Credit: Pixabay/CC0 public domainSteven Weinberg, a physicist who was awarded the Nobel prize in 1979 along with two other scientists, has died at the age of 88, according to the University of Texas at Austin.According to Louise Weinberg, Weinberg, a professor at the university, died in Austin, Texas on Friday. Christine Sinatra, a spokesperson for UT, confirmed that Weinberg was a former professor. Sinatra said that the cause of death for the physicist, who had been in hospital for several weeks, was not yet known.Jay Hartzell, UT President, stated in a statement that "the passing of Steven Weinberg was a loss for The University of Texas"Hartzell said that Professor Weinberg had "unlocked the mysteries the universe for millions, enriching humanity’s concept of nature as well as our relationship with the world."Weinberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979 with Sheldon Lee Glashow and Abdus Salam. According to a UT statement, their work helped improve our understanding of the interconnectedness of everything in the universe.This work allowed physicists to unify two of four forces of nature, the subatomic forces known collectively as nuclear forces. Sean Carroll, a theoretical scientist at the California Institute of Technology, stated that the work was a great help."It's about understanding the laws and principles of nature at a deeper level. Carroll stated that we are curious creatures who want to understand how the universe works.According to Brian Greene, Columbia University string theory physicist and Weinberg scholar, Weinberg's work was based on Albert Einstein's.Greene stated that the idea that all forces might be one force was what Greene had in mind. He was the one who brought this idea to fruition. This idea was pushed forward by him showing that (two forces) are the same force.According to the Nobel Prize website, Weinberg, Salam, and Glashowworking were each honored for their contributions to "the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction among elementary particles, including... the prediction of a weak neutral current."Weinberg, a native New Yorker, was previously a researcher at Columbia University, and the University of California Berkeley. After leaving Harvard University, Weinberg joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty in 1982 to teach physics and astronomy.Weinberg is survived his wife and a child. Funeral services were not planned.Learn more about Effective Field Theories, and the nature of our universe2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Without permission, this material may not be broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
