Penn ATLAS Shares 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

Many sets of pipes of varying sizes in a hexagonal shape, with a very small person up front showing the scale of the pipes.

Researchers from the ATLAS Collaboration at CERN received the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their work studying high-energy collisions from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). ATLAS shares the $3 million award with three other CERN experiments, recognizing the efforts of some 13,500 scientists worldwide, including the Penn ATLAS group.
 
For decades, members of this team—which today includes Joseph Kroll, Evelyn Thomson, Elliot Lipeles, Dylan Rankin, and Brig Williams of the Department of Physics and Astronomy—have participated in a wide range of LHC research. Penn ATLAS, for example, played a leading role in the discovery of the Higgs boson particle and continues to make precision measurements of the particle’s properties. The team is also confirming and investigating facets of the extraordinarily successful Standard Model, which can be used to describe elementary particles and their interactions in a range of environments, from proton collisions in a lab to the early universe.
 
The work continues: In 2030, the LHC will move into a new, high-luminosity stage that requires an upgrade of the entire ATLAS detector, where the Penn team is making major, unique contributions. Despite what’s still to come, receiving such an accolade now is well-deserved, says incoming Dean of Penn Arts & Sciences Mark Trodden. “I’m delighted to see Penn’s ATLAS group recognized in such a high-profile manner.”

For the full story, visit https://omnia.sas.upenn.edu/story/penn-atlas-shares-2025-breakthrough-prize-fundamental-physics.

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