World
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Kate Kitagawa specialises in space education and is currently a Professor of Practice in Space Research and Education at La Trobe University. She is passionate about expanding access to education and serves as Director of the Dentsu Scholarship Foundation. Prior to these roles, Kate worked at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as an advisor to the Senior Vice President and Director of JAXA's Space Education Office. As Director, she led the development of digital learning modules and collaborated with creative studios to produce innovative educational tools. Kate also represented JAXA in international space policy discussions, including a short-term citizen exchange programme with the U.S. State Department, and chaired the International Space Education Board (ISEB) at the 2023 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Azerbaijan. This global initiative involved NASA, JAXA, CSA, ESA, KARI, AEM, and other agencies.
Kate holds a B.Sc. in mathematics and life sciences (with a minor in political science) from the University of British Columbia and a Ph.D. in history from Princeton University. Before her academic career, Kate worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations. During this time, she gained valuable insights into the role of education in international relations, which influenced the development of unique history courses she later offered at Harvard University, reflecting her views on cultural diplomacy. Her history courses at Harvard University used digital tools and invited students' participation in the classroom as well as online. She was recognised for her commitment to teaching, earning accolades from the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning and being cited as one of the favorite professors by the class of 2012. As a researcher of the global history of mathematics, her academic work has spanned various institutions, including the Needham Research Institute, the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Wolfson College Cambridge, the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Pretoria, Pembroke College Oxford, the Mathematical Institute at the University of Oxford, and the Science Museum in London. Her co-authored book, The Secret Lives of Numbers: A Global History of Mathematics & Its Unsung Trailblazers, was published in 2023 from Viking (Penguin Random House) and shortlisted for the 2024 British Academy Book Prize. The book has been translated into 14 languages. In Japan, her first book, published in 2012, became a national bestseller, and she was named one of the 100 most influential people in Japan and one of the 100 most amazing Japanese women. Over the subsequent years, she has published six books in Japanese. Kate has appeared in documentaries, radio, television, and online programs, including the BBC, History Channel, and Netflix. |
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