Philip Sakimoto: Biographical Sketch

Philip Sakimoto is the Professional Specialist on Outreach and Diversity at Notre Dame University with the mission of making science accessible to the broadest possible audience. Prior to coming to Notre Dame, he spent 14 years with NASA’s education and minority access programs, most recently serving as Acting Director of NASA’s Space Science Education and Public Outreach Program. His contributions include participation in several committees for increasing diversity at NASA and in space science. Dr. Sakimoto was the Assistant Director for the Johns Hopkins Space Grant Consortium as well as a research scientist and professor at the university. He served as chair of the astronomy department at Whitman College. He has published several NASA technical reports, and has written for scientific journals on space exploration and ultraviolet astronomy. He has lectured internationally on topics in astronomy and diversity in science. Dr. Sakimoto received a B.A. in Physics from Pomona College, and both his M.A. and Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of California, Los Angeles.