The first Hawaiʻi-born director of Hawaiʻi Island's Keck Observatory, Rich Matsuda, spoke to The Conversation about how his background gives him a unique perspective of astronomy's relationship with local culture.
The observatory on Maunakea announced his permanent role last week. Matsuda has worked at Keck for over 30 years, joining the company after leaving Boeing in 1993.
The Punahou alum has an electrical engineering degree from the University of Washington.
"I believe my background of being a local boy raised in Hawaiʻi really does give me a unique perspective in terms of the values that I'm grounded in, in terms of the importance of respectful relationships in the community," Matsuda said.
Top of mind for Matsuda is the intersection of culture and science, particularly in light of the protests against the Thirty Meter Telescope in 2019. Those who oppose the TMT project say it will desecrate land held sacred to Native Hawaiians.
"Honestly, I think the situation around TMT and then the protest movement that occurred created some really deeply held feelings on the subject of astronomy on Maunakea. And so I believe, you know, relationship building and seeking mutual understanding is the place we need to start and work really hard at," he told The Conversation.
Matsuda said he wants to dispel the culture versus science mindset.
"These two different ways can actually complement and integrate with each other rather than be this false dichotomy of opposition," he said.
"Current science of astronomy from our contemporary view and then the ʻike kupuna from our Hawaiʻi traditions can be looked at together at the same time and inform each other."
Matsuda also serves as the appointed Maunakea Observatories representative on the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, a governing body created by state lawmakers in 2022 to transfer control of the summit away from the University of Hawaiʻi.
He was part of a 15-person legislative working group in 2021 that brainstormed how to manage Maunakea, leading to the creation of the authority.
"I sat in a group with seven Native Hawaiian representatives of the community and then myself representing Maunakea astronomy, along with some other folks," he said "It was a safe space for exploring our sort of identities and where we come from, and to learn and build mutual understanding and trust."
"On another level, our staff tries to really support and uplift, especially the Waimea community, but the whole Big Island community — in terms of just nothing to do with astronomy, just the organization being a positive citizen in our community, working side by side with others to uplift the community."
Matsuda has been Keck's interim director since May 2023. He succeeds Hilton Lewis who stepped down in April after a 37-year career at the observatory, including nine years as the director.
The observatory's twin telescopes sit above the clouds at an elevation of 13,600 feet.
"We operate the telescopes 24/7. The only time we don't operate at night is if we have bad weather. And that sort of drive to be on-sky and enable these discoveries, it's really, really engaging, and it's always kept me super motivated all through the 30 years," Matsuda said.
Matsuda said he's also passionate about creating career pathways for local students and young people to work at the observatory.
"Whether you're studying accounting or human resources or communications, all of those kinds of skill sets are needed to run an observatory."
This story aired on The Conversation on Dec. 19, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. Sophia McCullough adapted this story for the web.
