CAMBRIDGE — Jesse Thaler has been named director of the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Science, effective Aug. 1, 2026. He will succeed Bolek Wyslouch, who led the laboratory for 10 years.

Thaler is the William and Emma Rogers Professor of Physics in the MIT Center for Theoretical Physics — a Leinweber Institute. He has served as the inaugural director of the National Science Foundation AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions since 2020. The institute was renewed for another five years, and Mike Williams, a professor of physics, will succeed Thaler as its director.

Nergis Mavalvala, dean of the MIT School of Science and the Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics, commented on Thaler's work. "In his research, Jesse has done pioneering work on particle jets at the Large Hadronic Collider and is a leader in combining AI and machine learning with fundamental particle physics," Mavalvala said. "The collaborative nature of his research programs will serve the Laboratory for Nuclear Science as science enters a new era of AI-driven discovery."

Thaler also discussed the role of artificial intelligence in his field. "In my own field of particle physics, researchers are developing cutting-edge AI algorithms to handle the data deluge from collider experiments and to perform heroic theoretical calculations," Thaler stated. "This work has direct implications for discovering new physics, but the algorithms themselves turn out to be valuable well beyond our field."

Thaler and the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society created a doctoral program in physics, statistics, and data science. The National Science Foundation AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions also established dedicated postdoctoral fellowships. "Giving young scientists space to build connections across domains, universities, and career stages has been transformative within IAIFI," Thaler said.

Thaler joined the MIT faculty in 2010. He received a BS in math and physics from Brown University in 2002 and a PhD in physics from Harvard University in 2006. He was a fellow at the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science at the University of California at Berkeley from 2006 to 2009.

The MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Science was established in 1946 to support nuclear and particle physics. Its research encompasses cosmology, gravity, field theory, and quantum information science. Last year, the MIT Center for Theoretical Physics — a Leinweber Institute, received a donation from the Leinweber Foundation, which was used to establish a network of theoretical physics research institutes. The Science Philanthropy Alliance, a nonprofit organization promoting philanthropy for science, states this donation is the largest philanthropic commitment ever for theoretical physics.