Science community pays tribute to physicist Peter Higgs

Nobel laureate who theorised the Higgs boson has died

The science community has been paying tribute to Peter Higgs, a “true giant of physics”, after his death at the age of 94.

The University of Edinburgh, which was where Higgs spent most of his career, said in a statement that he died after a short illness on 8 April. The physicist is best known for theorising the existence of a fundamental physical particle in 1964 that came to bear his name: the Higgs boson.

His idea was validated by experiments almost 50 years later, in 2012, at Cern, the European organisation for nuclear research. This led to Higgs (pictured at Cern) being jointly awarded the Nobel Prize a year later along with Belgian theoretical physicist François Englert.

The science community has reacted to Higgs’s death with an outpouring of condolences and words of admiration for the man who had such a profound impact on our understanding of the universe.

Keith Burnett, president of the Institute of Physics, said his organisation “would like to express our condolences to the family and many friends of professor Peter Higgs, a true giant of physics”.

“Professor Higgs’s legacy as the proposer of the Higgs boson and as the joint winner of the Nobel Prize in physics made him one of the most significant figures in world science and his life’s work is certain to continue to inspire, inform and advance our understanding of the universe for many generations to come.”

‘A man of rare modesty’

Cern’s director-general Fabiola Gianotti said Higgs was an “important piece of Cern’s history and [its] accomplishments [are] linked to him.

“Besides his outstanding contributions to particle physics, Peter was a very special person, an immensely inspiring figure for physicists around the world, a man of rare modesty, a great teacher and someone who explained physics in a very simple yet profound way,” she said.

Amid the swathe of tributes, there was consensus around Gianotti’s point that Higgs was humble and modest despite his great achievements.

Joel Goldstein, a professor of particle physics at the University of Bristol, said Higgs “never seemed comfortable with the fame he achieved, even though this work underpins the entire modern theoretical framework of particle physics”.

Peter Mathieson, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said he was a “remarkable individual” whose “vision and imagination have enriched our knowledge of the world that surrounds us”.

“His pioneering work has motivated thousands of scientists and his legacy will continue to inspire many more for generations to come.”

Profound impact

Tina Potter and Harry Cliff from the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge said it was “with heavy hearts” that they heard of Higgs’s death.

“His work on the origin of mass is the keystone of our standard model of particles and forces. Understanding the particle he first predicted in 1964 will be the great mission of particle physics well into the latter half of this century.”

Alan Barr, professor of particle physics at the University of Oxford, said: “From the mind of professor Higgs came ideas which have had a profound impact on our understanding of the universe, of matter and of mass. He proposed the existence of a field that pervades the entire universe, that gives mass to particles from electrons to top quarks. 

“He was also a true gentleman, humble and polite, always giving due credit to others and gently encouraging future generations of scientists and scholars.”

Scientists were not alone in paying tributes, with people from across different sectors and around the world paying their respects.

Chi Onwurah, the UK’s shadow science minister, said in a post on social media that she had the pleasure of meeting Higgs. She said he was “such a lovely, modest man, such a giant of science. We need more like him. My condolences to his family and friends.”