It is with great sadness that Illinois Tech announces the passing of Leon M. Lederman.

Lederman joined the physics faculty at Illinois Tech in 1992 and held the position of Pritzker Professor of Science until his retirement. Lederman was a particle physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1988 with Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger. He was Director Emeritus of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois. He also founded the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, in Aurora, Illinois, in 1985.

In recognition of his distinguished career, the physics department named their annual lecture in honor of Lederman. It features prominent names in the world of physics, including Richard Garwin, Freeman Dyson, Carl Wieman, George Smoot, Donald Eigler and Nigel Lockyer. Members of the physics faculty and others have pledged money to permanently endow the Lederman lecture.