Higgs collects Nobel award

The celebrated scientist Professor Peter Higgs has received his Nobel Prize in Physics at a ceremony in Stockholm.

The distinguished scientist has been honoured by the Royal Swedish Academy for his work in predicting the Higgs boson particle.

Professor Higgs came up with a theory for the particle, which is fundamental to the laws of physics, when he was a researcher at the University of Edinburgh in the 1960s.

Its existence was confirmed almost 50 years later, in 2012, by the CERN research facility near Geneva.

Video

In this short film, Professor Higgs reflects on the work which lead to the confirmation of the existence of the Higgs boson particle.

Professors Peter Higgs and François Englert

Professor Peter Higgs answers questions during a press conference ahead of the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm.

Professor Peter Higgs presents his Nobel lecture entitled "Evading the Goldstone Theorem" to an audience in Stockholm.

The 2013 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics, Professor Peter Higgs, addresses the traditional Nobel gala banquet at the Stockholm City Hall.

Professor Peter Higgs receives the Nobel Prize in Physics 2013 from King Carl Gustaf of Sweden during the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in the Concert Hall of Stockholm, Sweden.

The 2013 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics, Professor Peter Higgs, after receiving his Nobel Prize.

Professors Peter Higgs and François Englert presented Nobel lectures to an audience in Stockholm ahead of the Nobel Prize ceremony.

Royal presentation

I am overwhelmed to receive this award and thank the Royal Swedish Academy. I would also like to congratulate all those who have contributed to the discovery of this new particle and to thank my family, friends and colleagues for their support.

Professor Peter HiggsSchool of Physics and Astronomy

Professor Higgs shares the 2013 Prize with Professor Francois Englert of the Free University of Brussels, who independently researched the same theory.

Professor Higgs and other Nobel laureates were presented with a medal and diploma by the King of Sweden at a formal ceremony at Stockholm Concert Hall.

Presentations are followed by a banquet for laureates, their families and other guests at Stockholm City Hall.

Developing expertise

The University is building on the Higgs legacy by developing its expertise in physics.

It has welcomed the recent award of £10.7 million from the UK Treasury to create a Higgs Centre for Innovation.

The Centre will be based at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s UK Astronomy Technology Centre, at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh.

Also, a dedicated home for the Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics is to be established at the University’s King’s Buildings campus.

The Centre was created in 2012, following confirmation of the existence of the Higgs boson particle.

Free Higgs course

A free online course will soon be available from the University, giving insight into the work of Professor Higgs.

The seven-week course, the Discovery of the Higgs Boson, features interviews with the Professor and filmed lectures by other physicists at Edinburgh.

The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is to be offered via the FutureLearn platform.

Professor Higgs' Nobel Lecture

Professors Higgs and Englert presented lectures to an audience in Stockholm ahead of the Nobel ceremony.

Watch Professor Englert's Nobel Lecture, entitled The BEH Mechanism and its Scalar Boson, and Professor Higgs' Nobel Lecture, entitled Evading the Goldstone Theorem.