UP physicist among winners of prestigious Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

Dr. Marvin Flores, assistant professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman-College of Science National Institute of Physics (UPD-CS NIP), has been recognized as part of the international ATLAS collaboration, one of the recipients of the prestigious 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.

The award was given to the ATLAS group at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, alongside its sister experiments — ALICE, CMS, and LHCb — in honor of their pioneering contributions to particle physics and the continued exploration of the fundamental forces of nature.

ATLAS is one of the largest and most complex scientific instruments ever built. As a general-purpose particle detector measuring over 40 meters in length and around 25 meters in height, it was designed to investigate the fundamental building blocks of matter and the forces governing our universe. Its cutting-edge systems track particles produced in particle collisions at unprecedented energies, enabling discoveries like the Higgs boson and searches for new physics beyond the Standard Model.

The Breakthrough Prize specifically highlights the ATLAS Collaboration’s significant contributions to particle physics, including detailed measurements of Higgs boson properties, studies of rare processes and matter-antimatter asymmetry, and the exploration of nature under the most extreme conditions.

“The Breakthrough Prize is a testament to the dedication and ingenuity of the ATLAS Collaboration and our colleagues across the LHC experiments,” ATLAS Spokesperson Stephane Willocq said. “This prize recognizes the collective vision and monumental effort of thousands of ATLAS collaborators worldwide.”

UPD-CS NIP has been at the forefront of ATLAS research since 2021, contributing to the search for new Physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM).

“Our team’s work on BSM modeling and simulation exemplifies the innovation driving ATLAS forward,” Dr. Flores said. “This recognition affirms the impact of our contributions and inspires us to continue exploring the universe’s most fundamental questions.”

The third operation period of the LHC is currently under way and preparations for the High-Luminosity LHC upgrade are advancing rapidly. NIP’s High Energy Physics & Phenomenology (HEP-PH) team of 15 physicists and students is deeply involved in preparing ATLAS for its next chapter. Although their current contributions are currently in the theoretical and phenomenological side, the team is ramping up their experimental involvement through concrete steps like the formation of the ATLAS Philippine Cluster involving other Philippine universities.

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