Born in Toyohashi, Japan, in 1926. Studied at Tokyo University. Obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Rochester, N.Y., USA, in 1955. Worked at the University of Chicago, later at Tokyo University where he held senior posts between 1970 and 1987. Afterwards he worked at Tokai University.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2002 together with Raymond Davis and Riccardo Giacconi for their work in astrophysics, especially for the detection of cosmic neutrinos. The Kamiokande detector was used for the detection of neutrinos, solar neutrinos, and a supernova explosion. These experiments marked the entry into neutrino astronomy.
Masatoshi Koshiba passed away on November 12, 2020.