Helio Takai

I am an experimental physicist who has spent my career trying to understand what the universe is made of. I designed and built particle physics experiments at accelerator facilities around the world. At Brookhaven National Laboratory, I worked on the ATLAS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, one of the two experiments that discovered the Higgs boson in 2012. I later built a radar system to detect ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, the most energetic particles known in the universe, and studied the surprising connection between lightning and cosmic rays. Alongside my research, I developed physics courses for practicing and future science teachers at Stony Brook University, and spent years mentoring high school teachers and students, as well as undergraduates. I’ve also enjoyed bringing science to the public, at science fiction conventions, libraries, and community science groups. After more than 30 years in research and teaching, I moved into academic administration and found a home at 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

My current research centers on sustainable materials science, specifically developing biodegradable hydrogels for soil health and water conservation. My published work spans high-energy exploration in nuclear and particle physics, alongside ongoing contributions to classroom education. A selected list of key publications is provided below, with my full record available on Google Scholar.

1. Takai, H. (2025). Think Inside the Box: Recreating Rutherford’s Scattering. arXiv:2507.21379
2. S. Kunwar et al., (2015). Design, Construction and Operation of a Low-Power, Autonomous Radio-Frequency Data-Acquisition Station for the TARA Experiment. Nuclear Instruments and Methods A, 797, 110.
3. G. Aad et al. [ATLAS Collaboration] (2010). Observation of a Centrality-Dependent Dijet Asymmetry in Lead-Lead Collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS Detector at the LHC. Physical Review Letters, 105, 252303.
4. G. Aad et al. [ATLAS Collaboration] (2012). Observation of a new particle in the search for the Standard Model Higgs boson with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Physics Letters B, 716, 1.
5. O.M. Schofield et al. (2021). Mid-Term Assessment of Progress on the 2015 Strategic Vision for Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26338
6. S. Tang, M. Begel, H. Chen, K. Chen, F. Lanni, H. Takai, W. Wu, and H. Xu (2019). Development and data path integration test of the global Feature EXtractor for the ATLAS Level-1 calorimeter trigger system Phase-I upgrade. Nuclear Instruments and Methods A, 938, 5-9.
7. M.J. Wirthlin, H. Takai, and A. Harding (2014). Soft error rate estimations of the Kintex-7 FPGA within the ATLAS Liquid Argon (LAr) Calorimeter. JINST, 9, C01025.
8. O. Benary et al. (1993). Precision timing with liquid ionization calorimeters. Nuclear Instruments and Methods A, 332, 78-84.
9. R.U. Abbasi et al., (2018). Gamma-ray Showers Observed at Ground Level in Coincidence With Downward Lightning Leaders. JGR Atmospheres, 123, 6864-6879.
10. B. Bergmann, R.O. Nelson, J.M. O’Donnell, S. Pospisil, J. Solc, H. Takai, and Z. Vykydal (2014). Time-of-flight measurement of fast neutrons with Timepix detectors. JINST, C05048.
11. K. Chen, H. Chen, J. Kierstead, H. Takai, S. Rescia, X. Hu, H. Xu, J. Mead, F. Lanni, and M. Minelli (2015). Evaluation of commercial ADC radiation tolerance for accelerator experiments. JINST, 10, P08009.
12. M. Citterio, A. Camplani, M. Cannon, H. Chen, K. Chen, B. Deng, C. Liu, C. Meroni, J. Kierstead, H. Takai, M. Wirthlin, and J. Ye (2015). Radiation testing campaign results for understanding the suitability of FPGAs in detector electronics. Nuclear Instruments and Methods A, 824 (2016), 270-271.
13. H. Takai et al. (2016). Tidal Frequencies in the Time Series Measurements of Atmospheric Muon Flux from Cosmic Rays. arXiv:1610.05983[astro-ph.HE]
14. R. Abbasi et al. (2014). Telescope Array Radar (TARA) observatory for Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays. Nuclear Instruments and Methods A, 767, 322-338.
15. T. Terzella, J. Sundermier, J. Sinacore, C. Owen, and H. Takai (2008). Measurement of g Using a Flashing LED. The Physics Teacher, 46, 395.
16. A. Berntson, V. Stojanoff, and H. Takai (2003). Application of a neural network in high-throughput protein crystallography. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, 10, 445-449.