CERN/SPL S first first andCosmology mark bookGravitation was physical cosmology. When his land dicted by hismodel, was itscrowning success. cisely the masses and other properties pre 1980s, of theWandZbosons, whichhadpre- imental consequences. Thediscovery, inthe physics, inparticular by calculatingitsexper this powerful consolidation of fundamental general relativity, Einstein’s of gravity. theory with Weinberg’s model.Thesameistruefor quarks and gluons — combines harmoniously of strongern theory interactions, based on ever, quantum chromodynamics — the mod accelerators.high-energy Remarkably, how most of thevast zoo of observed particles in hadrons, including protons, neutrons and It left out the world of strongly interacting tons —electrons, muonsandtheirneutrinos. theory, anditssolutionbrought innewideas. was even harder to crack inWeinberg’s unified photons and their interactions — in the 1950s. It quantum of electrodynamics — the theory expressions. Thatproblem was solved for would mathematical notleadto ill-defined in that incorporating quantum fluctuations not prove, was ‘renormalizable’, that his theory ways. First, Weinberg conjectured, butcould today. But itwas incomplete intwo important nothing inthepaper needsessential revision sphere of thought”. model: “thehighest formof musicalityinthe Einstein’s description of Niels Bohr’s atomic the time,breakthrough still callsto mind gant whole. Given the state of knowledge at ofand theclassification into particles anele about gauge symmetry, breaking symmetry Model of Leptons’, combined disparate ideas Sheldon Lee Glashow, andwithAbdusSalam. in 1979,ics shared withhisschool classmate in use. Thiswon himtheNobelPrize inPhys magnetism andweak interactions, whichisstill was to proposeof electro theory theunified model of cosmology. His greatest achievement of fundamental interactions and the standard two standard models—thestandard model Theoretical physicist whose electroweak won theNobelprize. theory (1933–2021) Steven Weinberg Obituary The othermajorstrand inWeinberg’s work Weinberg had aleading role inorchestrating Second, itreally of lep was just atheory Amazingly, given itsscope andambition, His 1967 Physical Review Letters paper, ‘A and establishing theoretical physics’ He played acentral part informulating new levels of power and completeness. mental understanding of nature to teven Weinberg brought thefunda ------University in Ithaca, New York, Weinberg Jewish immigrant parents. He credited his School of Science, thecity’s flagship foredu He graduated in 1950 from the Bronx High father withencouraging hisinterest inscience. (1977), foundalarge audience. ThreeMinutes ular book onthe topic, TheFirst through cosmological Hispop observations. ses about neutrino properties could betested He madehiscase by showing how hypothe gigantic experiment physics. inhigh-energy the BigBangshouldbeconsidered asaunique, zone. A central message of the book was that a new generation prospered in the border After Weinberg knocked down the barriers, withdifferentjects, cultures andcommunities. and cosmology were regarded asdistinct sub appeared in1972, physics particle high-energy of weak-interaction He went observations. interaction complicates the interpretation advising on his thesis about how the strong ton University, NewJersey, Treiman withSam influence. Hecompleted hisPhDat Prince Källén, whom he often mentionedasastrong with Gunnar working theory on quantum field for Theoretical Physics) inCopenhagen, spent ayear atNordita (the Nordic Institute and bringbrightchildren together. good science to welcome policy immigrants hard to resist theimplicationthatitisprobably went on to get Nobelprizes in physics. It is as well as Glashow, to name just those who Melvin were Schwartz near-contemporaries, cating young scientists. Leon Cooper and After undergraduate studies atCornell Weinberg was born in NewYork Cityto ©

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styles. Einstein andRichard Feynman were caught hisattention. Several of hismost work. Iremember several rather terrifying researched books, andunashamedly‘Whiggish’ the West, aboutwhichhewrote several deeply was keenly interested of physics inthehistory in His approach was scholarly. Most obviously, he ‘thinking different’. Weinberg was notlike that. rebellious, most whenthey comfortable were ing untilearlierthisyear. of Texas atAustin, where heremained, teach- of Physics. In1982, hemoved to theUniversity in Cambridge, where hewas HigginsProfessor Cambridge; and,in1973, to Harvard University the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in York; the University of Berkeley, California; on to positions atColumbia University, New e-mail: [email protected] throughout his adult life. occasional competitor with, Steven Weinberg He has been an admiring friend of, and an Tsung-Dao Lee Institute in Shanghai, China. Technology and founding director of the of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Frank Wilczek is Herman Feshbach Professor ties to play games withthechildren. the chance, hewould sneak off from stiff par- comedy was exemplified by theway that, given more usual, jovial appreciation of thehuman our greatest contribution to civilization.” His, religion shouldbedoneandmay intheendbe that we scientists candoto weaken theholdof views against religion, such as this:“Anything yet unproven, continue to inspire research. of amultiverse. These ideas,attractive butas the nature of darkmatter andthepossibility made suggestions theory, field aboutunified ideas hehadpioneered innewdirections. He calls to mindBach. Feynman callto mindBeethoven, Weinberg ature of its component ideas. If Einstein and grew out of wrestling with the confused liter- quences. Hiswork onelectroweak interactions he perceived gaps orunexplored conse investigationsimportant were sparked when others’ papers. details of mathematicalderivations inmy or phone calls during which he quizzed me about most recently To theWorld Explain (2015). Scientists, no less than composers, have Weinberg sometimesexpressed strong Later inhiscareer, Weinberg extended the He would notletgo of obscurities that He paid close attention to other people’s Nature |Vol 596 |12 August 2021 |183 -