Frank Wilczek

Professor of Physics, MIT

Frank Wilczek is an American theoretical physicist, mathematician and a Nobel laureate. He is currently the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Wilczek, along with David Gross and H. David Politzer, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2004 for their discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction. He is on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Future of Life Institute. His new book is titled A Beautiful Question: Finding Nature's Deep Design.

Wilczek is also the newly announced recipient of the 2022 Templeton Prize, which, valued at over $1.4 million, is one of the world’s largest annual individual awards. The Templeton Prize was established by the late global investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton. It is given to honor those who harness the power of the sciences to explore the deepest questions of the universe and humankind’s place and purpose within it. Watch Dr. Wilczek’s Templeton Prize announcement video here.

Everything Videos

Black and white close-up photograph showing the upper part of an elderly person’s face and their white, unruly hair against a dark background.

The Well

The symmetry that shaped physics: Frank Wilczek on Einstein’s legacy

Nobel Prize winning physicist Frank Wilczek reflects on Einstein’s greatest contribution.

Black and white illustration of circular, radiating patterns with one large labeled circle "A" showing a central orbit-like design among several smaller circles.

The Well

The strong force: holding our Universe together

Frank Wilczek is celebrated for his investigations into the fundamental laws of nature that have transformed our understanding of the forces that govern our Universe. In this video, the MIT […]

Illustration of a nude male figure with arms and legs extended in two positions, inscribed in a circle and square, known as the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci, exemplifying the law of symmetry in human anatomy.

The Well

A mind-blowing explanation of symmetry

Basic and breath-taking – Dr. Frank Wilczek addresses symmetry’s critical role in nature’s laws and what we consider to be beautiful.

John Templeton Foundation

Why Humans See More Colors than Dogs, but Fewer than Birds and Insects

“What we perceive as color — what we perceive as light — corresponds to a very narrow band of frequencies, out of an infinite continuum," says Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek.

Does Physics Allow for a Plurality of Truths? Maybe Not, but Reality Might.

Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek argues that understanding basic physical laws is sufficient to grasp how the mind works, but that may not explain everything about the mind.

The Most Beautiful Equation: How Wilczek Got His Nobel

Frank Wilczek was one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2004 thanks to his work researching the so-called strong force.

Symmetry: How Einstein Changed the Way We See Everything

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Frank Wilczek details the broad influence Albert Einstein had on his career, as well as society as a whole.

The Science of Why Nature Is Beautiful to Us

Science and art are complementary disciplines, according to Nobel Prize-winning physicist Frank Wilczek. Together they allow us to explore whether the world embodies beautiful ideas.

Why ‘Change without Change’ Is One of the Fundamental Principles of the Universe

Symmetry is about way more than splitting circles: It's change without change, and it has applications throughout mathematics, physics, and nature.

Learn from the world's biggest thinkers.

© Copyright 2007-2026 & BIG THINK, BIG THINK PLUS, SMARTER FASTER trademarks owned by Freethink Media, Inc. All rights reserved.