Tokyo: Japanese scientist Masatoshi Koshiba, co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2002, has died to prove the existence of microscopic particle neutrinos. He was 94 years old.
Koshiba, a distinguished professor at Tokyo University, died at a Tokyo hospital on Thursday. The university made the announcement on Friday. The cause of death has not been disclosed. Koshiba had designed a giant underground chamber to test the neutrino rays emanating from the sun.
Koshiba received the award along with two other scientists – Raymond Davis Jr. of the University of Pennsylvania and Riccardo Giacconi of Italy.
Koshiba worked in a Kamiokande neutrino detector built between the hills in central Japan. He confirmed the presence of neutrinos and furthered Davis’ work and also detected neutrino particles emanating from supernova explosions in the universe. His discovery led to many more inventions. Takaki Kazita, a student from Koshiba, received the award in the field of physics in 2015. He explored the mass of neutrinos in his study.
