Gerard ‘t Hooft receives Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

Emeritus Professor Theoretical Physics at Utrecht University and Nobel laureate Gerard ‘t Hooft has received the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for his fundamental insights into gauge theory and the Standard Model. The Breakthrough Prizes are known as the ‘Oscars of science’ and recognise the world's top scientists. Laureates receive 3 million dollars each to spend freely. The awards were presented last night at a gala in Los Angeles, attended by prominent figures from science, and the entertainment and technology industries.

“Gerard 't Hooft is one of the world’s most pre-eminent theoretical physicists”, says the press release issued by the organisation behind the awards. “In the early 1970s he made crucial contributions to the foundations of what would later become known as the Standard Model of the subatomic particles.”

't Hooft has been honoured with numerous awards for his contributions. His PhD thesis brought him instant recognition, and in 1999, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for this work, which he shared with Martinus (Tini) Veltman, who passed away in 2021.

Achievements

Among many other achievements, 't Hooft proved that Yang-Mills theories, the concept underlying theories of weak and strong nuclear forces, make sense when treated quantum mechanically.

Also, he made several crucial contributions to understanding the theory of the strong force. This force binds protons and neutrons together, as well as keeping quarks together. He developed new mathematical tools for studying quarks that strongly interact, and he introduced the fruitful approach of studying the strong force by imagining it is mediated by many more varieties of quarks and gluons than it actually is.

Connection with Utrecht

Gerard 't Hooft has spent most of his career at Utrecht University. He began as a student in its lecture halls, earned his PhD at the Utrecht Academiegebouw in 1972, and was appointed professor at the Utrecht Institute for Theoretical Physics in 1977. Among those he supervised during their PhD was Robbert Dijkgraaf. 't Hooft remained at the institute until his retirement and continues to be actively involved.

Breakthrough Prizes

The Breakthrough Prizes have been awarded since 2013, and were founded by Sergey Brin (Google), Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), and entrepreneurs Julia and Yuri Milner and Anne Wojcicki. Each prize is 3 million dollars and presented in the fields of Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics and Mathematics. In addition, there are several prizes for early-stage (female) researchers. Selection Committees composed of previous Breakthrough Prize laureates in each field choose the winners.

Learn more about Gerard 't Hooft's remarkable career and achievements in his recent biography Maar dat kan ik (available in Dutch only). The biography was written by Martijn van Calmthout, an alumnus of Utrecht University.