{"id":90228,"date":"2026-04-22T11:10:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/?p=90228"},"modified":"2026-04-22T15:19:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T19:19:47","slug":"two-bu-physicists-honored-with-prestigious-2026-breakthrough-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/two-bu-physicists-honored-with-prestigious-2026-breakthrough-prize\/","title":{"rendered":"Two BU Physicists Honored with Prestigious 2026 Breakthrough Prizes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Lee Roberts, 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics winner, at the 12th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on April 18, 2026 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Lester Cohen\/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two Boston University faculty members were honored with 2026 Breakthrough Prizes<\/a>\u2014among the world\u2019s most prestigious science awards\u2014at a ceremony in Los Angeles on April 18.<\/p>\n

Lee Roberts<\/a>, professor of physics in the College of Arts & Sciences, received a 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, one of six top prizes awarded annually for transformative achievements in life sciences and fundamental physics.<\/p>\n

Dillon Brout<\/a>, assistant professor of physics and astronomy in the College of Arts & Sciences, received a 2026 New Horizons in Physics Prize, which recognizes outstanding early career researchers for major advances in the field.<\/p>\n

Often described as the \u201cOscars of Science,\u201d the Breakthrough Prizes were co-founded by leading technology philanthropists, including Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, and award approximately $15 million each year. Each main prize includes a $3 million award\u2014roughly triple the monetary value of a Nobel Prize\u2014divided equally between all living recipients. The New Horizon\u2019s award is valued at $100,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cBU is proud to have Lee Roberts and Dillon Brout as faculty members,\u201d said Ken Lutchen, vice president and associate provost for research. \u201cThis is an extraordinary testimony to the innovative and breakthrough nature of Lee’s work in particle physics, and a terrific acknowledgement of the extraordinary work that Dillon has done so far in cosmology and supernova data sets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLee and Dillon\u2019s research is reshaping how we understand the universe,\u201d added Stan Sclaroff, dean of Arts & Sciences. \u201cTheir achievements reflect both extraordinary individual excellence and the power of sustained, collaborative research in expanding human understanding and advancing knowledge that can change the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Professor of Physics Lee Roberts (third from left) and fellow 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences winners during the 12th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on April 18, 2026, in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Lester Cohen\/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Probing the Frontiers of Fundamental Physics<\/h3>\n
\"Lee
Lee Roberts<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Roberts was recognized for his role in landmark muon g 2 experiments at CERN, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Fermilab\u2014international collaborations spanning more than six decades. The teams were honored \u201cfor multi decade, groundbreaking contributions to the measurement of the muon\u2019s anomalous magnetic moment, pushing the boundaries of experimental precision and igniting a new era in the quest for physics beyond the Standard Model,\u201d according to the Breakthrough Prize citation.<\/p>\n

The experiments focused on the measurement of the muon, a heavier, unstable cousin of the electron that behaves like a tiny magnet. By comparing the muon\u2019s measured magnetic strength to theoretical predictions, physicists can probe whether unknown particles or forces exist beyond the Standard Model, the most successful theory of particle physics to date.<\/p>\n

The effort began with pioneering experiments at CERN in the 1960s and 1970s, advanced with improved precision at Brookhaven in the 1990s, and culminated in the Fermilab experiment. In a dramatic logistical feat, Brookhaven\u2019s 50 ton, 15 meter diameter storage ring was transported more than 3,200 miles to Fermilab in 2013 by road and barge.<\/p>\n

Final results from Fermilab achieved a precision of 127 parts per billion\u2014about 30,000 times more precise than the first g 2 experiment in 1965. While early findings suggested a discrepancy with theoretical predictions, later refinements narrowed the gap. Even so, the work stands as a remarkable theoretical, experimental, and technological achievement in the ongoing search for new physics.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor three decades, these experimentalists have challenged the Standard Model of Particle Physics, subjecting it to the most exacting and rigorous tests,\u201d said Shyamsunder Erramilli, chair and professor of physics. \u201cTheirs is a story of heartbreaks, ingenious solutions, and ultimate triumph: a testament to the courage and persistence that has forced us to re-examine the foundations of what was long considered settled science. And they have strengthened all of science by doing so.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Faculty of Arts & Sciences professor since 1977, Roberts participated directly in the Brookhaven experiments of the 1990s and early 2000s and in the Fermilab experiment from 2013 through 2025. He received the American Physical Society\u2019s 2023 W.K.H. Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics and was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2024.<\/p>\n

The muon g 2 collaboration involved more than 170 scientists from 34 institutions across seven countries, including Boston University Professors Robert Carey<\/a>, James Miller<\/a>, and Lawrence Sulak<\/a>, along with their PhD students and post-doctoral fellows. Eric Hazen, senior research engineer in the Neurophotonics Center, who ran the BU Electronics Design Facility (EDF)<\/a> for many years, also made important contributions, as many components for experiments were fabricated at the EDF and the\u00a0BU Scientific Instrument Facility (SIF).<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing I love about the Breakthrough Prize is it recognizes the entire collaboration, because so many people made this thing happen,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cThe thing about a big collaboration is that each person brings a different set of skills and abilities. We had a very congenial collaboration at Brookhaven, and it continued at Fermilab, And I really want to acknowledge that we’ve had amazing young people on both sets of experiments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Illuminating the Expansion of the Universe<\/h3>\n
\"Dillon
Dillon Brout<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brout was honored, along with five colleagues, with a New Horizons in Physics Prize for influential contributions to cosmology, particularly in cosmic microwave background and supernova research. He was one of 15 early career researchers in physics and mathematics to receive six New Horizons Prizes, each valued at $100,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel incredibly honored to be included with my co laureates, whose work I deeply respect and admire,\u201d said Brout, who joined the Boston University physics and astronomy departments in 2023. \u201cIt is so meaningful to see our work on Type Ia Supernova and Cosmic Microwave Background cosmology recognized as precision tools for understanding the nature of the universe, reflecting decades of work by many people who built the foundations well before me, and inspiring students of cosmology today and in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brout is a cosmologist who studies the physics underpinning the origin,evolution, and fate of the universe. He has been a central contributor to the Dark Energy Survey (DES), a decade long international collaboration involving more than 400 scientists. He joined the project at its outset as a graduate student and later co led the cosmological analysis team responsible for utilizing supernovae\u2014exploding stars that serve as precise reference points for measuring the universe\u2019s size and expansion history\u2014to measure dark energy and dark matter.<\/p>\n

He has also founded the team that built and analyzed the largest and most precise supernova dataset available, Pantheon+, which cosmologists use to map the universe\u2019s expansion with unprecedented accuracy. A paper based on Pantheon+ received an IOP Publishing Top Cited Paper Award, granted to papers in the top one percent of the most-cited articles that have been recently published in the IOP\u2019s journals. Their finding contradicts measurements from the Planck collaboration, which studied the early universe just 380,000 years after the Big Bang (as far back as researchers can see), and thus point to gaps in existing theories. It is now one of the most widely discussed issues in cosmology and has become a major driver of research aimed at testing Einstein\u2019s theory of general relativity and understanding the universe in its earliest moments.<\/p>\n

Brout is now leading the Dark Energy Science Collaboration for the Rubin Observatory\u2019s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), located in the Chilean Andes. LSST will build on DES technology but with major advances: upgraded hardware, a far larger field of view, more sensitive electronics, and a rapid alert system capable of identifying cosmic events in near real time. Together, these improvements are expected to dramatically expand scientists\u2019 ability to probe dark energy and the structure of the universe.<\/p>\n

\u201cProfessor Brout\u2019s research is distinguished by its rigor, innovation, and strong impact within the cosmology community,\u201d Erramilli said. \u201cThe Breakthrough Prize recognizes his contributions to laying the foundation of a new era in 21st century Supernova Cosmology.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cProfessor Brout’s ground-breaking work at the intersection of cosmology and astrophysics has had revolutionary impacts on understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe,\u201d added Paul Withers, chair of astronomy. \u201cThis award reflects the tremendous reputation and stature of Boston University’s Cosmology Group<\/a> and its talented members. The Astronomy Department is excited to see what BU’s next discoveries in this exciting, dynamic field will reveal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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