April 18, 2024
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI)
Shunsaku Nagasawa, a third year Physics PhD student at the The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Science, has been honored by the High Energy AstroPhysics Association for his dissertation, “Developing Innovative Hard X-ray Spectral Imager for Studies of Particle Acceleration in Solar Flares,” it was announced by the association.
The High Energy AstroPhysics Association was established in 1999 by a community of scientists involved in the development of satellites and rockets for observing the universe using X-rays and gamma rays. Their mission includes providing expert opinions on large-scale projects, and guiding the development of future space missions.
Since 2014, the association has invited graduate students to present their dissertations every year, and at the end, one participant who demonstrated the most potential is awarded the High Energy AstroPhysics Association of Japan PhD Dissertation Award.
Nagasawa pursued his graduate studies under Professor Tadayuki Takahashi at the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI). He participated in FOXSI (Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager), a US-Japan cooperative rocket experiment aiming to uncover still unknown details about the Sun by observing X-rays emitted from the solar corona through focusing imaging spectroscopic observations. The award-winning dissertation by Nagasawa discusses the details behind the hard X-ray detector on FOXSI-4, which is scheduled to be launched in spring this year.
Nagasawa completed his PhD in March 2024, and has since been working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at the University of California, Berkeley, since the beginning of this month.
Related links
The 10th High Energy AstroPhysics Association of Japan PhD Dissertation Award (in Japanese)
Tadayuki Takahashi Laboratory, Kavli IPMU, The University of Tokyo (Astrophysics experiments and gamma ray imaging) (in Japanese)