Masatoshi Koshiba

Masatoshi Koshiba
Photograph of Koshiba published in 2002
Born(1926-09-19)September 19, 1926
DiedNovember 12, 2020(2020-11-12) (aged 94)
Tokyo, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Alma materUniversity of Tokyo
University of Rochester
Known forAstrophysics, neutrinos
AwardsHumboldt Prize (1997)
Wolf Prize in Physics (2000)
Nobel Prize in Physics (2002)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
InstitutionsUniversity of Chicago
George Washington University
University of Tokyo
Tokai University
ThesisHigh energy electron-proton cascade in cosmic radiation (1955)
Doctoral advisorMorton F. Kaplon
Other academic advisorsShin'ichirō Tomonaga
Takahiko Yamanouchi
Doctoral studentsYoji Totsuka
Atsuto Suzuki
Other notable studentsTakaaki Kajita

Masatoshi Koshiba (小柴 昌俊, Koshiba Masatoshi, 19 September 1926 – 12 November 2020) was a Japanese physicist and one of the founders of neutrino astronomy. His work with the neutrino detectors Kamiokande and Super-Kamiokande was instrumental in detecting solar neutrinos, providing experimental evidence for the solar neutrino problem.

Koshiba won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2002, jointly with Raymond Davis Jr., "for pioneering contributions to astrophysics, in particular for the detection of cosmic neutrinos".

He was a senior counselor at the International Center for Elementary Particle Physics (ICEPP) and professor at the University of Tokyo.