John Huth

John Edward Huth, the Donner Professor of Science at Harvard University, has uniquely combined cutting-edge particle physics with ancient navigation techniques throughout his remarkable career. After earning his A.B. from Princeton University in 1979 and Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 1985, he established himself in experimental particle physics through positions at Fermilab before joining Harvard in 1993, where he served as Physics Department Chair (2002-2006). His primary research focuses on electroweak symmetry breaking through his work with the ATLAS Collaboration at CERN, contributing to the Higgs boson discovery. A personal kayaking experience and the tragic loss of two young kayakers in fog off Cape Cod inspired him to develop expertise in traditional navigation, leading to his acclaimed book "The Lost Art of Finding Our Way" (2013) and his popular Harvard course "Primitive Navigation." His work spans from sophisticated particle detection at CERN to teaching students how to navigate by natural phenomena like waves, stars, and wind patterns. A Fellow of the American Physical Society and member of the Radcliffe Institute's Venture Faculty Program, Huth advocates for maintaining our connection to natural navigation skills while advancing our understanding of fundamental physics.