Giovanni Jona-Lasinio

An Italian theoretical physicist at Sapienza University of Rome, Jona-Lasinio pioneered the idea of spontaneous symmetry breaking in particle physics. The Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model, developed with Yoichiro Nambu, showed how particle masses can arise dynamically; when Nambu won the Nobel Prize, Jona-Lasinio delivered the lecture in his place. He has documented Jewish ancestry on his father's side.