as a research associate in 1970 by the Department of Applied Electronic Engineering, University of Electro-Communications, in Tokyo, and then served as an assistant professor from 1988 to 1991, an associate professor from 1991 to 1999, and a professor since 1999. For about one year from 1990 to 1991, he stayed at Max-Planck-Institut fur Aeronomie, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany, as an invited fellow on the sponsorship of Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. In 1997, he was awarded Excellence in Refereeing Prize from American Geophysical Union for outstanding services to the authors and readers of Journal of Geophysical Research (Space Physics).