Carlo Rubbia is an Italian particle physicist and inventor who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Simon van der Meer for work leading to the discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN. The Nobel Prize in Physics 1984, announced October 17, 1984. Carlo Rubbia and Simon van der Meer, “for their decisive contributions to the large project, which led to the discovery of the field particles W and Z, communicators of weak interaction”. Carlo Rubbia: born 1934, Gorizia, Italy. Simon van der Meer: born 1925, the Hague, the Netherlands. Wiki link Wiki link Data: the Nobel Foundation (CC0).