The 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics made history by recognizing more than 13,000 researchers from over 70 countries who contributed to four experimental collaborations at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. This unprecedented collective recognition celebrates collaborative science on a scale never before acknowledged in scientific awards, demonstrating how modern physics advances through massive international cooperation.
The $3 million prize, split among the ATLAS, CMS, ALICE, and LHCb experiments, represents a new model for recognizing scientific achievement that extends beyond individual researchers to encompass entire global research communities working toward common goals.
A New Model for Scientific Recognition
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, presenting alongside Yuri Milner at the ceremony, described the CERN researchers’ work as “a quest, driven by pure curiosity” that “has also improved all of our lives.” Yuri Milner framed their achievement even more broadly, calling it “humanity’s fundamental mission.”
This recognition through the Breakthrough Prize reflects Yuri Milner’s understanding that modern scientific advancement increasingly depends on large-scale collaboration rather than individual genius. The decision to honor thousands of researchers simultaneously acknowledges how contemporary physics operates as a global enterprise.
The four experiments recognized—ATLAS with 5,345 researchers, CMS with 4,550, ALICE with 1,869, and LHCb with 1,744—represent the largest collaborative scientific endeavors in human history. Their combined efforts have pushed the boundaries of fundamental physics to unprecedented limits through extraordinarily precise and delicate tests of our understanding of matter and energy.
Unprecedented Scientific Collaboration
The CERN collaborations demonstrate how international scientific cooperation can overcome traditional barriers of nationality, culture, and politics. Researchers from more than 70 countries work together seamlessly, united by shared scientific goals and methods rather than divided by geographic boundaries.
ATLAS and CMS serve as general-purpose experiments that pursue the full program of exploration offered by the Large Hadron Collider’s high-energy proton and ion beams. These collaborations synchronously announced the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 and continue investigating its properties, advancing our understanding of how elementary particles acquire mass.
ALICE studies the quark-gluon plasma, a state of extremely hot and dense matter that existed in the first microseconds after the Big Bang. This research provides insights into the fundamental conditions that shaped our universe during its earliest moments.
LHCb explores minute differences between matter and antimatter, violation of fundamental symmetries, and the complex spectra of composite particles made of heavy and light quarks. Their work addresses fundamental questions about why our universe contains more matter than antimatter.
Scientific Achievement on a Global Scale
The four experiments have achieved remarkable scientific milestones that advance human knowledge of the universe’s fundamental structure. Their accomplishments include precisely measuring properties of the Higgs boson and elucidating the mechanism by which the Higgs field gives mass to elementary particles.
They have probed extremely rare particle interactions and exotic states of matter that existed in the first moments of the universe, discovered more than 72 new hadrons, and measured subtle differences between matter and antimatter particles.
Perhaps most importantly, they have set strong bounds on possibilities for new physics beyond the Standard Model, including dark matter, supersymmetry, and hidden extra dimensions. These constraints help guide theoretical physics and future experimental programs.
Yuri Milner’s recognition of these achievements through the Breakthrough Prize highlights how fundamental research advances human understanding even when practical applications remain distant. This approach aligns with the philosophy he outlines in his Eureka Manifesto, which emphasizes the importance of curiosity-driven research.
Beyond Recognition: Supporting Future Discovery
The decision to donate 100% of the $3 million prize to the CERN & Society Foundation demonstrates how recognition can support continued scientific advancement. The funds will provide grants for doctoral students from member institutes to spend research time at CERN, giving students experience at the forefront of science and expertise to bring back to their home countries.
This approach reflects Yuri Milner’s understanding that scientific progress requires continuous investment in the next generation of researchers. By supporting doctoral education, the prize creates lasting impact that extends beyond immediate recognition of past achievements.
The international scope of the doctoral support program embodies the global nature of modern physics research while ensuring that CERN’s scientific capabilities benefit researchers from around the world. This democratic approach to scientific education reflects the collaborative spirit that makes large-scale physics possible.
A Model for International Cooperation
The CERN collaborations provide a powerful model for how international cooperation can address challenges that transcend national boundaries. LHCb representative Vincenzo Vagnoni captured this spirit when he called science “a glue that holds people together.”
This international cooperation extends beyond formal scientific collaboration to create lasting relationships between researchers from different countries and cultures. Many participants report that their CERN experience fundamentally changed their understanding of how diverse groups can work together effectively toward common goals.
The success of CERN collaborations demonstrates principles that could inform international cooperation in other areas, from climate change to public health to space exploration. Yuri Milner’s recognition of this collaborative model highlights its broader significance for human civilization.
The humanitarian implications of international scientific cooperation connect to Yuri Milner’s broader philanthropic vision, evident in programs like Tech for Refugees, which demonstrates how collaborative innovation can address global challenges.
Inspiring Future Collaboration
Yuri Milner’s decision to recognize the CERN collaborations sends a powerful message to young scientists about the value of cooperative research. Through the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, Yuri Milner encourages teenagers worldwide to engage with scientific concepts, potentially inspiring some to pursue careers in collaborative research.
The visibility provided by the Breakthrough Prize ceremony ensures that collaborative science receives mainstream cultural attention, demonstrating to broad audiences how international cooperation can advance human knowledge.
This recognition also validates the career choices of thousands of researchers who have dedicated their professional lives to collaborative science rather than pursuing individual recognition. Their collective achievement demonstrates that modern scientific advancement often requires subordinating individual ambition to shared goals.
The Future of Collaborative Science
The CERN recognition establishes a precedent for acknowledging large-scale scientific collaboration that could influence how other major research programs are recognized and funded. As scientific challenges become increasingly complex, collaborative approaches like those pioneered at CERN may become even more important.
The success of the CERN collaborations provides a model for addressing other scientific challenges that require international cooperation, from climate research to pandemic response to space exploration. Yuri Milner’s recognition of their achievement highlights the broader importance of collaborative approaches to scientific advancement.
As the world faces challenges that transcend national boundaries, the CERN model demonstrates how shared scientific goals can unite people across cultural and political divisions. Their recognition through Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Prize celebrates not just their scientific achievements, but their demonstration that humanity can work together effectively when united by common purpose and shared methods.
The 13,000 researchers who shared the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics represent more than scientific achievement—they embody the collaborative spirit that may be essential for addressing the complex challenges facing human civilization in the 21st century.
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