Los Angeles, CA – In a ceremony held on April 5, 2025, in Los Angeles, the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics was awarded to the ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, and lhcb collaborations for their groundbreaking work at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. This prestigious award recognizes the collective efforts of thousands of researchers from over 70 countries.

A Monumental Achievement for Global Science

The Breakthrough Prize, frequently enough dubbed the “Oscars of Science,” acknowledges the meaningful contributions these collaborations have made to our understanding of the universe. The award specifically recognizes papers authored based on data collected during the LHC’s Run-2, a period of intense experimentation culminating in July 2024. Spokespersons who led the collaborations during that period accepted the award on behalf of their teams.

“I am extremely proud to see the extraordinary accomplishments of the LHC collaborations honoured with this prestigious Prize,”

Fabiola Gianotti, Director-General of CERN

Gianotti continued, calling it “a stunning recognition of the collective efforts, dedication, competence and hard work of thousands of people from all over the world who contribute daily to pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.” This sentiment resonates deeply within the scientific community, particularly in the U.S.,were many universities and research institutions have contributed substantially to the LHC’s success.

The LHC, located near Geneva, Switzerland, is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. It smashes protons together at near-light speed, recreating conditions that existed fractions of a second after the Big bang. By studying the debris from these collisions, scientists can probe the fundamental building blocks of matter and the forces that govern them. The experiments at the LHC are crucial for testing theories like the Standard Model of particle physics which, while successful, has limitations and leaves many questions unanswered.The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation have invested heavily in the LHC, underscoring its importance to American scientific advancement.

The $3 Million Prize: Investing in the Future of physics

The Breakthrough Prize Foundation will donate the $3 million award to the CERN & Society Foundation. This funding will be used to provide grants for doctoral students from member institutes of the LHC collaborations, enabling them to conduct research at CERN. This initiative is intended to foster the next generation of particle physicists, providing them with invaluable experience and expertise to bring back to their home countries, including the U.S.

This investment is particularly timely, given the growing need for skilled STEM professionals in the U.S. By supporting doctoral students, the Breakthrough Prize is helping to cultivate a pipeline of talent that will contribute to future innovations in physics and related fields. Think of it as a seed investment in the future of American science,akin to the government funding that propelled the U.S. space program in the 1960s.

Specific Contributions of the LHC Experiments

Each of the four collaborations recognized – ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb – focuses on different aspects of particle physics. Their combined efforts provide a extensive picture of the fundamental forces and particles that shape our universe.

• ATLAS and CMS: These general-purpose experiments explore the full range of physics accessible at the LHC. Most notably, they jointly announced the revelation of the Higgs boson in 2012, a landmark achievement that confirmed a key component of the Standard Model. They continue to investigate the Higgs boson’s properties, seeking to understand its role in the universe.
• ALICE: This collaboration studies quark-gluon plasma, a state of matter that existed in the early universe. By recreating these conditions in the LHC, ALICE scientists are gaining insights into the strong nuclear force, which binds quarks and gluons together to form protons and neutrons.
• LHCb: This experiment focuses on “flavor physics,” investigating the subtle differences between matter and antimatter. By studying these differences, LHCb scientists hope to understand why the universe is dominated by matter, rather than being equally filled with matter and antimatter, a major unsolved puzzle in physics.

“This prize recognises the collective vision and monumental effort of thousands of ATLAS collaborators worldwide,”

Stephane Willocq, ATLAS spokesperson

Willocq added, “Their talent and dedication, and the support of our public funding agencies, enabled the scientific breakthroughs that are being celebrated today. These results have transformed our understanding of the Universe at the most fundamental level.”

“CMS is deeply honoured to receive this prestigious prize,”

Gautier Hamel de Monchenault, CMS spokesperson

Hamel de Monchenault stated that, “through continuous innovation in exploiting the data from the Large Hadron Collider over the past fifteen years, the CMS collaboration is conducting a thorough characterisation of the higgs boson, exploring the electroweak scale and beyond and probing the hot, dense state of nuclear matter that prevailed in the early Universe.”

“The ALICE collaboration is honoured to receive the Breakthrough Prize for the examination of the properties of the hottest and densest matter available in a laboratory,quark-gluon plasma,”

marco Van Leeuwen,ALICE spokesperson

According to Van Leeuwen,“The new grants funded through this prize will contribute to training the next generation of ALICE scientists.”

“The award of the 2025 Breakthrough Prize is a great honour for the LHCb collaboration. It underlines the importance of the many measurements made by the LHCb experiment in flavor physics and spectroscopy through the exploration of subtle differences between matter and antimatter and the discovery of several new heavy quark hadrons,”

Vincenzo Vagnoni, LHCb spokesperson

The Future of the LHC: The High-Luminosity Upgrade

While the LHC has already produced a wealth of groundbreaking discoveries, its potential is far from exhausted.Scientists are currently working on the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), an upgrade that will significantly increase the accelerator’s performance. Scheduled to begin operations in 2030, the HL-LHC will deliver more data than ever before, enabling scientists to probe the fundamental laws of nature with unprecedented precision. This will allow for more detailed measurements of known particles and phenomena and increase the likelihood of discovering new particles and forces.

The HL-LHC upgrade is a massive undertaking, requiring significant technological advancements in areas such as superconducting magnets and detector technology.U.S.institutions are playing a key role in this upgrade,contributing expertise and resources to ensure its success. The potential payoff is enormous, as the HL-LHC could unlock new secrets about the universe, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of physics. This type of international collaboration in large-scale scientific endeavors serves as a model for future global projects, fostering cooperation and innovation.

Addressing Potential Criticisms and Broader Implications

Despite its successes, the LHC has faced criticism from some who question the cost and potential risks of high-energy particle physics experiments. Some argue that the resources devoted to the LHC could be better spent on other scientific or social priorities. Others have raised concerns, though largely unfounded, about the possibility of the LHC creating dangerous particles or phenomena, such as microscopic black holes.

However, proponents of the LHC argue that the potential benefits of the research far outweigh the costs and risks. The discoveries made at the LHC have not only advanced our fundamental understanding of the universe but have also led to technological innovations in areas such as computing, medical imaging, and materials science. Furthermore, the LHC serves as a training ground for young scientists and engineers, equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to tackle future challenges.

The LHC’s impact extends beyond the scientific realm. The project has brought together scientists and engineers from around the world, fostering international collaboration and cooperation. In an increasingly interconnected world, the ability to work together on complex projects is essential for addressing global challenges such as climate change and disease. The LHC stands as a testament to the power of human ingenuity and collaboration, inspiring future generations to pursue scientific inquiry and innovation.

Table: Key LHC Experiments and Their Focus