Today in the history of astronomy, a future physics prizewinner is born.
Among the many awards and honors bestowed on Chushiro Hayashi was the Kyoto Prize, Japan’s highest award for achievement in the arts or sciences. Credit: Inamori Foundation/Wikimedia Commons
- Chushiro Hayashi (1920-2010) earned a physics degree from the University of Tokyo in 1942, followed by a doctorate in 1954.
- Following postwar naval service, he became a professor at Kyoto University in 1957.
- His research focused on applying fundamental physics to astronomical models of stellar and planetary evolution, notably developing the Kyoto model of solar system formation.
- Hayashi’s contributions include the discovery of the Hayashi phase, a crucial period in stellar evolution characterized by high brightness and activity.
Born on July 25, 1920, Chushiro Hayashi graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in physics in 1942. After World War II service in the navy, he returned to school, finishing his doctorate in 1954 and becoming a professor at Kyoto University in 1957. An innovator, he applied fundamental physics to astronomy and created pioneering models of stellar and planetary evolution, including the Kyoto model of solar system formation. He also discovered the Hayashi phase, a period during a star’s birth when it is extremely bright and active. The recipient of numerous prizes and honors for his work, he pblocked away in 2010.
