Masatoshi Koshiba (Rochester Ph.D.'55) to Share 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics with Davis and Giacconi
This year's Nobel Prize for Physics has been awarded to three who pioneered the fields of neutrino astrophysics and X-ray astronomy. Ray Davis and Masatoshi Koshiba (UR PhD'55) share half the prize for "pioneering contributions to astrophysics, in particular for the detection of cosmic neutrinos". Riccardo Giacconi receives the other half of the prize for "pioneering contributions to astrophysics, which have led to the discovery of cosmic X-ray sources."
Koshiba is the second Department of Physics and Astronomy Alumnus to have won a Nobel Prize. The first U or R Physics and Astronomy alumnus to win a Nobel is Steve Chu (http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1997/) who is currently on the board of Trusties at the U of R.
Koshiba was Born on Sept. 19, 1926, in Toyohashi city, Japan. Graduated from Physics Department, Univrsity of Tokyo. Ph.D from the graduate school, University of Rochester (1955 with Professor M. Kaplon). Physics Professor at Univ. of Tokyo until the retirement on March 31,1987. Organized international collaboratins like DASP and JADE at DESY and OPAL at LEP-CERN. Created underground facility Kamiokande to initiate neutrino physics. Honors include; Der grosse Verdienstkreutz from President of West Germany, the Order of Cultural Merit from Emperor of Japan and Wolf Prize from President of Israel. Member; American Physical Society, Physical Society of Japan and Japanese Astronomical Society.
The nobel announcement can be found at:
http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/2002/press.html
see also: Physics Web: http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/10/7
Science Daily: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/10/021008064419.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2309043.stm
http://europe.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/10/08/nobel.prize/
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Nobel-Physics.html
From: University of Rochester Currents Digest--October 8, 2002 http://www.rochester.edu/pr/Currents/Digest/
TODAY'S NEWS * Graduate Wins Nobel Prize Masatoshi Koshiba '55 (PhD), professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, has won a share of the Nobel Prize in physics for his work to detect and confirm the existence of the elusive subatomic particles known as neutrinos. He shares one half of the prize with another neutrino scientist, Raymond Davis Jr. of the University of Pennsylvania. (A third scientist, Riccardo Giacconi, of the Associated Universities Inc. won the other half of the prize in physics.) Koshiba, who returned to campus in 2000 to receive a Distinguished Scholar Award, is the fifth Rochester alumnus to win a Nobel, and he is the eighth laureate with ties to the University. "All I can say is I'm so happy," Koshiba told reporters after the announcement. "This wonderful outcome was only possible because of my young assistants' hard work." The prizes, which are announced in a series each fall, are officially presented December 10.
From:University of Rochester ScienceCache Vol. 121 October 9, 2002
PHYSICS GRADUATE WINS NOBEL PRIZE Masatoshi Koshiba, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and a doctoral graduate of the University of Rochester, has won a share of the Nobel Prize in physics "for pioneering contributions to astrophysics, in particular for the detection of cosmic neutrinos." Two of this year's three Nobel Laureates in physics worked with neutrinos, some of the smallest and most elusive components of the universe, to expand our understanding of the very largest: the Sun, stars, galaxies and supernovae. The knowledge has changed the way we understand the cosmos. "All I can say is I'm so happy," Koshiba told reporters after the announcement yesterday. After receiving his doctorate in 1955, he became a professor of physics at the University of Tokyo until he retired in 1987. He is perhaps best known for masterminding the Kamiokande detector -- a giant underground facility filled with water to catch the elusive neutrinos emitted from the Sun, confirming our understanding of the nuclear reactions that power stars. His work helped launch a new field of research, neutrino-astronomy. Koshiba, who returned to Rochester in 2000 to receive a Distinguished Scholar Award, is the fifth alumnus to win a Nobel, and he is the eighth laureate with ties to the University. Just five years ago, Steven Chu, a math and physics graduate, won the physics prize for his work on laser cooling and trapping of atoms. Other alums who have won include D. Carleton Gajdusek, for his studies of infectious diseases closely related to mad-cow disease; Arthur Kornberg, for his work on the synthesis of RNA and DNA; and Vincent du Vigneaud, for the first synthesis of a polypeptide hormone.
See also U of R News Release of 10/8/02 (http://www.rochester.edu/pr/News/NewsReleases/scitech/koboshinobel.html)
and Campus Times article: http://www.campustimes.org/main.cfm?include=detail&storyid=294610
Last year in 2001, Masatoshi Koshiba received the Rochester Distinguished Scholar award from the University of Rochester. The following quotes from last year's citation (see http://spider.pas.rochester.edu:8080/wwwPAS/PASforms/news/newsReader$0000040 )
" Masatoshi Koshiba, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, received his doctorate from the University of Rochester in 1995. This year, he is the co-recipient of the Wolf Prize in Physics, considered second only to the Nobel Prize in prestige, for his discovery that neutrinos have mass. Neutrinos are tiny particles smaller than atoms, and Koshiba's discovery is being hailed for its ramifications in the study of astronomical objects and the fundamental properties of matter, helping scientists to understand the birth of the universe. Koshiba started his career as a research associate at the University of Rochester, then went on to teach at the University of Tokyo. His long career has included positions as a professor, fellow, distinguished scholar, or research laboratory director at such institutions as the University of Chicago, California Institute of Technology, and the University of Hamburg. Among Koshiba's many awards are the Bruno Rossi Award of the American Physical Society, the Fujiwara Prize of the Fujiwara Science Foundation, and the Order of Cultural Merit presented by the emperor of Japan. "
Also from PAS News story Last year, ( http://spider.pas.rochester.edu:8080/wwwPAS/PASforms/news/newsReader$0000030 ) Masatoshi Koshiba (PhD'55), professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, has earned a share of the 2000 Wolf Prize in physics, considered second only to the Nobel Prize in prestige, for his work in discovering that the subatomic particles known as neutrinos have mass. Koshiba, and Raymond Davis, Jr., of the University of Pennsylvania were presented with the $100,000 award from the president of Israel during a May 21 ceremony.
A year earlier, Koshiba won the Panofsky Prize of the American Physical Society (see: http://www.aps.org/praw/panofsky/02winner.html).
Koshiba's PhD Advisor M. Kaplon, recently died (see: http://spider.pas.rochester.edu:8080/wwwPAS/PASforms/news/newsReader$0000264)
Article submitted by:
Arie Bodek
10/8/02; 7:31:10 AM