Takeshi Oka

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Takeshi Oka (岡 武史, Oka Takeshi, born 1932), FRS FRSC, is a Japanese-American chemist and astronomer specializing in the field of galactic astronomy, known as a pioneer of astrochemistry and the co-discoverer of interstellar trihydrogen cation (H⁺
₃) He is now R.A. Milliken Distinguished Service Emeritus Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Chemistry; Enrico Fermi Institute; and the College of University of Chicago.^[3]

Education[]

Oka was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1932. He received his BS and PhD degree in 1955 and 1960, respectively, from the University of Tokyo.^[1]

Career[]

In 1963, Oka worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Harry Kroto at Gerhard Herzberg's laboratory,^[4] National Research Council of Canada. Among them, Kroto and Herzberg have won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, furthermore, the Nobel laureate Robert Curl was also Oka's colleague.^[5]

From 1960 to 1963, Oka was a Fellow at JSPS, the University of Tokyo. Afterward, he was successively worked at Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (1963-1981), and the University of Chicago (1981-). His research group's studies specialized in the field of the quantum mechanics and dynamics of fundamental molecular ions and their behavior in astronomical objects.^[1]

In 1980, Oka discovered in his laboratory the infrared spectrum of H⁺
₃. which is thought to be the starting point for gas phase chemistry in interstellar "" Following a lengthy search Thomas R. Geballe and Oka spectroscopically detected H⁺
₃ in two interstellar clouds. Since then Oka and his colleagues have published numerous papers on their observations of interstellar H⁺
₃.

Oka is currently an emeritus professor at the University of Chicago.

Recognition^[1][]

Oka was on the list of ChemBank's prediction for the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.^[6]

Awards[]

• 2004 - Davy Medal.
• 2004 - Norman MacLean Faculty Award.
• 2002 - E. Bright Wilson Award in Spectroscopy
• 1998 - Ellis R. Lippincott Award.
• 1997 - William F. Meggers Award.
• 1990 - Burlington Northern Achievement Award.
• 1982 - Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy.
• 1973 - Steacie Prize.

Titles[]

• 2004 - Wei Lun Visiting Professorship.
• 2004 - Honorary DSc from the University College London.
• 2003 - Earl W. McDaniel Lecture Georgia Institute of Technology.
• 2001 - Honoris caua, University of Waterloo.
• 2000 - George Pimentel Memorial Lecture, University of California, Berkeley.
• 1998 - Medaili Jana Marca Marci.
• 1997 - Distinguished JILA Visitor.
• 1995 - Golden Jubilee Lecture, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
• 1992 - Special Issue, Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy, Vol. 153.
• 1992 - Lecturer, International School of Physics, "Enrico Fermi".
• 1992 - Lord Lecturer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• 1989 - McDowell Lecturer, University of British Columbia.
• 1985-1986 - Chancellor's Distinguished Lecturer, University of California, Berkeley.
• 1981-1982 - Centenary Lecturer, Royal Society.

Membership in learned societies[]

• Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Fellow, American Physical Society
• Fellow, Optical Society of America
• Fellow, Royal Society of London
• Fellow, Royal Society of Canada

Publications^[1][]

• Oka, Takeshi (1980-08-18). "Observation of the Infrared Spectrum of H⁺₃". Physical Review Letters. American Physical Society (APS). 45 (7): 531–534. doi:10.1103/physrevlett.45.531. ISSN 0031-9007.
• Geballe, T. R.; Oka, T. (1996). "Detection of H⁺₃ in interstellar space". Nature. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. 384 (6607): 334–335. doi:10.1038/384334a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 8934516. S2CID 4370842.
• Gottfried, Jennifer L.; Oka, Takeshi (2004-12-15). "Near-infrared electronic spectrum of CH₂⁺". The Journal of Chemical Physics. AIP Publishing. 121 (23): 11527–11529. doi:10.1063/1.1835265. ISSN 0021-9606. PMID 15634116.
• Tarsitano, Christopher G.; Neese, Christopher F.; Oka, Takeshi (2004). "High-resolution spectroscopy of the 2²Π_u←X⁴Σ_g− forbidden transitions of C₂⁺". The Journal of Chemical Physics. AIP Publishing. 121 (13): 6290–6297. doi:10.1063/1.1787493. ISSN 0021-9606. PMID 15446923.
• Hobbs, L. M.; Thorburn, J. A.; Oka, T.; Barentine, J.; Snow, T. P.; York, D. G. (2004-11-10). "Atomic and Molecular Emission Lines from the Red Rectangle". The Astrophysical Journal. IOP Publishing. 615 (2): 947–957. doi:10.1086/424733. ISSN 0004-637X.
• Oka, Takeshi; Epp, Erik (2004-09-20). "The Nonthermal Rotational Distribution of ${\displaystyle H_{3}^{+}}$". The Astrophysical Journal. IOP Publishing. 613 (1): 349–354. doi:10.1086/423030. ISSN 0004-637X.
• Oka, Takeshi (2004). "Nuclear spin selection rules in chemical reactions by angular momentum algebra". Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy. Elsevier BV. 228 (2): 635–639. doi:10.1016/j.jms.2004.08.015. ISSN 0022-2852.
• Gottfried, Jennifer L.; McCall, Benjamin J.; Oka, Takeshi (2003-06-22). "Near-infrared spectroscopy of H3+ above the barrier to linearity". The Journal of Chemical Physics. AIP Publishing. 118 (24): 10890–10899. doi:10.1063/1.1575737. ISSN 0021-9606.
• Oka, Takeshi; Thorburn, Julie A.; McCall, Benjamin J.; Friedman, Scott D.; Hobbs, Lewis M.; Sonnentrucker, Paule; Welty, Daniel E.; York, Donald G. (2003-01-10). "Observations of C₃ in Translucent Sight Lines". The Astrophysical Journal. IOP Publishing. 582 (2): 823–829. doi:10.1086/344726. ISSN 0004-637X.
• Goto, Miwa; McCall, Benjamin J.; Geballe, Thomas R.; Usuda, Tomonori; Kobayashi, Naoto; Terada, Hiroshi; Oka, Takeshi (2002-12-25). "Absorption Line Survey of H₃⁺ toward the Galactic Center Sources I. GCS 3-2 and GC IRS3". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. Oxford University Press (OUP). 54 (6): 951–961. arXiv:astro-ph/0212159. doi:10.1093/pasj/54.6.951. ISSN 0004-6264.
• McCall, B. J.; Hinkle, K. H.; Geballe, T. R.; Moriarty‐Schieven, G. H.; Evans II, N. J.; Kawaguchi, K.; Takano, S.; Smith, V. V.; Oka, T. (2002). "Observations of H₃⁺ in the Diffuse Interstellar Medium". The Astrophysical Journal. IOP Publishing. 567 (1): 391–406. doi:10.1086/338380. ISSN 0004-637X. S2CID 118470478.
• Momose, Takamasa; Lindsay, C. Michael; Zhang, Yu; Oka, Takeshi (2001-05-21). "Sharp Spectral Lines Observed in γ-Ray Ionized Parahydrogen Crystals". Physical Review Letters. American Physical Society (APS). 86 (21): 4795–4798. doi:10.1103/physrevlett.86.4795. hdl:2433/50041. ISSN 0031-9007. PMID 11384350.
• White, E. T.; Tang, Jian; Oka, Takeshi (1999-04-02). "CH₅⁺: The Infrared Spectrum Observed". Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 284 (5411): 135–137. doi:10.1126/science.284.5411.135. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 10102811.

See also[]

• List of Fellows of the Royal Society M,N,O
• List of Fellows of the Royal Society elected in 1984

References[]

External links[]

• Chemistry Department - University of Chicago
• Journal of Physical Chemistry Takeshi Oka Festschrift: Celebrating 45 Years of Astrochemistry
• シカゴ大学岡武史教授、所長特別セミナーにて講演 | 分子科学研究所