Dr. Marvin Flores, an assistant professor at the University of the Philippines – Diliman College of Science National Institute of Physics (UPD-CS NIP) and team leader of the ATLAS group in the Philippines, is among thousands of researchers worldwide honored with the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.
The prize was awarded to the A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS (ATLAS) Collaboration at the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN)’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), along with its sister experiments A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE), Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), and Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb).
ATLAS, one of the largest and most complex scientific instruments ever built, is a general-purpose particle detector measuring over 40 meters long and around 25 meters high.
It was designed to investigate the fundamental building blocks of matter and the forces governing the universe. Its advanced systems track particles produced in high-energy particle collisions, enabling discoveries such as the Higgs boson and searches for new physics beyond the Standard Model.
The Breakthrough Prize specifically recognizes the ATLAS Collaboration’s significant contributions to particle physics, including detailed measurements of Higgs boson properties, studies of rare processes and matter-antimatter asymmetry, and the exploration of nature under extreme conditions.
“The Breakthrough Prize is a testament to the dedication and ingenuity of the ATLAS Collaboration and our colleagues across the LHC experiments,” said ATLAS spokesperson Stephane Willocq.
“This prize recognizes the collective vision and monumental effort of thousands of ATLAS collaborators worldwide,” said Willocq.
UPD-CS NIP has been at the forefront of ATLAS research since 2021, contributing to the search for new physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM).
“Our team’s work on BSM modeling and simulation exemplifies the innovation driving ATLAS forward,” said Flores.
“This recognition affirms the impact of our contributions and inspires us to continue exploring the universe’s most fundamental questions,” said Flores.
“The successes of Run 2 showcase the ingenuity of the ATLAS Collaboration — not only in collecting data with a detector of outstanding precision, but also in our relentless drive to improve our understanding of it,” said Andreas Hoecker, former ATLAS spokesperson.
While the ATLAS Collaboration celebrates the Breakthrough Prize, its focus remains firmly on the future. The third operation period of the LHC is currently underway, and preparations for the High-Luminosity LHC upgrade are advancing rapidly.
NIP’s High Energy Physics & Phenomenology (HEP-PH) team of 15 physicists and students is deeply involved in preparing ATLAS for its next chapter. Although their current contributions are primarily theoretical and phenomenological, the team is increasing its experimental involvement through steps such as the formation of the ATLAS Philippine Cluster, which includes other Philippine universities.
“We are now preparing the ATLAS detectors of the future — designed to harness this unprecedented data and further push our understanding of the universe’s fundamental building blocks,” said Willocq.