Brittany Kamai | |
|---|---|
 Kamai on Global Science TV in 2020 | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Fisk University University of Chicago Vanderbilt University |
| Known for | Founder, #ShutDownSTEM |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics (astrophysics) |
| Institutions | Caltech University of California, Santa Cruz |
| Thesis | "Hunting for MHz Gravitational Waves with the Fermilab Holometer" (2016) |
| Doctoral advisor | Andreas A. Berlind (Vanderbilt)[1], Stephan S. Meyer (University of Chicago)[1] |
Brittany Lehua Kamai is an American astrophysicist and racial justice activist. Kamai is apostdoctoral fellow at theUniversity of California, Santa Cruz and theCalifornia Institute of Technology. She was the founder of #ShutDownSTEM, part of theStrike for Black Lives held on June 10, 2020. Anative Hawaiian, Kamai grew up inHonolulu and graduated fromPresident Theodore Roosevelt High School and theUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She completed herMaster of Arts fromFisk University and herPhD fromVanderbilt University. Kamai is only the second native Hawaiian to earn a doctorate in astrophysics and the third to earn a PhD in physics.
Kamai grew up inHonolulu, Hawaii and graduated fromPresident Theodore Roosevelt High School.[2] She completed herBachelor's degree in physics from theUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where she playedNCAA Division I water polo,[2][3] and herMaster of Arts atFisk University in 2011. She attendedgraduate school at the University of Chicago, where she worked at theFermilab[4], and was awarded herPhD in 2016 fromVanderbilt University. Kamai's doctoral research focused on using theFermilab Holometer to search forgravitational waves in theMHz frequency range.[1]
Kamai is only the second native Hawaiian to earn a doctorate in astrophysics[5] and the third to earn a PhD in physics.[6] She was part of the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master's to PhD Bridge Program and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship through the Astrophysics Future Faculty Launch Program and Vanderbilt University.[5]
As of June 2020, Kamai held joint postdoctoral appointments at the University of California, Santa Cruz and the California Institute of Technology.[4] She is a member of the research group at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory[7] and her research focuses on gravitational wave instrumentation.[4][5]
A Native Hawaiian,[4] Kamai identifies as a woman of color, and in 2020, in response to themurder of George Floyd, she helped organize#ShutDownSTEM to Strike for Black Lives. The initiative, held on June 10, called for those working in STEM to suspend work for the day, focusing instead on education and initiatives to combat systemic anti-Black racism in the field. The event drew international support from the scientific community.[4][7][8][9]
Authority control databases: Academics |
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