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Brittany Kamai

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Brittany Kamai
Kamai on Global Science TV in 2020
Born
Honolulu
Alma materUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Fisk University
University of Chicago
Vanderbilt University
Known forFounder, #ShutDownSTEM
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics (astrophysics)
InstitutionsCaltech
University of California, Santa Cruz
Thesis"Hunting for MHz Gravitational Waves with the Fermilab Holometer" (2016)
Doctoral advisorAndreas A. Berlind (Vanderbilt)[1]

Brittany Lehua Kamai is an American astrophysicist and racial justice activist. Kamai is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Santa Cruz and the California Institute of Technology. She was the founder of #ShutDownSTEM, part of the Strike for Black Lives held on June 10, 2020. A native Hawaiian, Kamai grew up in Honolulu and graduated from President Theodore Roosevelt High School and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She completed her Master of Arts from Fisk University and her PhD from Vanderbilt University. Kamai is only the second native Hawaiian to earn a doctorate in astrophysics and the third to earn a PhD in physics.

Early life and education

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Kamai grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii and graduated from President Theodore Roosevelt High School.[2] She completed her Bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where she played NCAA Division I water polo,[2][3] and her Master of Arts at Fisk University in 2011. She attended graduate school at the University of Chicago, where she worked at the Fermilab[4], and was awarded her PhD in 2016 from Vanderbilt University. Kamai's doctoral research focused on using the Fermilab Holometer to search for gravitational waves in the MHz 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]

Career

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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]

#ShutDownSTEM

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A Native Hawaiian,[4] Kamai identifies as a woman of color, and in 2020, in response to the murder 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]

Honours and awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b Kamai, Brittany Lehua (August 2016). "Hunting for MHz Gravitational Waves with the Fermilab Holometer" (PDF). Vanderbilt University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b Kamai, Brittany. "About Me". Brittany Kamai, PhD. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  3. ^ "#WCWinSTEM: Brittany Kamai, Ph.D." VanguardSTEM. 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e Molteni, Megan (18 June 2020). "Across the Globe, Scientists Are Striking for Black Lives". Wired. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "New grant helps minority STEM scholars advance as postdocs". Vanderbilt University. 8 April 2020. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  6. ^ Kamai, Brittany (17 May 2018). "Bringing Aloha into Science". March for Science blog. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  7. ^ a b Chen, Sophia (9 June 2020). "Researchers around the world prepare to #ShutDownSTEM and 'Strike For Black Lives'". Science.org. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Global Science TV: Racism in Science with Brittany Kamai". International Science Council. 23 June 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  9. ^ "About #ShutDownSTEM and #ShutDownAcademia". ShutdownSTEM.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Physics Colloquium with Brittany Kamai". Bryn Mawr College. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  11. ^ "151 Young Scientists to Participate in 2018 Kavli Frontiers of Science Symposia of the National Academy of Sciences". National Academy of Sciences. 12 November 2018. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  12. ^ "2015 Conference of Ford Fellows" (PDF). Nationalacademies.org. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
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