Peter Higgs, the renowned physicist and Nobel Prize laureate credited with proposing the Higgs boson particle, passed away at the age of 94 at his home in Edinburgh on Monday.
In 2013, Higgs was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his ground-breaking work in 1964, which demonstrated how the boson played a critical role in binding the universe together by imparting mass to particles. His theory was validated through experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland in 2012, leading to the shared Nobel Prize with François Englert, another key figure in the particle physics realm.
A distinguished member of the Royal Society and a Companion of Honour, Higgs spent the majority of his illustrious career at the University of Edinburgh, which established the Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics in his honour in 2012.
Reflecting on Higgs’s legacy, Prof Peter Mathieson, the university’s principal, remarked, “Peter Higgs was a remarkable individual – a truly gifted scientist whose vision and imagination have enriched our knowledge of the world that surrounds us.”
Prof Fabiola Gianotti, director general at CERN, expressed her sorrow at Higgs’s passing, highlighting his exceptional contributions to physics and his humble nature.
Higgs’s prediction of the Higgs boson, which was confirmed in 2012, remains a pivotal moment in scientific history. John Ellis, former head of theory at CERN, described Higgs as a “giant of particle physics” whose insights revolutionized our understanding of fundamental particles and forces.
Jon Butterworth, a collaborator with Higgs, emphasized Higgs’s profound impact on the particle physics community, noting that the Higgs boson exemplifies how theoretical concepts can yield groundbreaking discoveries with profound implications.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awarded Higgs the Nobel Prize, underscored the significance of his work, stating that the standard model of physics hinges on the existence of the Higgs particle and its associated field, crucial for our understanding of mass and the fundamental nature of matter.
Despite his towering contributions to science, Higgs was known for his modesty and shyness, preferring a quiet life away from the limelight. His passing marks the end of an era in the field of particle physics.
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Higgs is survived by his two sons, Chris and Jonny, his daughter-in-law Suzanne, and two grandchildren. His wife, Jody, passed away in 2008.
