Twenty-eight McGill researchers are among the winners of the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their contributions to the ATLAS Collaboration at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
Sometimes referred to as the Oscars of Science, Breakthrough prizes are awarded annually by the foundation of the same name for achievements in life sciences, fundamental physics and mathematics.
The ATLAS Collaboration was recognized for its investigations of the nature and interactions of matter in the universe, using the ATLAS particle detector. This includes characterizing the properties of the Higgs boson, studying matter-antimatter asymmetry and exploring nature under extreme conditions. ATLAS shared the award with its sister experiments at CERN: ALICE, CMS and LHCb.
Physics Professors François Corriveau, Brigitte Vachon and Andreas Warburton – along with 25 McGill students and postdoctoral researchers – are among the more than 5,000 researchers honoured for their contributions to the ATLAS Collaboration.
“Congratulations to Professors Corriveau, Vachon, Warburton, and all members of the ATLAS Collaboration on this extraordinary recognition,” said Dominique Bérubé, Vice-President, Research and Innovation. “We are proud that McGill researchers have played a pivotal role in these tremendous efforts to advance our understanding of the universe’s most fundamental forces.”
Research in particle physics by collaborations such as ATLAS and institutions like CERN, which is located outside Geneva, has led to numerous practical applications with significant impacts on everyday life. The best-known example is the invention of the World Wide Web, but other advancements include the development of new radioactive isotopes, innovations in medical imaging technologies and insights into how the human eye perceives motion. Ongoing investigations not only aim to uncover the fundamental mechanisms behind the formation of the universe, but also hold the potential to inspire future technologies as yet unimagined.
In recent years, in preparation for CERN’s future High-Luminosity LHC project, the McGill team played a central role in the development and construction of a new particle detector system for the ATLAS experiment. The McGill team has also been developing a state-of-the-art electronic readout system for the ATLAS detector, using machine learning techniques to improve the detector’s performance and capabilities.
“We take great pride in celebrating the outstanding work and dedication of our McGill students and postdocs recognized with this prestigious prize,” said Vachon. “With the ATLAS dataset continuing to grow and the High-Luminosity LHC project set to launch in five years, our team is exceptionally well-positioned – and deeply motivated – to push the boundaries of our understanding of the nature of matter. We’re only beginning to uncover the vast landscape of scientific opportunities that lie ahead.”
The $1 million prize money will fund grants for doctoral students from member institutes to spend time at CERN, giving the students experience working at the forefront of science and new expertise to bring back to their home countries and regions.
McGill has been a member institution of the ATLAS Collaboration for 20 years, notably having made significant contributions to the initial trigger system involved in the historic 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson particle.
Read the full list of ATLAS prizewinners for the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.