Matsuda named director of Keck Observatory

The W. M. Keck Observatory on Thursday announced the appointment of Rich Matsuda as its next director, effective Jan. 1.

“With the support of our Board of Directors, our observatory has been making a pivot for the last several years, turning toward a new paradigm of mutuality with and for our community,” Matsuda, an Oahu-born Big Island resident, said in a press release. “During my tenure as director, my commitment is that our operations, our technical capabilities, and our potential for astronomical discovery will continue to be world-class, and will be even stronger because our work is rooted firmly here in Hawaii, connected deeply to the community and the culture of this place.”

Matsuda was chosen as director after the Keck board’s search committee “undertook a formal, international search to ensure our hiring process for this prestigious appointment would find the best candidates and be fair and equitable, and in the end, we are wholly confident that Rich Matsuda is the best-qualified executive to lead this institution forward,” said George R. Blumenthal, board chair and chancellor emeritus, University of California at Santa Cruz.

An electrical engineer by trade, Matsuda started his career at Keck helping with the construction of the Keck II telescope. He has served in an executive leadership role at the observatory since 2016. Before assuming the role of interim director of the observatory in May 2023, Matsuda served as Keck’s chief of operations for five years, as well as associate director of external relations.

He also serves as the Maunakea Observatories’ representative to the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, and has been instrumental in efforts to help the Hawaii astronomy community foster and strengthen community relationships during the 2019 protest movement and beyond, according to the press release.

Matsuda is the first Hawaii-born director of Keck Observatory.