Rich Matsuda’s work has always taken him toward the sky. The Punahou School graduate was trained as an electrical engineer and was working for Boeing, known mostly as an airplane manufacturer, in Seattle in 1993 when he interviewed for an engineering job at the W.M. Keck Observatory on Hawaii island.

Now, 30 years later, he’s been appointed director of the observatory, becoming its first Hawaii-born director.

“I’m feeling good, also feeling the kuleana (responsibility),” said Matsuda, 60, in a phone interview. “It’s a lot, but I’m super honored to take on the role.”

He will head up a staff of 130 to 140 people, some based at an office in Waimea and others based on the summit of Mauna Kea, where the observatory’s two telescopes are housed. The 10-meter, optical/infrared telescopes feature advanced scientific instruments and optical systems, which are operated under a partnership among Caltech, the University of California and NASA.

“With his steady hand as a long-trusted leader over his 30 years at Keck, his extensive technical expertise, and the respect he earned from the global astronomical community, we know that the Observatory will thrive during his tenure,” said a statement from George Blumenthal, chancellor emeritus of UC Santa Cruz and chairman of the panel that selected Matsuda.

While Matsuda said the main mission of the observatory is “to advance astronomical knowledge,” he acknowledges that another responsibility will be participating in the development of a new management plan for Mauna Kea as a whole, a task that stemmed from the protests about eight years ago that blocked construction of the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope.

The controversy led to the creation of the state’s Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, which was enacted in 2022 and tasked with developing a management plan that addresses the range of groups interested in the mountain’s fate. Matsuda represents not just the Keck Observatory, but all of the Mauna Kea observatories, 13 in all at the moment, and will work with cultural practitioners and community leaders to develop the plan, which is to be submitted by 2028.

The new plan will be “much more of a community- based management model,” Matsuda said, as opposed to the current management program, headed by the University of Hawaii.

“Mauna Kea is a significant mountain for science,” he said, “but it’s also extremely significant as a cultural landscape, a sacred place. Obviously, we are going to focus on science because that’s what our mission is, but we have to realize that we’re in a place that’s so important to so many people here on the Big Island. So part of our job is to foster good, healthy relationships with the community.”

“Rich has been at the forefront of community relations for astronomy, often toeing the line between opposing parties, and that is something that has allowed him to garner the respect of many,” said Hawaii Mayor Mitch Roth in an email. “He is a respected leader in our community, and we are honored to continue working with him in his new role.”

Heading the observatory itself involves coordinating and managing people with a broad range of interests and abilities, and developing a positive work environment for everyone. Matsuda expects to spend most of his time at the observatory’s headquarters in Waimea, along with about two-thirds of his staff.

“I’m really proud of the staff we have, because we’re a mix of lots of engineers, lots of technicians,” he said. “We have folks that you need to run any kind of organization, logistics and finance, HR and then the scientists.”

After 30 years working at the observatory, Matsuda says “the cool thing” about working there is knowing that he’s been part of significant astronomical discoveries. “You might not all be there for the ‘eureka’ moment,” he said, “but when an amazing thing gets discovered, we can all celebrate the part that we had in making that happen.”

He pointed to one of the winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize in physics, Andrea Ghez, who over 25 years of study refined techniques for observing the movement of stars. That led to the discovery of a massive black hole in the middle of the Milky Way, which in turn made important contributions to the understanding of Einstein’s theory of relativity, Matsuda said.

“Andrea has been coming out to Keck for that whole time, so we all know her. She’s brilliant but also a wonderful human being,” he said. “So when she got that award, we were all so happy because we could see the little pieces that we had all played in making that possible.”

He started his career at Keck during the construction of its second telescope. “I was totally blown away by seeing the telescope,” said Matsuda, who had been working on a rocket project for Boeing. “It was like nothing I’d ever seen before.”

What sealed his decision to come back to Hawaii, however, was a “dawn patrol” surfing session near Waipio Valley with his sister.

“The sun was just rising out of the east, so it was this beautiful sunrise over the ocean, perfect waves, a big black-sand beach with these humongous cliffs that go straight down into the water,” he said. “I was like, ‘Omigosh, I just saw the most interesting telescope facility ever, and today I’m seeing the most beautiful surfing place in the world. That’s a sign I should be here.’”