The prize, which was awarded to him jointly with Francois Englert, comes in recognition of his work on the famously elusive boson that bears his name which scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) triumphantly discovered in July last year.

Just days after the announcement, which made global news, Professor Higgs was at Swansea to lecture at an international physics conference, an appearance which was streamed live through the university website and proved to be the highlight of the event.

Professor Higgs has strong ties to Swansea University, and in July 2008 was awarded a Fellowship during the degree ceremony for the School of Physical Sciences.

He has previously given lectures at Swansea University during National Science Week and has taught current members of the Physics Department as research students including Professor Simon Hands FLSW, previously of CERN and now Director of Research at the College of Science.

Swansea University also has strong links with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN which was built to find the Higgs Boson. Swansea University alumnus and Honorary Fellow,Professor Lyn Evans CBE FRS, was Director of the LHC project, while many members of the academic staff at the Department of Physics have also worked on the CERN project.

Professor Simon Hands said: “Peter's achievements in physics have profoundly changed the way we view the world at the sub-atomic level, and are a testament to the breadth of his knowledge and scope of his curiosity. I am delighted his work has been recognised and I along with the rest of his friends here at Swansea University send our warmest congratulations to him.”

Vice Chancellor of Swansea University, Professor Richard B Davies said: ‘We are all celebrating the success of Professor Higgs, an Honorary Fellow at Swansea University, on being jointly awarded the Nobel prize for Physics. Over the years, we have valued hugely the support and advice that Professor Higgs has given our Physics department, which includes a number of leading researchers on particle physics. We were also very pleased that, within days of finding the Higgs-Boson particle, Professor Higgs spoke about the discovery at Swansea.’

 To view Professor Simon Hands interviewing Professor Peter Higgs and the lecture My Life as a Boson by Professor Higgs at Swansea University please visit http://www.swansea.ac.uk/media-centre/livestreaming/higgs-boson/

ENDS

Picture: Professor Peter Higgs receiving his Honorary Fellowship at Swansea in July 2008

Professor Peter Higgs at Swansea University in July 2012.

Professor Lyn Evans at Swansea University in September 2012