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Nearly fifty years after it was first theorised and twenty years after the experiment that helped to find it was first sketched out on a napkin, the Higgs Boson has helped win the UK its 120th Nobel Prize.

The 2013 Nobel Prize for Physics has gone to Professor Peter Higgs and Professor François Englert for their prediction of the existence of the Higgs in the 1960s. The hugely sought after particle was discovered in 2012 with the Large Hadron Collider amidst a wave of public excitement.

Finding the Higgs Boson marked a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the fundamental laws that govern the Universe. The knowledge gained in two decades of work at CERN on this has revolutionised our everyday lives.

The University of Edinburgh’s Professor Peter Higgs won the prize for the theory he developed in 1964 that fundamental particles have mass due to their interaction with a Higgs field. François Englert, Professor Emeritus at the Université Libre de Bruxelles has also been named on the prize.

Science and Universities Minister David Willetts said:

“I congratulate Professor Peter Higgs on his Nobel Prize. Higgs’ contribution to scientific discovery in the UK is enormous. Our Nobel Laureate thoroughly deserves this prestigious award.”

"We should also celebrate the efforts of the thousands of scientists and engineers all over the world who have worked on the Large Hadron Collider and the long search for the Higgs Boson.”

“This is the 23rd Nobel Prize for Physics to come to the UK – we should all be very proud of this wonderful achievement. It’s an incredible endorsement of the quality of UK science”.

Chief Executive of the Science and Technology Facilities Council and a particle physicist himself, Professor John Womersley, said:

"I'm extremely proud that this huge honour has been given to Peter Higgs and François Englert for their work in predicting the existence of the Higgs boson. Today is a celebration of their genius, and it's something everyone in the UK can share in. It took several decades and the construction of the world's largest science experiment to prove them right - and that investment didn't just teach us something new about the universe, it transformed our everyday lives. Particle Physics has brought us the World Wide Web, touch screens, superconducting magnets and medical imaging detectors, and it's an area of science where the UK is world-leading. STFC congratulates the winners of this well-deserved award, together with all of the scientists, engineers and industry partners involved in the world–wide collaborations that confirmed that their insight was correct."

Many people and organisations have made the discovery of the Higgs Boson possible. This is a triumph for CERN and for UK universities, particularly the University of Edinburgh where Professor Higgs worked but also the 19 other UK research groups involved in the discovery.

The UK’s share of the CERN budget is paid for by STFC who also support UK participation in the four LHC experimental detector projects, including the Higgs Boson detectors ATLAS and CMS. This investment, along with more than 200 UK nationals employed by CERN and nearly 600 UK scientists regularly working at CERN were a major contributor to the discovery of the Higgs Boson last summer.

In return, in addition to the significant breakthrough of finding the Higgs Boson, UK industry has been winning contracts throughout the life of the CERN project. In 2012 these contracts were worth £22 Million.

Notes to Editors

Media Briefing: The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) with Imperial College London will be hosting a media briefing in London at Imperial College London at 13:00 today, 8 October 2013.

Speakers will include, along with other researchers actively involved in this science area:

• Professor Grahame Blair Executive Director, Programmes at STFC
• Professor Tom Kibble CBE FRS, Imperial College London
• Professor Tejinder (Jim) Virdee FRS, Imperial College London and former spokesperson for CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider

Location details: The news conference will be held in the Physics common room, Level 8, Blackett Laboratory on Imperial College London's South Kensington Campus (building 6).

Please note if you are unable to make the media briefing you can dial in: 08455 454460 - Pin code 406168.

Additional information

More details about the UK’s involvement with the Higgs Boson.

Images and video

A collection of Higgs-related images can be found at the following links:

• Flickr
• CERN

A selection of Higgs videos are available.

Contacts

Lucy Stone
STFC Deputy Media Manager
Tel: +44 (0)1235 445627
Mob: +44 (0)7920 870125

Wendy Ellison
STFC Press Officer
Tel: +44 (0) 1925 603232
Mob: +44 (0) 7919-548012

STFC

The Science and Technology Facilities Council is keeping the UK at the forefront of international science and tackling some of the most significant challenges facing society such as meeting our future energy needs, monitoring and understanding climate change, and global security.

STFC pays the UK contribution to the CERN budget as well as supporting UK participation in the four LHC experimental detector projects, including the Higgs boson detectors ATLAS and CMS.

With nearly 600 UK scientists regularly working at CERN the UK has made major strategic investments in the LHC and the development of the experimental detectors and played a central role in much of the research that has taken place at the LHC in the last three years.

In addition to the work with CERN the Council has a broad science portfolio and works with the academic and industrial communities to share its expertise in materials science, space and ground-based astronomy technologies, laser science, microelectronics, wafer scale manufacturing, particle and nuclear physics, alternative energy production, radio communications and radar.

STFC operates or hosts world class experimental facilities including:

• in the UK; ISIS pulsed neutron source, the Central Laser Facility, and LOFAR. STFC is also the majority shareholder in Diamond Light Source Ltd.
• overseas; telescopes on La Palma and Hawaii

It enables UK researchers to access leading international science facilities by funding membership of international bodies including European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

STFC is one of seven publicly-funded research councils. It is an independent, non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).