Leo Eric Piilonen

Leo Eric Piilonen is an Alumni Distinguished Professor in the Department of Physics within the College of Science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). He has been actively involved in experimental particle physics research, particularly with the Belle and Belle II experiments at KEK in Japan. As Co-spokesperson of the Belle collaboration from April 2012 to March 2018, he played a significant leadership role in this international research effort.

Dr. Piilonen earned his B.Sc. from the University of Toronto in 1978 and his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1985. His research spans both traditional particle physics investigations and innovative applications of virtual reality technology to visualize complex particle interactions.

His primary research interests focus on B-physics experiments at the Belle and Belle II detectors, where he investigates CP violation, rare decays, lepton flavor violation, and exotic hadron states. He has pioneered the development of virtual reality applications to visualize particle collisions and detector components, creating immersive educational and research tools that have been widely adopted in the particle physics community.

Analysis of Piilonen's recent publications reveals a strong focus on precision measurements in B-physics, particularly studies of CP violation and searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. His work frequently employs advanced statistical methods and detector development techniques to extract subtle signals from complex collision data. The Belle II experiment serves as the primary platform for his most recent research, with numerous publications appearing in 2025 covering diverse aspects of particle physics phenomena.

• Fellow, American Physical Society
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• 2019 Outstanding Faculty Award, State Council of Higher Education for Virginia
• 2019 Alumni Award for Excellence in Research, Virginia Tech

Dr. Piilonen has secured significant research funding for his work on the Belle and Belle II experiments, contributing to detector development and physics analysis. His technical expertise spans from traditional particle physics analysis to innovative computational approaches, including the development of VR applications for particle physics visualization. He has led efforts in detector component design and readout electronics development for the Belle II experiment.

Dr. Piilonen leads a research group focused on the Belle II experiment at KEK in Japan, where he has been instrumental in developing virtual reality models of the detector system. His VR work, including the Belle II in Virtual Reality application available on multiple platforms, has created new avenues for both research and education in particle physics.