Part of Atomium named after François Englert

The bottom ball of Brussels’ Atomium was officially named ‘François Englert and Robert Brout’ yesterday, in honour of the Belgian researcher who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013, and his late colleague, Belgian-American researcher Robert Brout.

During the dedication ceremony on Monday, Englert (pictured) was accompanied by his wife and Brout’s partner. "It’s very symbolic to be standing here inside of an atom,” Englert said. “It formed the basis of all my research, and in particular the study of the Higgs particle."

Atomium director Henri Simons underlined the importance of the dedication. "In 1958, the theme of the World Fair was "a better world". Today we continue to believe that science is the main road to a better world." Englert expressed his hope that all the attention may encourage young people to choose science-related studies.