The Final Validation: A Nobel Prize for Peter Higgs

Today, the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences awarded the 84-year-old Higgs, along with Francois Englert, 80, of Belgium, a Nobel Prize in physics for their work in the discovery of the Higgs boson, the subatomic particle that helps explain the very structure of the universe.

The search for the Higgs boson was one of the most well-publicized physics experiments in history, and upon the discovery of the subatomic particle, Peter Higgs seemed a virtual lock to win the Nobel Prize in Physics. 

“I am overwhelmed to receive this award,” Higgs said in a statement released by the University of Edinburgh. “I hope this recognition of fundamental science will help raise awareness of the value of blue-sky research.”

This award is widely seen in the scientific community as the final validation of the discovery of the Higgs boson. 

In the video below, Peter Woit, Mathematical Physicist at Columbia University, explains the significance of the Higgs Boson. 

Watch here:

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