Nobel Prize winner, the late Professor Peter Higgs has bequeathed his medal to the University of Edinburgh.
The physicist won the international award in 2013 for his proposal which changed our understanding of the world.
As a researcher at the university Professor Higgs predicted the existence of a fundamental physical particle which was named after him – the Higgs boson. He predicted the particle which enables other particles to acquire mass. The idea was validated by experiments conducted almost half a century later at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland.
Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said: “This generous gift will ensure that Peter Higgs’ extraordinary contributions to science will continue to inspire generations of students and researchers. We are profoundly honoured to have been entrusted with his Nobel Prize medal, an object of immense historical significance and a lasting emblem of his legacy.”
Born in Newcastle
Born in 1929 in Newcastle upon Tyne, Peter Higgs joined the staff of the University of Edinburgh in 1960. He took up a lectureship at the Tait Institute of Mathematical Physics and became Personal Chair of Theoretical Physics in 1980. Professor Higgs retired in 1996, becoming Professor Emeritus. Th was a well known figure in the New Town until he died in 2024.
The late professor did not accept a knighthood when it was offered but became a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour. The Nobel Prize will be cared for by the University’s Centre for Research Collections and displayed at events and exhibitions. It will be on show at the Higgs Lecture in 2026.
The Nobel Prize was shared with Belgian scientist François Englert.
The Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics was established by the University of Edinburgh in 2012 to recognise Professor Higgs’ achievements and create opportunities for students and researchers from around the world to formulate new theoretical concepts.
Professor Neil Turok, Higgs Chair of Theoretical Physics at the University of Edinburgh, said: “The prediction of the Higgs boson was a theoretical breakthrough, fundamental to our understanding of the laws of physics. It is fitting that Peter Higgs’ Nobel Prize medal is now preserved at Edinburgh, forming a lasting part of the University’s scientific heritage. Through our Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, his seminal discovery continues to serve as a springboard for those seeking answers to some of the deepest mysteries of our universe.”
