About Me

 
 

Aloha!

I am an astronomer and public outreach specialist at the Subaru telescope, located on the beautiful island of Hawaii.


After obtaining my Ph.D. at the Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2008, I worked in Paris, France (Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris), California (California Institute of Technology, Caltech), and Chicago (University of Chicago) as a researcher.


As a public outreach specialist at the Subaru telescope, I coordinate outreach events and give talks/lectures for the public and students. I enjoy sharing my knowledge of astronomy with people -- especially with kids!
















     * Interested in my presentations & lectures?
       Check
here for more information


My research is primarily about the galaxy formation and evolution using multi-wavelength imaging and spectroscopic data. I am a member of the COSMOS survey and also the Dark Energy Survey, which has just started last year.
   



(Little more about me...)


I was born and grew up in Okinawa, the southernmost island of Japan.  At age 13, I attended the NASA U.S Space Camp program and this was the beginning of my journey in astronomy.


When I am not playing with my galaxies, I enjoy cooking (as well as eating), dancing Argentine tango, listening to jazz and classical music, or taking Zumba or yoga classes in the gym.  I am a certified Zumba fitness instructor and I learned Karate (Okinawan martial arts) from my uncle, Zenei Oshiro in Paris.

 

Yuko Kakazu, Ph.D.

  Subaru Telescope
  650 North A’ohoku place
   Hilo, HI 96720

   Email: kakazu AT naoj.org

            (change AT to @)

13-year-old me
at NASA/Space Camp

English Media (newspaper & magazine)

           

  1. Ryukyu Shimpo (2013.12.12)

     
    “Astronomer Kakazu delivers lecture by TV phone from Hawaii”

  2. Uchinanchu Newsletter (2013. Nov/Dec)
      
    “Yuko Kakazu: grounded in her Okinawan Heritage, Astronomers Reaches for the Stars” (page 11)

Giving a remote lecture from Hawaii to Japan. I showed how to make and use a Galileoscope.