Several researchers from Wayne State University had good cause to celebrate Wednesday after scientists at the CERN laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland announced they had data supporting the existence of the most elusive particle in physics. The Higgs boson is a particle thought to give matter mass that is predicted by the standard model of particle physics. Using an accelerator, CERN scientists in two separate experiments created a particle that holds many of the properties theorized for the Higgs boson. Their discovery is based on complementary research conducted at the recently closed Collider outside of Batavia, Ill., which had Wayne State University faculty on its team. "I feel fantastic," said Dr. Robert Harr, a professor in WSU's Department of Physics and Astronomy. "To finally convince ourselves that this is the Higgs boson will take more work, but the results themselves are just fantastic. This particle has been hunted for the last 45 years." The WSU group has been involved in the project for over 10 years and has played a leading role in the research there. They were responsible for precise calibration of the calorimeter electronics, which play an important role in getting accurate measurements.

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