Nobel Prize-winning physicist Takaaki Kajita speaks to high school students at OIST, tells of the mysteries of space and the “strength to persevere”

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Takaaki Kajita speaks to high school students at OIST, tells of the mysteries of space and the “strength to persevere”

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Takaaki Kajita reflects on his research in his speech on the morning of November 28 at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University lecture hall in Tancha, Onna


November 29, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

On November 28, Takaaki Kajita, director of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research at the University of Tokyo who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2015, gave a speech at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University in Onna and explained the history and significance of neutrino research aimed at unraveling the mysteries of space. The speech was organized as part of the “Prefecture of Science: Spread Your Wings to the World! For the Scientists of the Future–a Nobel Prize-Winner from Okinawa” project by the Ryukyu Shimpo and OIST for educating the next generation. Around 170 high school students from Okinawa attended the speech.

 

Kajita was involved in the development of a device called the Kamiokande, aimed at observation of proton decay, under the guidance of Koshiba Masatoshi, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2002 and passed away on November 12, 2020. Although proton decay could not be observed, a program for observing and analyzing neutrinos flying from space was built. Kajita explained how this work led to the discovery of “oscillation” showing that neutrinos, which had been thought to lack mass, actually have mass.

 

Regarding his research, Kajita said, “It does not involve enriching people’s lifestyles, but understanding of the mechanisms of space serves as an asset shared by all of humanity.”

 

Kajita sent the message to the high schoolers who will lead the next generation that “I want you to cultivate the power to persevere and the power to see the importance of something when you come across something important” and “I want you to accumulate experience achieving things as part of a team.”

 

(English translation by T&CT and Sandi Aritza)

 

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