Article written by Prof Victoria Martin, University of Edinburgh

The fourth of July 2022 saw the 10th anniversary of the discovery of the Higgs Boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Both Edinburgh and Glasgow are members of the ATLAS Experiment collaboration - one of the two experiments that made the discovery - and of the LHCb Experiment collaboration that investigates on other of particle physics phenomena, including the quantifying the asymmetry  between matter and anti-matter.

Edinburgh & Glasgow particle physicists celebrated the Higgs10 anniversary with an event at the National Museum of Scotland attracting around 400 participants. YouTube star & professional science communicator Dr Sam Gregson (aka "bad boy of science") presented two interactive shows; PPE PhD students & researchers provided hands-on exhibits - from make your own particle collision (aimed at the youngest attendees) to test-driving robots used in underground particle physics experiments. In the evening, around 100 invited guests, colleagues and supporters attended a drinks reception and talk by Prof Victoria Martin (Edinburgh).

It's been a year of ups and down, home working for some, back in the lab, classroom and office for others, and we wanted to take the opportunity to reflect back on all the successes of the last year. 

See our summary infographic below, but for those who prefer the written word, here is a summary of the successes acros SUPA in 2021:

The SUPA Public Engagement Forum aims to bring together those with a passion and interest for public engagement across SUPA and beyond. Exploring current activities and illustrating what can be achieved together with external partners with whom we work to promote public understanding of science.

The event will open with a Welcome from Prof Julie Fitzpatrick, Chief Scientific Advisor for Scotland.

We will hear from key science centres about what platforms and audiences they can provide for researchers, and learn from the experiences of those SUPA researchers and projects that have engaged with science centres. Speakers include:

SUPA would like to extend a very warm welcome to all our new students for the 2021/22 academic year!

We have lots of information available for you on our New Students page, which introduces you to what SUPA is, what you can expect from us, and what we need from you, to make your time with us a great experience!

Professor Catherine Heymans, a world-leading expert on the physics of the so-called dark universe, has been awarded the prestigious title of Astronomer Royal for Scotland, a title which dates back almost 200 years. Created in 1834, the position of Astronomer Royal for Scotland was originally held by the director of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh. Since 1995, however, it has been awarded as an honorary title. The previous holder, Professor John C Brown, passed away in 2019.

Prof Heymans was recommended to the Queen for the role by an international panel, convened by the Royal Society of Edinburgh. She is Professor of Astrophysics in the School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh and Director of the German Centre for Cosmological Lensing at Ruhr-University Bochum. Her research seeks to shed light on the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter – elusive entities that together account for more than 95 per cent of the Universe.

Once that spark and connection with the Universe is made,

This year's Annual Gathering will once again take place virtually: