Don Lincoln is a self-described “atom smasher.” More specifically, he’s a particle physicist who works as a senior scientist for Fermilab, America’s flagship particle physics laboratory. At Fermilab, the 1986 physics and mathematics graduate uses a large particle accelerator, which allows him and his colleagues to essentially smash the center of atoms together at near the speed of light and convert that energy to look for things that normally do not exist in nature.

“We’re able to recreate temperatures that were last common in the universe about a tenth of trillion of a second after the universe began,” said Lincoln. “We are recreating the Big Bang and trying to understand the laws of matter and energy, space and time. … I perform research to better understand the fundamental laws of nature and why reality acts the way it does.” 

That’s just one side of the work Lincoln does on a regular basis. The other side is taking these high-level particle physics and cosmology concepts and translating the science to a language the general public can easily comprehend. He does this through writing books, articles, and his highly successful YouTube channel with more than 800,000 subscribers. 

Lincoln has received awards for his scientific communication skills. In 2024, he was given the Klopsteg Memorial Lectureship Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers and the Dwight Nicholson Medal for Outreach from the American Physical Society. He received the 2017 Andrew Gemant Award from the American Institute of Physics for cultural, artistic or humanistic achievements in physics. Lincoln also received a Career Achievement Award from the Rose-Hulman Alumni Association in 2018.  

Lincoln praises his physics professors for their dedication to students and credits them for the solid undergraduate education he received at Rose-Hulman. His involvement with the Institute has come full circle as he is now the parent of a current Rose student. His son, David, will graduate with a degree in civil engineering this spring.