Yesterday, we celebrated the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2013 that was awarded Francois Englert and Peter W. Higgs "for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider." The celebration started with a brilliant talk on the subject by professor Eilam Gross. Professor Eilam Gross is the convener of the statistical data analysis forum of the ATLAS detector in its search for the Higgs particle. I had the pleasure to give a small speech during dinner, and here is my text: “There´s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” is the title of a famous talk given by the physicist Richard Feynman at Caltech in 1959, the year I was born. Feynman talked about manipulation at atomic level – we call it nano-technology today. However, atoms are big! Today we have heard Eilam Gross talk about something that is close to nothing, however, extremely important to understand the innermost secrets of the universe. The experiments at CERN has revealed the Higgs particle that was announced by the two Nobel Prize winners Francois Englert and Peter W. Higgs in their theoretic work on the subject in 1963 - fifty years ago! Today, we celebrate the fact that Francois Englert and Peter W. Higgs has been awarded the Nobel-prize in physics for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles – also referred to as the theory behind the Higgs particle. Recently, as you all know, the theory by Englert and Higgs was confirmed through an experimental discovery of the predicted particle – the Higgs boson. This was done by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider". This brings me to a short personal experience from CERN. In February 1999, on behalf of the Research Council of Norway, I visited CERN and the group of Norwegians working at CERN. (My host at CERN, Steinar Stapnes, also introduced me to the downhill slopes of Chamonix – in particular the heavy “off piste” slopes close to Aiguille de Grands Montets. I can still feel my souring knees after this trip!) Back to my visit at CERN. One of the things I remember most was the visit to the hall, or more precisely the big hole in the ground, where the ATLAS-experiment was under construction. I also remember I was told that this thing called ATLAS, which was not yet there, was going to be the biggest (and most expensive) camera that the world has ever seen. Almost 13 years later this enormous camera captures the Higgs particle! Norwegian physicists and engineers have played a crucial role in designing, building and operating the ATLAS detector since CERN decided to build the detector in 1995. You, good colleaques at the Department of Physics here at the University of Oslo, have participated in the entire chain of research, from the construction of the instruments and the infrastructure for data management, execution of the experiment and data acquisition, modeling of theoretical ideas, search for and the discovery of the new particle, and last but not least communication of results to a wide audience. The video with Alex Read is a masterpiece! Congratulation, you have contributed to an historic event – the detection of the Higgs particle – and the world is one step closer to understanding the innermost secrets of the universe. Together with 6000 physicist and engineers from all over the world you deserve, today - the day when Francois Englert and Peter W. Higg got the Nobel Prize in Physics in Stockholm, a slice of this famous prize. On behalf of the University of Oslo, The Faculty of Matematics and Natural Sciences and myself – congratulations with a scientific achievement that has brought the world one big step ahead by discovering a tiny small particle of great importance.
