Ashutosh Kotwal

Kotwal was born in Mumbai, India, and attended schools in Calcutta, Lucknow, New Delhi and Mumbai.{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/visions-from-star-trek-could-become-reality-this-century/|title=Visions from Star Trek could become reality this century|date=21 June 2011|work=The Indian Express}} He then began studying at the University of Pennsylvania in 1983 on a full scholarship from the University, and graduated Summa cum Laude with dual degrees in electrical engineering from the Moore School and in economics with finance major from the Wharton School in 1988. He was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar at Penn. He received his PhD in physics from Harvard University in 1995.

After conducting post-doctoral research at Columbia University, Kotwal joined Duke University as a professor in 1999, where he is now the Fritz London Distinguished Professor of Physics {{Cite web|url=https://today.duke.edu/2014/05/distinguishedprofessors2014|title=Duke Announces 2014 Distinguished Professors|website=today.duke.edu|date=7 May 2014 |access-date=2016-05-31}} and has served as the Director of Particle Physics at the University.{{cite web|url=http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4632518914965596890&SectionId=4924098573178130559&SectionName=Top%20Stories&NewsDate=20120706&NewsTitle=Higgs%20boson%20discovery%20has%20Pune%20connection|title=Higgs boson discovery has Pune connection - Sakal Times|publisher=|access-date=2016-02-24|archive-date=2016-12-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221163244/http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4632518914965596890&SectionId=4924098573178130559&SectionName=Top%20Stories&NewsDate=20120706&NewsTitle=Higgs%20boson%20discovery%20has%20Pune%20connection|url-status=usurped}} Additionally, Kotwal was in charge of a Higgs boson search team as part of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, with the aim of proving the existence of the particle.{{cite web|url=http://annesastronomynews.com/after-higgs-is-the-turn-to-dark-matter-and-gravity/|title=After Higgs is the Turn to Dark Matter and Gravity|work=Anne's Astronomy News| date=15 July 2012 }} Kotwal was part of the CERN team that announced the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012. He conducts experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) as well as at Fermilab in Chicago.{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/LCH-could-give-evidence-of-evolution/articleshow/8930859.cms|title=LHC could give evidence of evolution|work=The Times of India|date=21 June 2011 |accessdate=24 February 2016}} In addition to his research, Kotwal presently coordinates U.S. physicists in the global effort to build a new collider with 7 times higher energy than the LHC, and has collaborated with the Chinese and European groups in this effort.{{Cite web|url=http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/201605/china-heir.cfm|title=China's Proposed Heir to the LHC|website=www.aps.org|access-date=2016-05-30}}

Kotwal leads the world in measuring the mass of the W boson, which is connected to the Higgs boson, using the data from the CDF and D0 experiments at Fermilab. In 2012, he analyzed 1 million W boson events to measure its mass to an accuracy of 0.02%,{{cite web|url=http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4998286174683172896&SectionId=4635700988208141724&SectionName=Nation&NewsDate=20120530&NewsTitle=Pune%20scientist%20devises%20method%20to%20measure%20%E2%80%98W%20Boson%E2%80%99|title=Pune scientist devises method to measure 'W Boson' - Sakal Times|publisher=|accessdate=24 February 2016|archive-date=21 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221155733/http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4998286174683172896&SectionId=4635700988208141724&SectionName=Nation&NewsDate=20120530&NewsTitle=Pune%20scientist%20devises%20method%20to%20measure%20%E2%80%98W%20Boson%E2%80%99|url-status=usurped}}{{cite news |last1=Kotwal |first1=Manik |title='डब्लू बोझॉन'-आख्यानाचा सूत्रधार |url=https://www.loksatta.com/sampadkiya/visheshlekh/w-bozon-narrator-creation-mystery-scientist-new-research-ysh-95-2917732/ |access-date=7 May 2022 |work=Loksatta |date=7 May 2022 |language=mr}} then the world's most precise measurement, which in turn allowed him to predict the mass of the Higgs boson prior to its discovery in 2012. In 2022, he analyzed 4 million W boson events to measure its mass to an accuracy of 0.01%.{{cite journal|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk1781|title=High-precision measurement of the W boson mass with the CDF II detector|year=2022 |doi=10.1126/science.abk1781 |last1=Aaltonen |first1=T. |last2=Amerio |first2=S. |last3=Amidei |first3=D. |last4=Anastassov |first4=A. |last5=Annovi |first5=A. |last6=Antos |first6=J. |last7=Apollinari |first7=G. |last8=Appel |first8=J. A. |last9=Arisawa |first9=T. |last10=Artikov |first10=A. |last11=Asaadi |first11=J. |last12=Ashmanskas |first12=W. |last13=Auerbach |first13=B. |last14=Aurisano |first14=A. |last15=Azfar |first15=F. |last16=Badgett |first16=W. |last17=Bae |first17=T. |last18=Barbaro-Galtieri |first18=A. |last19=Barnes |first19=V. E. |last20=Barnett |first20=B. A. |last21=Barria |first21=P. |last22=Bartos |first22=P. |last23=Bauce |first23=M. |last24=Bedeschi |first24=F. |last25=Behari |first25=S. |last26=Bellettini |first26=G. |last27=Bellinger |first27=J. |last28=Benjamin |first28=D. |last29=Beretvas |first29=A. |last30=Bhatti |first30=A. |journal=Science |volume=376 |issue=6589 |pages=170–176 |pmid=35389814 |bibcode=2022Sci...376..170C |hdl=11390/1225696 |s2cid=248025265 |display-authors=1 |hdl-access=free }} This measurement is more precise than all previous measurements combined. It is in significant tension with the value expected from the Standard Model of particle physics, and may imply the existence of new principles of physics in nature. In 2023, the ATLAS experiment released an improved measurement for the mass of the W boson, 80,360 ± 16 MeV, which aligned with predictions from the Standard Model.{{cite web |last1=Ouellette |first1=Jennifer |date=24 March 2023 |title=New value for W boson mass dims 2022 hints of physics beyond Standard Model |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/03/new-value-for-w-boson-mass-dims-2022-hints-of-physics-beyond-standard-model/ |access-date=26 March 2023 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}{{cite web |date=22 March 2023 |title=Improved W boson Mass Measurement using $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV Proton-Proton Collisions with the ATLAS Detector |url=https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/CONFNOTES/ATLAS-CONF-2023-004/ |access-date=26 March 2023 |website=ATLAS experiment |publisher=CERN}}

Kotwal was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2008, and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2012,{{cite web|title=Fellows of AAAS|url=http://membercentral.aaas.org/fellows?LastName=K&Section=B&Country=All&State=All&name=&company=|website=membercentral.aaas.org|accessdate=1 June 2016}}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} for performing high-precision measurements that helped deduce the mass of the Higgs boson.{{cite web|url=http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4623944963464890187&SectionId=5171561142064258099&SectionName=Pune&NewsDate=20130430&NewsTitle=Indian-origin%20scientist%20honoured%20in%20the%20US|title=Indian-origin scientist honoured in the US - Sakal Times|publisher=|accessdate=24 February 2016|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305031525/http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4623944963464890187&SectionId=5171561142064258099&SectionName=Pune&NewsDate=20130430&NewsTitle=Indian-origin%20scientist%20honoured%20in%20the%20US|url-status=usurped}}

Kotwal is the recipient of the Outstanding Junior Investigator Award from the US Department of Energy, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship. He has received the Dean's Leadership Award from Duke University{{cite web|url=https://trinity.duke.edu/faculty/award-winners#deanleadership|title=Duke University Award Winners|website=trinity.duke.edu|accessdate=31 May 2016}} and is a Fellow of the Maharashtra Academy of Sciences, India.{{cite web|title=Maharashtra Academy of Sciences Members|url=http://mahascience.org/files/Fellowship/files/academyMembers.htm#k|website=mahascience.org|accessdate=1 June 2016}}

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• [https://scholars.duke.edu/person/ashutosh.kotwal Duke Physics Profile]

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Category:1965 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century American physicists

Category:American academics of Indian descent

Category:American people of Marathi descent

Category:Scientists from Pune

Category:Particle physicists

Category:Duke University faculty

Category:Harvard University alumni

Category:University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni

Category:Wharton School alumni

Category:People associated with CERN

Category:Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society