Yoichiro Nambu

Born in 1921 in Tokyo, Yoichiro Nambu is a theoretical physicist who has made seminal contributions to the understanding of subatomic particles. Working as a professor in the University of Chicago’s physics department, he conducted the bulk of his groundbreaking research in particle physics, specializing in the concept of spontaneous symmetry breaking. He was awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics and the National Medal of Science in 1982. Updated 2014