Helio Takai

I am an experimental physicist who pursued research that seeks the understanding of the origins of matter. I have designed and implemented original nuclear and particle physics experiments at different accelerator facilities. During my tenure at Brookhaven National Laboratory, I have worked at the ATLAS experiment at the site of the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The ATLAS experiment is one of the two experiments that discovered the Higgs boson in 2012. I have worked in the qualification of complex COTS electronics for its use in the accelerator radiation experiment. I have pursued the design and implementation of a continuous wave radar for the detection of ultra high energy cosmic rays, and later an experiment to study the interplay between lightning and cosmic rays. I have developed physics courses at the graduate level for in-service and pre-service science teachers that I taught at Stony Brook University. In parallel to my research life, I pursued the mentoring of high school physics teachers, high school students, and undergraduate students. I have also participated in public events at science fiction conventions, public libraries, and amateur associations. After 30+ years dedicated to research and teaching, I’ve decided to pursue a new career in academic administration and found a home at the Pratt Institute.

• Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics from the University of Rio de Janeiro
• MSc. in Nuclear Physics from the University of São Paulo
• BSc. in Physics from the University of São Paulo