In Memoriam: Masashi Kawasaki

Biology professor was a teacher “in the truest sense of the word”

When Kazusa Edamura (Grad class of ’14) moved from Japan to study biology at UVA, she had never lived overseas and was worried she wouldn’t find community. That changed when she met biology professor Masashi Kawasaki, who was quick to welcome her into the Japanese community in Charlottesville, frequently inviting her and other students to his home for dinner.

“If you have issues or troubles, Professor Kawasaki and [his wife] Yasuko-san are the first people you think to get help from,” Edamura said. “I never thought that Charlottesville could exist without Professor Kawasaki.”

Kawasaki, who died May 18, taught biology at UVA for 35 years. An animal behavioralist interested in how the brain generates behavior, he specialized in the study of deep-sea electric fish. He was a popular lecturer most known for his animal behavior lab course, which filled seats every semester, often with a long waitlist. He was also the departmental director of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Those who worked with him noticed his deep care for his scientific subjects.

“As soon as I heard about his passing, one of the first things that came into my mind was, ‘Oh, what about the fish? Because he really loved those animals,’” said Iggy Provencio (Grad class of ’96), a professor in the biology department.

Provencio recalled that Kawasaki led with humility, generosity and intellectual curiosity. Kawasaki consulted with colleagues on the topics of his class and frequently brought in guest lecturers.

“He was always broadening his horizons even though he was a world expert in behavior,” Provencio said.

Later, Kawasaki would regularly give guest lectures in Provencio’s classes. When, one year, Provencio neglected to ask him out of fear that he was taking advantage of his kindness, Kawasaki reached out anyway, saying, “Aren’t you going to ask me to give a lecture this year?”

Friends and loved ones also remember him as a creative and resourceful person. The child of professional musicians, he didn’t pick up his preferred instrument, the double bass, until adulthood, but within just a few years he was able to join the Charlottesville Symphony. He built an electric bass that he could deconstruct and take on a plane overseas to Japan.

Born in 1955 in Kyoto, Kawasaki received his Ph.D. from Sophia University in Japan before coming to the U.S. for a postdoc at Washington University in St. Louis. He then held another postdoc at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego.

After announcing the news of Kawasaki’s death, Douglas Taylor, chair of the biology department, set up an online memory wall. Dozens of tributes from co-workers, students and even high school classmates flooded in.

“He made it alright to be enthralled by a leech—or in his case an electric fish—and created a space where learning was anything but dry,” wrote former student Noel Derecki (Col class of ’07, Grad class of ’12). “Dr. Kawasaki was far more than a professor—he was a teacher, in the truest sense of the word.”

To honor Kawasaki’s dedication to teaching, the biology department teaching award will now be named for him.

“He was the best of us,” wrote retired UVA biology professor Deforest Mellon, Kawasaki’s friend and colleague.

Survivors include Kawasaki’s wife, Yasuko; two children; and his mother and a brother who live in Japan.

—Kiki McLaughlin