Modern Physics Giant Weinberg, Who Completed the Standard Theory, Passes Away at 88

Deep Connection with the Late Dr. Lee Hwiso

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Steven Weinberg, an American theoretical physicist regarded as a giant of modern physics and a professor at the University of Texas, has passed away at the age of 88.

According to major foreign media on the 24th (local time), the University of Texas in Austin announced that Professor Weinberg died on the 23rd at a hospital in Austin, Texas.

Professor Weinberg was called a giant of modern physics for completing the natural Standard Model theory and predicting the discovery of the Higgs boson. In 1979, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics along with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Lee Glashow for establishing the Standard Theory.

Professor Weinberg was also a popular intellectual who widely disseminated knowledge of physics, the universe, and the history of science through his popular science books and lectures. He remained actively engaged in publishing papers even after turning 80.

He published works such as "The First Three Minutes," considered a classic in cosmology, "The Science Explained by Steven Weinberg," "Dreams of a Final Theory," and "Third Thoughts." These books have also been translated and published in Korea.

Born in New York, USA, in 1933, Professor Weinberg graduated from Cornell University and earned his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Princeton University. He also served as a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University before joining the University of Texas in 1983.

He had a close connection with the late Dr. Lee Whi-so, a renowned Korean physicist who passed away at the age of 42 in an unfortunate traffic accident. Professor Weinberg and Dr. Lee co-authored a paper in 1977 proposing the dark matter candidate "WIMP." This paper was published one month after Dr. Lee's untimely death.