Nobel prize-winning physicist Steven Weinberg dies at 88

Physicist Steven Weinberg, who won the Nobel prize in 1979 with two other scientists for their separate contributions unlocking mysteries of tiny particles and their electromagnetic interaction, has died at 88, the University of Texas at Austin says.

A professor at the university since the 1980s, Weinberg died Friday in Austin, Texas, according to his wife Louise, says UT spokesperson Christine Sinatra. The Jewish physicist had been hospitalized for several weeks, but a cause of death was not released, according to Sinatra.

“The passing of Steven Weinberg is a loss for The University of Texas and for society,” UT President Jay Hartzell says in a statement.

“Professor Weinberg unlocked the mysteries of the universe for millions of people, enriching humanity’s concept of nature and our relationship to the world,” Hartzell adds.

In 1979, Weinberg shared the Nobel prize in physics with scientists Abdus Salam and Sheldon Lee Glashow. Their work improved the understanding of how everything in the universe relates, according to a UT statement.

The work helped physicists unify two of the four forces of nature — subatomic forces known as nuclear forces, said Sean Carroll, a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.