Takeshi Oka earned his B.S. and Ph.D. degree from the University of Tokyo in 1955 and 1960 respectively. He did his postdoctoral work there as well, finishing in 1963. The same year, he began work at the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, where he stayed until 1981. In 1981, he moved to the University of Chicago, where is now Professor Emeritus.

His extensive and ground-breaking work in astrophysics has earned him a number of awards, including the Steacie Prize, Earle K. Plyler Prize of APS, OSA’s Meggers and Lippincott Awards, E.B. Wilson Award of ACS, Norman MacLean Faculty Award, the Davy Medal of the Royal Society, and a large number of distinguished lectures. He is a Fellow of the Royal Societies of Canada and London, OSA, APS, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.