'God particle' scientist Peter Higgs wins Nobel Prize

Peter Higgs shared the Nobel Prize with Francois Englert for their work on the theory of the Higgs boson.

12:35 09 October 2013

Peter Higgs has scooped a Nobel Prize for his work on the theory of the Higgs boson. He is sharing this award with Francois Englert from Belgium.

They are among several physicists who proposed a mechanism to explain why the most basic building blocks of the universe have mass. This predates the Higgs boson, a particle that was discovered in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Cern, in Switzerland.

Prof Higgs said in a statement released by Edinburgh University where he is an emeritus professor of theoretical physics: "I am overwhelmed to receive this award and thank the Royal Swedish Academy.”

"I would also like to congratulate all those who have contributed to the discovery of this new particle and to thank my family, friends and colleagues for their support.

"I hope this recognition of fundamental science will help raise awareness of the value of blue-sky research."

Meanwhile, Francois Englert, 80, said that he was very happy. He added: “At first I thought I didn't have [the prize] because I didn't see the announcement.”