05/27/2026
Dr. Brittany Kamai is only the second native Hawaiian to earn a PhD in astrophysics. “Growing up in urban Honolulu, Kamai never felt a strong connection to the night sky. That changed when she took an introductory astronomy course in college. What really hooked her was learning that the vast majority of the universe is made up of dark energy and dark matter, which still remain a mystery to astronomers.”
“At the end of the course, I went to my teacher and asked, ‘How do I figure out what dark energy is?’” Kamai recalls. “The teacher told me to start by majoring in physics. I went back home and told everyone I was going to major in physics, and they all thought I was in over my head — including my high school teachers.”
“Kamai proved them wrong. She earned a BS, MA, MS, and PhD in physics, and then continued to work on the Nobel-prize winning gravitational-wave project, LIGO, before stepping into a leadership role on Cosmic Explorer, an instrument being developed to deepen and clarify humanity’s gravitational-wave view of the cosmos.”
“Along the way, Kamai co-founded the Society of Indigenous Physicists (SIP), a forum to connect with other Indigenous scientists. “So many of us are the only Indigenous people in anything that we’ve done in physics,” she says. “Many of us are the first and only from our nations. This is a chance for us to be together and have high-level conversations about our respective fields but also incorporate discussions about our ancestral and spiritual knowledge that connects with our work.” Encouragement and letters of support from SIP colleagues led to Kamai's current course:” Pacific Indigenous Astrophysics, which she is teaching as a visiting lecturer at the University of Washington.
Read more: https://t.gsu.edu/3Wt49Am
