Disclaimer: machine translated by DeepL which may contain errors.
Yuki Ohkoda Receives the 16th L'ORÉAL-UNESCO Women Scientists Japan Encouragement Award for 2021
Satoshi Yamamoto, Professor, Department of Physics
Ms. Yuki Okoda
Ms. Yuki Ohkoda, a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Physics, has been awarded the "L'ORÉAL-UNESCO Japan Encouragement Award for Women Scientists. This award was established by L'Oreal Japan K.K. in cooperation with the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, and is given annually to two female scientists from each of the above fields who are enrolled in or planning to enroll in a doctoral course in the material or life sciences in Japan.
Ms. Ookoda received the award in the field of materials science, with the title of "Uncovering the Beginnings of Stars and Planetary Systems through the Universe's Expanding Matter. Based on molecular distributions obtained from observations of the birthplace of stars with the ALMA telescope, Dr. OODA discovered that the disk structure, which is the basis of planetary systems, has already formed in protostars just after their birth. We also found that protostars at that stage of their formation are accompanied by intense activity, such as large directional changes in outflows, using the molecular distributions characteristic of shock wave regions as a clue. These are all phenomena that had not been expected before, and have contributed to our understanding of the origin of the solar system by providing a new picture of the "beginnings" of stars and planetary systems. Dr. Ohkoda's research was highly evaluated not only for its significance in astronomy and astrophysics in understanding the formation process of stars and planetary systems and the evolution of matter in these systems, but also as an expansion of materials science research, and was honored with this award. We look forward to her continued success in the future.
Faculty of Science News, January 2022