Great physics relies on great teamwork. The ATLAS Collaboration brings together over 6000 scientists, engineers and other professionals from around the world, drawing on their wealth of experience to keep the experiment running and drive new discoveries. Since 2014, the ATLAS Outstanding Achievement Awards have celebrated contributions made outside the context of a physics analysis, shining a spotlight on the hard work that takes place behind the scenes.

On 15 October 2026, the ATLAS Collaboration hosted the ninth edition of the awards at CERN, honouring one individual and seven teams. Many of this year’s recipients addressed critical challenges, from diagnosing upgrade electronics issues to repairing cooling-system leaks before beam operations were disrupted. Others helped maintain outstanding detector performance, expanded public access to ATLAS data and developed future-focused computing and trigger technologies.

“These awards recognise an extraordinary range of achievements,” said Martin Rybar, co-chair of the 2026 Awards Committee. “What unites these efforts is the collaborative spirit of the people involved. Their work keeps ATLAS running and makes the full breadth of our physics programme possible.”

Each of the 88 nominations was carefully evaluated by the ATLAS Collaboration Board Chair Advisory Group, which served as the Awards Committee, with input from experts in each category. “Choosing the recipients is never easy,” added Gordon Watts, co-chair of the 2026 Awards Committee. “The quality of the nominations reflects the remarkable work taking place across the Collaboration, and we warmly congratulate everyone recognised this year.”

The awards were presented during the ATLAS Collaboration Week in CERN’s Main Auditorium. Awardees received framed certificates to warm applause from their colleagues, along with congratulations from the Award Chairs, the Collaboration Board Chair and the ATLAS spokesperson.

Find out who won the 2026 ATLAS Outstanding Achievement Awards on the ATLAS website.