Eight Odisha scientists part of global team that won 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Physics

Bhubaneswar: Eight scientists from different institutions in Odisha are among thousands of researchers at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland who recently received the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.

The 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics recognised the collaborative work of researchers who analysed data from CERN’s Large Hadron Collider Run-2, collected between 2015 and July 15, 2024. Their groundbreaking studies advanced the understanding of the universe’s fundamental forces and particles.

Odisha’s contribution to this landmark achievement includes researchers from premier institutes such as NISER, IIT Bhubaneswar, Institute of Physics Bhubaneswar, and IISER Berhampur. Among them are Prof. Bedangdas Mohanty, Ranbir Singh, Sanjay Swain, Prolay Mal, Seema Bahinipati, Aruna Kumar Nayak, Pradip Kumar Sahu and Natasha Sharma.

“This recognition will inspire lakhs of students and scholars across the globe to pursue science,” said Prof. Bedangdas Mohanty, deputy spokesperson for the ALICE experiment and a faculty member at NISER Bhubaneswar.

Mohanty added that the prize money will be used to fund research grants for PhD students from participating institutes. These grants will enable selected scholars to spend valuable time conducting research at CERN, gaining exposure to cutting-edge scientific infrastructure and bringing advanced knowledge back to their home institutions.

Notably, the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics is awarded to the co-authors of publications based on CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Run-2 data, released between 2015 and July 15, 2024, by the experimental collaborations ATLAS, CMS, ALICE, and LHCb. (ATLAS – 5,345 researchers; CMS – 4,550; ALICE – 1,869; LHCb – 1,744), according to the official website.

PNN

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