The ATLAS experiment in the Large Hadron Collider (credit: 
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U of T researchers part of global team recognized with 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
Published: April 25, 2025
Several researchers from the department of physics in U of T's Faculty of Arts & Science, including faculty members, staff, graduate students and undergraduate students, are part of an international team of researchers to receive the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their contributions to the ATLAS research collaboration at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.
Considered the “Oscars of Science,” Breakthrough Prizes are awarded annually to recognize transformative advances in three categories – life sciences, fundamental physics and mathematics. The prize was founded in 2013 by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Yuri and Julia Milner, and Anne Wojcicki.
The ATLAS project was recognized for its detailed measurements of the Higgs boson – a fundamental particle, associated with the Higgs field, which gives mass to other fundamental particles such as electrons and quarks. The project involved contributions from thousands of researchers from more than 70 countries.
“This prize recognizes a 20-year effort to construct the Large Hadron Collider and the ATLAS and CMS experiments, as well as ten years of data collection and analysis,” said ATLAS member Pekka Sinervo, a professor of physics in U of T's Faculty of Arts & Science.
“The U of T team has had a key role in the ATLAS work. They have taken lead roles in uncovering the properties of the still mysterious Higgs boson.”
