Contents
Takaaki Kajita
The Nobel-winning physicist whose neutrino experiments showed that these elusive particles have mass.
Neutrino oscillations · Nobel Prize in Physics
- Born
- 9 March 1959
- Birthplace
- Japan
More people
Takaaki Kajita
Takaaki Kajita studied particles produced when cosmic rays strike the atmosphere. Their changing identities exposed a gap in the standard account of fundamental particles.
Early life
Saitama
Grew up in Higashimatsuyama and studied physics at Saitama University.
Research training
Joined Masatoshi Koshiba’s group at the University of Tokyo.
Career
- 1988
Cosmic-ray research
Joined the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Cosmic Ray Research.
- 1998
Oscillation evidence
Presented Super-Kamiokande’s atmospheric-neutrino results.
- 1999
Research leadership
Became a professor and led the institute’s neutrino centre.
- 2020
Science leadership
Became president of the Science Council of Japan.
Contributions
Neutrino oscillations
Evidence that atmospheric neutrinos change type in flight.
Nobel Prize in Physics
Shared with Arthur B. McDonald.
KAGRA
Helped lead Japan’s underground gravitational-wave detector.
Beyond the lab
Science policy
Became president of the Science Council of Japan in 2020.
Mentorship
Has spoken about Koshiba’s influence on his approach to research.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Nobel Prize — biography and research ↗Photo: 日本学術会議. CC BY 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
