Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
In January 2021, Giao Phan became executive director of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). She was the first Asian American woman to serve in this position at the largest and most complex of the U.S. Navy’s five materiel agencies responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of various military systems. Phan was born in... Continue Reading →
Roger Yasukawa, who has achieved fame as a racecar driver, was born in Los Angeles on October 10, 1977. Yasukawa is of Japanese descent, and he holds dual citizenship in the United States and Japan. Yasukawa’s launchpad into the world of motorsports involved his participation in highly competitive go-kart races in southern California. He more... Continue Reading →
Since 1998, Madhulika “Lika” Guhathakurta has worked at NASA as an astrophysicist and scientist in the Heliophysics Division of the agency’s Science Mission Directorate. Her work focuses on advancing heliophysics research on the Sun and its impact throughout our solar system. These efforts have included her service as the lead program scientist for Living With... Continue Reading →
In 1980, Ming Chang was promoted to U.S. Navy rear admiral and in the process became the first naturalized Asian American to reach flag rank in that U.S. military branch. He was born on April 20, 1932, in Shanghai. His father, Yu Chin Chang, was a chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy. When he... Continue Reading →
For more than two decades now, systems engineer Josephine Santiago-Bond has made significant contributions to NASA in the development of its space exploration technologies. She was born to Filipino parents who were pursuing their doctorate studies in the United States at the time. When she was just a few months old, Josephine -- along with... Continue Reading →
Fujio Matsuda was born in Honolulu on October 18, 1924. His parents Yoshio and Shimo had both emigrated to Hawaii from Japan. They taught Fujio, who would later be affectionately called “Fuj” -- a nickname ultimately modified to “Fudge” -- to embrace a wide range of traditional Japanese values that included gambare (to persevere), kansha... Continue Reading →
In December 2010, Shanti Sethi achieved a notable milestone when she became the first woman of Indian descent to command a major. U.S. Navy combat ship. This vessel was USS Decatur (DDG-73), and Sethi served as her commanding officer until May 2012. Sethi started out life in the city of Reno, Nevada. Her father... Continue Reading →
Henry Hope Wong was born to William Hope Wong (originally known as Wong Fook On), a Chinese immigrant, and Cheruo “Mabel” Hope Wong (also identified as Chun Yow) in 1900 in Portland, Oregon. Henry became one of the first people of Chinese descent in that region of the United States to pursue taking to the... Continue Reading →
Lori M.K. Kahikina is the head of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART), a semi-autonomous agency that serves the City and County of Honolulu on Hawaii’s island of Oahu. She was named HART’s Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer in 2021 and is responsible for the design and construction of the Honolulu Rail Transit... Continue Reading →
In 1977, Alma M. Grocki became the first woman from Hawaii to enter the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA). She was also part of this service academy’s second class of women. Grocki, who had been born in Honolulu as Alma Lau, recalled nearly four decades later what led her to pursue a naval career. “I decided... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 