Science ministry names Jarzynski winner of 2026 Benjamin W. Lee Prize

The science ministry said Monday that Christopher Jarzynski, a professor at the University of Maryland, has been named the winner of the 2026 Benjamin W. Lee Professorship, an award honoring a physicist regarded as one of Korea's most influential theorists.

Jarzynski, 60, was chosen for deriving the Jarzynski equality, which calculates differences in free energy in non-equilibrium states and reshaped statistical mechanics, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics (APCTP). He received the 2019 Lars Onsager Prize, often described as the Nobel Prize of statistical physics.

The award is jointly run by APCTP and the Korean Physical Society (KPS) and was established in 2012 to honor the late Benjamin W. Lee, a particle theorist known as "Korea's Oppenheimer" whose work on gauge theory renormalization and charm particles contributed to research that produced ten Nobel laureates. The prize carries an annual ceremony and keynote lecture at the KPS autumn meeting, which runs from Oct. 21 to 23 at the Jeju International Convention Center.

Jarzynski will give a special two-day lecture at POSTECH in Pohang on Oct. 19 and 20, titled "Non-equilibrium statistical physics, generative AI and free-energy estimation." On Oct. 21 he will deliver the prize keynote at the KPS autumn meeting under the theme "Extending the laws of thermodynamics to the microscopic world."

APCTP, which marks its 30th anniversary this year, said it will keep building ties between international scholars and domestic researchers. "APCTP will continue to strengthen close networks between world-class scholars and domestic researchers and consolidate its role as a global hub," APCTP President Misao Sasaki said.

Yoon Kyung-sook, director of basic research policy at the science ministry, said the events build on Lee's legacy. "Held on the immense legacy of the late Dr. Benjamin W. Lee, this event will inspire the intellectual curiosity of young scientists who will drive the future of Korean basic science and present a new vision for research," Yoon said.