Yoji Totsuka

was a Japanese physicist and Special University Professor, Emeritus, University of Tokyo. Prof. Totsuka died on July 10, 2008 from colorectal cancer.

Early life

Totsuka was born March 6, 1942 in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture. He completed his B.S. in 1965, his M.S. in 1967 and his Ph.D. in 1972 from the University of Tokyo.

Academic career

Totsuka became a Research Associate of the University of Tokyo in 1972. After this position, he became an Associate Professor of the University of Tokyo from 1979 to 1987. Since 1987, he is a Professor at the University of Tokyo. He is also the Director of the Kamioka Observatory, the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR), the University of Tokyo since 1995 and Director of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR), the University of Tokyo since 1997.

Research

Totsuka was one of the World's leading physicists. He was one of the scientists who discovered that the three known types of elementary particles called neutrinos change into one another when traveling over sufficiently long distances. This implied that neutrinos have mass.

Awards and honors

Totsuka has received many awards and honors. He has received the following awards:
* the Asahi Prize in 1987
* Nishina Prize in 1988
* Rossi Prize, American Astronomical Society in 1989
* Inoue Prize in 1990
* EPS Special Prize, European Physical Society in 1995
* the Order of Culture, Japan's most prestigious honor in the fields of culture and science in 2004
* the Franklin Institute Awards in 2007

References

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