Cal State Long Beach alumna Megumi Yamamoto died June 9 in a helicopter crash. She was 26.
Yamamoto had been hiking with her boyfriend near Santa Fe when they became separated and the police chopper that came to rescue her crashed.
Yamamoto, from Tokyo, was born June 16, 1982. She has lived in the U.S. since 2003 and lived in Torrance before moving to Albuquerque for graduate school. Many describe her as a bright person whose interests include the violin.
“She was always smiling,” said Irene Howard, administrative coordinator for the physics department. “Even though she was very cheerful, she was very soft-spoken.”
Yamamoto graduated last May with a bachelor of science in physics. She was the president of CSULB’s Society of Physics Students and a member of the student council for the College for Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
In January, she began attending graduate school at the University of New Mexico.
According to television station KOAT, Yamamoto wanted to become a research physicist in nanotechnology, optics and physics.
There will be a memorial June 30 at 10 a.m. between the PH-1 and PH-2 buildings.
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