Particle physicist named honorary doctor at prestigious Swedish university

Professor Stefano Moretti from the University of Southampton’s High Energy Physics Group is to be awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Uppsala University in Sweden.

The honour recognises a rich collaboration in both theoretical and experimental high-energy physics between our University and a historic European institution that has spanned two decades and resulted in some 30 research papers.

Stefano will be conferred an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree by the Faculty of Science and Technology alongside fellow Southampton academic Professor AbuBakr Bahaj in five new honours announced by Uppsala University this autumn.

The accolade from one of Europe’s oldest and most renowned universities follows in the footsteps of celebrated physicists like Dirac Medallist Roman Jackiw, Clerk Maxwell Professor John Ellis (FRS CBE), CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti and Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek.

Stefano says, “I feel honoured, given the prestige of Uppsala University, to be awarded this title and am more determined than ever to continue my research, even if I may never be able to accomplish as much as many of my illustrious predecessors.

“This is a clear recognition of the importance of not only my own work but also of that of any individual who has engaged with me over the years in research: innumerable students, post-docs and colleagues from within Southampton’s High Energy Physics Group. The output of this collaboration has been tremendous and I trust this award is a means of furthering ongoing collaborations into the years to come.”

Stefano’s research interests are in collider phenomenology, exploring physics beyond the Standard Model. He is the Director of the NExT Institute, a body bringing together theorists and experimentalists in the process of new physics discovery.

The Honorary Doctorate from Uppsala University opens the door for regular visits and sustained collaboration with local theorists and experimentalists that will enrich high-energy physics research at both institutions.

The academic interactions to date have included grants from the Svenska Institutet, the C.M. Lerici Foundation, The Italian Institute of Culture and currently a Horizon 2020 European Commission award.

Southampton’s High Energy Physics Group studies the most elementary constituents of matter, the basic forces of nature by which they interact and their role in the early Universe. Find out more through the High Energy Physics group website.

Stefano has recently published a book which documents the context of his research, titled Supersymmetry Beyond Minimality: From Theory to Experiment.