Ann Arbor Times

University of Michigan physicists are among the recipients of the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. This year's award applauds significant experiments conducted at CERN's Large Hadron Collider, with the distinction shared by multiple research teams around the globe.

Breakthrough Prizes, celebrated as the "Oscars of the sciences," honor work that addresses major scientific questions, supported by founders like Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Yuri and Julia Milner, and Anne Wojcicki.

Four key experiments at CERN, including ATLAS, CMS, ALICE, and LHCb, received recognition. ATLAS, known as A Toroidal LHC Apparatus, is the most extensive general-purpose trial at the LHC. Jianming Qian from the University of Michigan, involved in ATLAS, remarked on the significance of the international collaborative efforts in scientific pursuits.

More than 30 individuals from U-M are engaged in research with ATLAS and LHCb, contributing to endeavors recognized by the prize. Bing Zhou, leading the U-M ATLAS team, emphasized the proud heritage of U-M researchers' innovative contributions.

In 2012, the LHC made headlines for discovering the Higgs boson, which plays a key role in understanding particle mass. Zhou highlighted the transformative potential of this discovery for future research. The Breakthrough Prize acknowledges ongoing efforts in detailing Higgs boson properties and exploring particle physics mysteries, such as why matter dominates over antimatter.

Stephane Willocq, ATLAS spokesperson, hailed the prize as a validation of collective and visionary scientific efforts worldwide.

The U-M team has been instrumental in major research areas, including Higgs measurements and rare process studies. The ATLAS group was established by the late Homer Neal and continues under the guidance of Zhou, Qian, and others. Thomas Schwarz and Christian Herwig maintain stewardship of the ATLAS Great Lakes Tier 2 computing center.

U-M's involvement with LHCb, a term referring to "beauty" flavor quarks, began with Christine Aidala in 2017. Aidala's team works to make experimental data accessible and educational, with significant efforts toward understanding quark binding.

LHCb spokesperson Vincenzo Vagnoni recognized the award as a testament to important strides in flavor physics and the discovery of novel quark states.

The Breakthrough Prize, carrying a financial reward of $3 million, will be donated to support CERN's educational mission. Fabiola Gianotti, CERN's director-general, praised the awarded work, spotlighting the global dedication and hard work of the scientific community involved.

Breakthrough Prizes also awarded accolades in life sciences and mathematics.