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Dr. John L. Climenhaga died on May 27 at home in Victoria. He was 91.

Dr. Michael Roney (physics and astronomy) is the new director of the Institute of Particle Physics, which promotes Canadian excellence in particle physics research and education. The institute is the focal point for particle physics activities in Canada and a point of contact for partners in labs and universities around the world.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva is relatively quiet right now, because the giant underground machine is offline until 2015. Of course, scientists would be quick to point out that even when protons are streaming through the circular tunnel, the subatomic collisions of trillions of particles would still not be audible. The excitement over the discovery of the elusive Higgs boson particle was deafening last summer. And now, the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics has gone to two of the original theorists—Francois Englert and Peter Higgs—who helped predict this particular aspect of quantum physics. Two decades ago, the original UVic group brought Canadians into the international LHC project and its hunt for the Higgs.

The ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø played a key role in tracking down the Higgs boson particle last year. Now its researchers are available to comment on the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics being awarded to Prof. Peter W. Higgs and Prof. François Englert, as an…

Anyone needing proof that students love learning through research had only to attend the second annual Faculty of Science Honours Fest March 1, where students vied for thousands of dollars in prize money. The Bob Wright Centre lobby buzzed with action as the 48 competitors—almost triple the number from last year—presented their research to judges, fellow students and community members.