B. J. van der Meer

B. J. van der Meer was a Dutch physicist renowned for his work in particle physics. He played a key role in developing the technique of stochastic cooling, which helped improve the quality of particle beams in accelerators. This advancement was crucial for experiments at CERN, particularly in discovering the W and Z bosons, fundamental particles that support the Standard Model of physics. Van der Meer received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 alongside Carlo Rubbia, recognizing their contributions to understanding the basic building blocks of matter. His work significantly advanced our ability to explore the fundamental forces and particles in the universe.