Kate Kitagawa

Professor of Practice in Space Research and Education, La Trobe University
Former Director of the Space Education Office, JAXA

Kate Kitagawa specializes in space education and is currently a Professor of Practice in Space Research and Education at La Trobe University, as well as a Program Lead for Space Biology at the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science in Melbourne, Australia. She is passionate about expanding access to education and serves as Director of the Dentsu Scholarship Foundation in Tokyo, Japan.

Before taking on her current roles, Kate was an advisor to the Senior Vice President of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and served as 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. Additionally, Kate chaired the International Space Education Board (ISEB) at the 2023 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Azerbaijan, a global initiative involving NASA, JAXA, CSA, ESA, KARI, AEM, and other agencies.

With a multidisciplinary background in mathematics and life sciences (B.Sc., University of British Columbia) and a Ph.D. in history from Princeton University, Kate brings over a decade of teaching and research experience at universities across the US, UK, Germany, and South Africa. She is the co-author of The Secret Lives of Numbers: A Global History of Mathematics & Its Unsung Trailblazers, which was shortlisted for the 2024 British Academy Book Prize. Kate also occasionally works as a broadcaster, appearing on television, online news, and in documentary films to share her expertise on science, history, and space.