After developing a primitive theory (1968) I therefore did not pursue this subject. However, the work was taken up by others and in 1974 the first experiments were done in the ISR.

Van der Meer and Ernest Lawrence are the only two accelerator physicists who have won the Nobel prize. The W and Z bosons had been theoretically predicted some years earlier and their experimental discovery was considered a significant success for CERN. Van der Meer and Rubbia shared the 1984 Nobel Prize for their decisive contributions to the project.