AGENDA ITEM NO 3
BRISTOL CITY COUNCIL FULL COUNCIL
9 JULY 2013
Report of:
Title: Proposal to Confer the Honour of the Freedom of the City on Professor Peter Higgs
Ward: Citywide
Report presented by: The Lord Mayor of Bristol
Contact Telephone Number: Lord Mayor's Office - 0117 903 1450
RECOMMENDATION (i) That the Freedom of the City of Bristol be conferred upon Professor Peter Higgs; and
(ii) That his name be placed on the Roll of Honorary Freeman of the City;
Summary To propose the granting of the Freedom of the City to Professor Peter Higgs
- 1 -
Policy
1. The proposal is made in accordance with the provision of the Local Government Act 1972.
Consultation
2. The City Council's Party Group Leaders.
Background and Assessment
3. The Citation attached to this report outlines the distinguished and eminent service rendered by Professor Peter Higgs and his influence as a 'friend' of the city.
4. Legal and Resource Implications
Legal The Council may admit to be an honorary freeman a person of distinction, and persons who have in the opinion of the Council, rendered eminent service to the City. The resolution must be passed by no less than two thirds of the members who vote upon it.
Financial None
Revenue The estimated cost of recognising the granting of the Freedom of the City would be less that £200 and would be met within existing budgets.
Capital None
Land None
Personnel None
Appendices: Appendix A - Citation outlining the distinguished and eminent service rendered by Professor Higgs.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT 1985 Background Papers:
None
- 2 - Professor Emeritus Peter Ware Higgs BSc, MSc, PhD, FInstP, FRSE, FRS
Peter Higgs has received international acclaim and recognition for his contribution to physics when on the 4th July 2012 the discovery of a new particle, consistent with the Higgs boson was announced. Professor Higgs and colleagues first theorised the existence of the particle in the 1960’s and it has often been referred to as the most sought after particle in modern physics. Scientific milestones such as this are rare and Professor Higgs has played a significant role in an international effort that has been globally recognised.
His father was a graduate engineer from Bristol University, who after joining the BBC was posted to Newcastle where Professor Higgs was born in 1929. The family returned briefly to Bristol where Higgs attended Cotham Grammar School between 1943-1946 before attending King’s College University of London graduating with a First Class Honours degree in Physics. A year later, he was awarded an MSc and started research, initially under the supervision of Charles Coulson and subsequently, Christopher Longuet-Higgins. In 1954, he was awarded a PhD for a thesis entitled 'Some Problems in the Theory of Molecular Vibrations', work which signalled the start of his life-long interest in the application of the ideas of symmetry to physical systems.
In 1954, Peter Higgs moved to the University of Edinburgh for his second year as a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Senior Student, and remained for a further year as a Senior Research Fellow. He returned to London in 1956 to take up an ICI Research Fellowship, spending a year at University College and a little over a year at Imperial College, before taking up an appointment as Temporary Lecturer in Mathematics at University College.
In October 1960 Peter Higgs returned to Edinburgh, taking up a lectureship in Mathematical Physics at the Tait Institute. He was promoted to Reader in 1970, became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1974 and was promoted to a Personal Chair of Theoretical Physics in 1980. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1983 and Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 1991. He retired in 1996, becoming Professor Emeritus at the University of Edinburgh.
Professor Higgs’ contribution to physics has also been recognised by numerous prestigious and academic honours throughout his career, including being made a Companion of Honour in 2013 New Years Honours. Other awards include the Hughes Medal of the Royal Society in 1981 (shared with T Kibble), in 1984 he received the Rutherford Medal of the Institute of Physics (also shared with T Kibble), the Saltire Society & Royal Bank of Scotland Scottish Science Award (1990), and the High Energy and Particle Physics Prize of the European Physical Society in 1997 (shared with R Brout and F Englert). Then in 2000 he received the Royal Medal of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Wolf Prize in Physics in 2004 (shared with R Brout and F Englert), and more recently he has had his handprints immortalised in Caithness stone in the quadrangle of Edinburgh City Chambers.
He has also received a unique personal Higgs medal from the Royal Society of Edinburgh as well as honorary degrees from University of Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Swansea, King’s College London, University College London, University of Cambridge, and Heriot-Watt University. The University of Edinburgh has also established the Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics to honour his outstanding achievements in the field of science. He has also been made a.
The 2012 discovery allows researchers to continue exploration of this new particle and provides inspiration for generations to come, representing the start of a new era in our continuous quest to understand the universe. The discovery is described as a breakthrough in world science and Professor Higgs has secured his place in history.
Councillors, I commend Professor Emeritus Peter Higgs to you as a worthy recipient of the ‘Freedom of the City’