TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A scientist who had a leading role in last year’s discovery of the Higgs boson – touted as one of the top findings of this generation – will discuss the particle’s detection during an Aug. 28 public talk at The University of Alabama.
The talk by Dr. Albert de Roeck, a senior research scientist at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in Gallalee Hall, room 227.
De Roeck is also a professor at the University of Antwerp, in Belgium, and a visiting professor at the Institute of Particle Physics and Phenomenology in Durham, United Kingdom, and at the University of California Davis.
The newly discovered subatomic particle, for which scientists had searched for decades, gives other particles their mass and confirms what’s known as the standard model, a theory of physics that describes how the universe works.
CERN, located near Geneva, Switzerland, is the home of the Large Hadron Collider, the particle accelerator used during research that led to the July 2012 discovery announcement that made headlines in main-stream media markets around the world.
De Roeck was the deputy spokesperson of the experiment in 2010 and 2011, and he is the convener of the Higgs search physics group. He regularly gives seminars and lectures all over the world and frequently discusses physics and the discovery with media.
The talk is sponsored by UA’s department of physics and astronomy. The department is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships, Truman Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.
Contact
Chris Bryant, UA media relations, 205/348-8323, cbryant@ur.ua.edu