Markus Klute’s research team played a major role in the 2012 identification of the Higgs boson and its unique properties. In this discussion, he explains how understanding the origins of our universe depends on the discovery and analysis of sub-atomic particles. The LHC collides particles at the highest possible speed in an attempt to resemble the force of the Big Bang that produced the earliest particles. This investigation is advanced by the much-anticipated 3rd Run of the LHC, which will collide particles at the highest speed yet. Run 3 will attempt to reveal unknown particles, possibly even dark matter particles, and will help to explain the nature of mass and numerous other mysteries about the origin of matter.
Markus Klute joined MIT in 2009, and in 2020 he was also awarded the prestigious Humboldt Professor of Physics at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany). Professor Klute’s research in particle physics represents the energy frontier in the design, construction and commissioning of particle detectors, and also in the analysis of the data collected. In 2012 his group played a central role in the discovery of the Higgs boson using the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The discovery of the Higgs boson will help to determine the origin of mass in matter as well as various symmetry mechanisms. Dr. Klute is also involved in the LHC search for physics beyond the Standard Model. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a reviewer for the National Science Foundation and a member of the scientific advisory board of the PRISMA+ cluster of excellence in Mainz.