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🇩🇰 Denmark /Health & Science

Nobel laureate François Englert, who theorized the Higgs boson, dies at 93

From Berlingske · () Danish

Translated from Danish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Outcome reported
  • François Englert, a Nobel laureate physicist who co-discovered the Higgs boson, has died at age 93.
  • Englert, a Belgian scientist, received the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for his theoretical work on the particle.
  • CERN announced his death, remembering his contribution to understanding fundamental particle mass.

Belgian theoretical physicist François Englert, a key figure in the discovery of the Higgs boson, has died at the age of 93. Englert, who shared the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for his groundbreaking work, passed away on Thursday in Ukkel, near Brussels. The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) announced his death on its website, expressing deep sorrow.

It is with great sadness that we must announce that the Belgian theoretical physicist Francois Englert has passed away at the age of 93.

— CERNCERN announced the death of François Englert on their Facebook page.

Englert, alongside his colleague Robert Brout, theorized in the 1960s that fundamental particles acquire mass through interaction with a universal field, now known as the Higgs field. This concept was crucial for the Standard Model of particle physics, which describes the fundamental forces and particles of the universe. The existence of the Higgs boson, the particle associated with this field, was experimentally confirmed at CERN in 2012.

He received the Nobel Prize in 2013 with British physicist Peter Higgs, who independently proposed a similar mechanism. The particle, often popularly referred to as the "God particle," plays a central role in explaining why particles have mass. Englert's theoretical contributions were foundational to this understanding.

Together with his colleague Robert Brout, he demonstrated that fundamental particles can gain mass by interacting with a fundamental field that exists everywhere in the universe.

— CERNCERN described Englert's key contribution to physics.

Born in Etterbeek, near Brussels, in 1932 to Jewish shopkeepers, Englert lived in hiding with his family during the Nazi occupation of Belgium in World War II. In a statement upon receiving the Nobel Prize, Englert emphasized the importance of seeking rational understanding of the world, stating, "Irrational ideas have done enough harm to Europe. Science is essential for building a civilization worthy of its name."

Irrational ideas have done enough harm to Europe. Science is essential for building a civilization worthy of its name.

— François EnglertEnglert's statement upon receiving the Nobel Prize in 2013.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Berlingske in Danish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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