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Eminent Physicists receive royal honours

June 16, 2014, 11:22 pm
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Eminent physicists receive royal honours

by Deborah Evanson, Colin Smith, Gail Wilson
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Two of Imperial's physicists best known for predicting and finding the Higgs boson have been knighted in this year's Queen's Birthday honours list.
Emeritus Professor Sir Tom Kibble, whose work led to the prediction of the mass-giving particle, and Professor Sir Tejinder (Jim) Virdee, who led on the design and construction of one the detectors that found the Higgs Boson, have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Both scientists are from the Department of Physics at Imperial College London.
kibble
Emeritus Professor Sir Tom Kibble
The Birthday Honours are bestowed by the Queen as part of the celebration of her official birthday. Philip Dilley - a member of Imperial’s Council and Chairman of Arup Group - has also received a Knighthood.
Professor James Stirling, Provost of Imperial College London, who is also a theoretical particle physicist, said: “I am delighted to hear that two of my longstanding friends and esteemed colleagues in the field of physics have been recognised with these great honours. The immense contributions that Tom and Jim have made to physics are undeniable, but I take particular pleasure in congratulating them because I have first-hand experience from my own research of the profound influence that their visionary ideas have had. I feel privileged to have worked alongside them and I have no doubt that I am joined by the entire physics community in celebrating their richly-deserved success.”
I feel privileged to have worked alongside them and I have no doubt that I am joined by the entire physics community in celebrating their richly-deserved success.
– Professor James Stirling
Provost, Imperial College London
Professor Tom Kibble is an eminent theoretical physicist whose pioneering work in the 1960s led to the mass-giving particle theory, which has come to be known as the 'Higgs mechanism'.
Alongside contributions from Peter Higgs, François Englert, and other physicists, Professor Kibble published the third research paper in 1964 that described how elementary particles acquire mass.
Their visionary ideas led to the eventual detection of a Higgs boson particle at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva, for which Higgs and Englert received the Nobel Prize in 2013. This prediction is one of the most important moments in scientific history.
In 2008 the paper in which Professor Kibble first theorised the existence of the Higgs boson, Global conservation laws and massless particles, was selected as one of the most important papers of the last 50 years by the leading journal Physical Review Letters.
Jim
Professor Sir Tejinder Virdee
Researchers at Imperial not only predicted the famous theory. They have also been central to the engineering of detectors built to find and verify the existence of the Higgs boson.
One of the UK’s most distinguished scientists, Professor Tejinder Virdee spearheaded the concept and design of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment, which is one of two of the main detectors of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Professor Virdee oversaw the construction of CMS and until 2010 was CERN’s lead spokesperson for the experiment.
In July 2012, results from the CMS experiment, together with another detector ATLAS, confirmed the existence of the elusive particle proving the theoretical work performed by both Professor Kibble and today's Nobel Prize-winning physicists.
Professor Virdee is an eminent innovator in the field of particle physics, but his knighthood also recognises his work campaigning for and promoting better science education in Africa and India.
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The Telegraph Calcutta, Knight toasts 'Sir' in glory

June 16, 2014, 11:25 pm
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Knight toasts ‘Sir’ in glory

AMIT ROY
Tejinder Virdee
London, June 16: To Sir with love: in his moment of triumph, when it was announced on Saturday that professor Tejinder Virdee had been honoured with a knighthood “for services to science” in the Queen’s birthday honours list, he did not forget the schoolteacher who gave him his passion for physics.
Born into a Sikh family in the foothills of the mountains of Nyeri in Kenya on October 13, 1952, Virdee was 15 when he came to England with his parents and siblings in 1967 and was taught physics by a teacher called Howard Stockley at King’s Norton Boys’ Grammar School in Birmingham.
Stockley was especially demanding when it came to Virdee. “Certain teachers have a gift of empathising with students, helping them out — and giving them wings to fly,” recalled Virdee. “I understood why he was so demanding — he expected a lot of me.”
The citation from Buckingham Palace set out why Stockley’s student is today Sir Tejinder Virdee: “Professor Virdee is one of the UK’s most distinguished physicists and, as one of the creators of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Experiment he has made outstanding contributions to science. The CMS experiment, at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), CERN, Geneva, has delivered seminal results in particle physics, including, and along with the ATLAS experiment, the groundbreaking discovery of the Higgs Boson. Beyond his innovative work in particle physics, he is also a great campaigner for science, and promoter of science and education in Africa and India.”
In 2012, Virdee and his wife Vatsala went to Birmingham to meet Stockley, who was then 80. It turned out to be a final goodbye, for Stockley was injured in a fall a few weeks later and died in hospital. It was an emotional meeting between guru and shishya. Virdee was touched to discover his old teacher had followed his progress from afar over the years. As Virdee left, Stockley bid him a tearful farewell.
On Saturday, Virdee and his wife were spending the weekend in France with friends in a picturesque village in Provence.
“I cannot believe it!” exclaimed Lady Virdee as she will now be called. “So excited! We are so delighted, we are so happy! And it is such a shock. Actually we are in the south of France in the most beautiful village in Paradou in Provence — something we had planned before we got this amazing news. We have got olive groves, beautiful trees and lavender and just about to go to the seaside and going swimming — a great way to spend our day.”
She passed the phone to her husband for whom the knighthood had been a “complete surprise”.
He revealed that in memory of “Sir”, he had been in touch with the headmaster at his old school in Birmingham.
“It is funny but I have been trying to set up a prize under his name at the school and it is only last week that I talked to the headmaster — I had sent him some messages earlier — and he replied. And so there will be a £100 prize for the best student in physics at that school at the end of A levels named after Howard Stockley — the Howard Stockley Prize.”
Virdee added: “My father would have also been very proud but he passed away a few years ago. Of course, my mum’s very happy.”
As for his work, there is much to be done in Geneva.
He is chairman of a review panel that is examining the data from when a Higgs Boson particle was found two years. “We are finishing the analysis and going to publish the final results.”
The LHC is also being geared up to do a new round of experiments next year. All this will be in pursuit of what Virdee calls “the new physics”. An attempt will be made to resolve the unified field theory first mooted but not completed by Albert Einstein.
He emphasised scientists had found “a Higgs Boson” and not necessarily “the Higgs Boson” since there were five.
“I am also working on innovative technology for replacement of one part of the detector which will improve its capability,” said Virdee. “We are looking 10 years ahead to 2025 so the aim is to maintain CMS as one of the most powerful instruments ever built.”
The Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie was among other notable people to be honoured. She was made a Dame but it is an honorary title and cannot be used before her name as she is a US national.
Jolie was recognised for her campaign against the systematic use of rape as a weapon of terror in war. Jolie, a special envoy of the UN high commissioner for refugees, was in London last week to co-chair a global summit, End Sexual Violence in Conflict (ESVC), with William Hague, the British foreign secretary.
Commenting on the honour, Jolie said: “To receive an honour related to foreign policy means a great deal to me, as it is what I wish to dedicate my working life to. Working on the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative and with survivors of rape is an honour in itself. I know that succeeding in our goals will take a lifetime, and I am dedicated to it for all of mine.”
Jolie won worldwide admiration last year when she disclosed she had undergone a preventive double mastectomy because she carried the “faulty” gene BRCA1, which sharply increased her risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
Her partner Brad Pitt described her decision as “absolutely heroic”.
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Royal Honours Sir Tom and Sir Jim

June 17, 2014, 8:46 am
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Eminent physicists receive royal honours

by Colin Smith, Deborah Evanson, Gail Wilson
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Two of Imperial's physicists, best known for predicting and finding the Higgs boson, have been knighted in this year's Queen's Birthday honours list.
Emeritus Professor Sir Tom Kibble, whose work led to the prediction of the mass-giving particle, and Professor Sir Tejinder (Jim) Virdee, who led on the design and construction of one the detectors that found the Higgs Boson, have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Both scientists are from the Department of Physics at Imperial College London.
kibble
Emeritus Professor Sir Tom Kibble
The Birthday Honours are bestowed by the Queen as part of the celebration of her official birthday.  Philip Dilley - a member of Imperial’s Council and Chairman of Arup Group - has also received a Knighthood. Captain David Peter HENSON, Corps of Royal Engineers, who is also studying for his MSc in Biomedical Engineering in the Department of Bioengineering, has received an MBE.
Professor James Stirling, Provost of Imperial College London, who is also a theoretical particle physicist, said: “I am delighted to hear that two of my longstanding friends and esteemed colleagues in the field of physics have been recognised with these great honours. The immense contributions that Tom and Jim have made to physics are undeniable, but I take particular pleasure in congratulating them because I have first-hand experience from my own research of the profound influence that their visionary ideas have had. I feel privileged to have worked alongside them and I have no doubt that I am joined by the entire physics community in celebrating their richly-deserved success.”
I feel privileged to have worked alongside them and I have no doubt that I am joined by the entire physics community in celebrating their richly-deserved success.
– Professor James Stirling
Provost, Imperial College London
Professor Tom Kibble is an eminent theoretical physicist whose pioneering work in the 1960s led to the mass-giving particle theory, which has come to be known as the 'Higgs mechanism'.
Alongside contributions from Peter Higgs, François Englert, and other physicists, Professor Kibble published the third research paper in 1964 that described how elementary particles acquire mass.
Their visionary ideas led to the eventual detection of a Higgs boson particle at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva, for which Higgs and Englert received the Nobel Prize in 2013. This prediction is one of the most important moments in scientific history.
In 2008 the paper in which Professor Kibble first theorised the existence of the Higgs boson, Global conservation laws and massless particles, was selected as one of the most important papers of the last 50 years by the leading journal Physical Review Letters.

Professor Sir Tom Kibble said: "I was very gratified by this public recognition of the work that for me has been a continual enjoyment.  My children were delighted, and are all keen to attend the investiture if they possibly can.  Since the announcement I have dealt with a huge stream of congratulatory emails.  My only regret is that my wife, who died almost a decade ago, could not have been here to join in the celebrations, which she would have thoroughly enjoyed.  An added bonus was to learn that the same honour was to be conferred on my friend and colleague Jim Virdee, whose work in designing, building and operating one of the huge detectors that found the Higgs boson I have long greatly admired."
Jim
Professor Sir Tejinder Virdee
Researchers at Imperial not only predicted the famous theory. They have also been central to the engineering of detectors built to find and verify the existence of the Higgs boson.
One of the UK’s most distinguished scientists, Professor Tejinder Virdee spearheaded the concept and design of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment, which is one of two of the main detectors of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Professor Virdee oversaw the construction of CMS and until 2010 was CERN’s lead spokesperson for the experiment.
In July 2012, results from the CMS experiment, together with another detector ATLAS, confirmed the existence of the elusive particle proving the theoretical work performed by both Professor Kibble and today's Nobel Prize-winning physicists.
Professor Virdee is an eminent innovator in the field of particle physics, but his knighthood also recognises his work campaigning for and promoting better science education in Africa and India.

Professor Virdee: “I was in my office in Geneva when I found out about the knighthood, which took me by surprise. It's really humbling and I'm truly honoured to be acknowledged in this way. Many brilliant scientists and engineers have worked tirelessly over two decades to make the discovery of a Higgs boson possible. I’ll definitely be celebrating over a glass of champagne with my family and friends.”
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BIRTHDAY HONOURS 2014 DIPLOMATIC SERVICE AND OVERSEAS LIST

June 18, 2014, 2:08 am
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BIRTHDAY HONOURS 2014 
 DIPLOMATIC SERVICE AND OVERSEAS LIST 

 NOTES ON HIGHER AWARDS 

 ORDER OF ST MICHAEL AND ST GEORGE 

KCMG 


Brendan GORMLEY MBE

Lately Chief Executive, Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). For services to the UK
emergency humanitarian response to disaster-affected people overseas

Brendan Gormley has been instrumental in the work to help save and improve millions of
lives around the world. He became DEC’s first Chief Executive in 2000 following a 24-year
period working for Oxfam. His leadership has brought transformational change with an
informal partnership growing into an internationally renowned British institution. He is
recognised for his long-term contribution to helping some of the poorest communities
overseas particularly those affected by major disasters like the 2004 Tsunami and Haiti
earthquake, with DEC having raised over £1billion.

Christopher HOHN

Founder and UK Foundation Trustee, The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).
For services to UK philanthropy and international development

Chris Hohn set up the The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation in 2002 and, as the sole
benefactor, has led its expansion to become the UK’s largest private charity for international
development that works to improve the lives of children in poverty in developing countries.
CIFF has made some of the largest single donations in the areas of HIV/AIDs, emergency
humanitarian aid, climate change, disease eradication and malnutrition positioning the UK as
a leader in global food security and nutrition and enhancing the UK’s reputation for
leadership on international development.

Philip LOWE

Lately Director General, European Commission, Brussels. For services to European policy

Philip Lowe has made a major contribution to the work of the European Commission since
he joined in 1973 when the UK joined the European Community. He has served as Director
General in Development, Competition and most recently Energy as well as Chef de Cabinet
to Commissioners Bruce Millan and Neil Kinnock. Philip Lowe has played a leading role over
a long and sometimes complex period including the financial crisis, during which he has
worked to enhance competitive markets through the European Union.

 


Simon McDONALD CMG

HM Ambassador, Germany. For services to British foreign policy and British interests in
Germany

Simon McDonald, whose career spans 30 years, has contributed significantly to enhancing
the important bilateral relationship with Germany since he took on this role in 2010. His
achievements in Germany have included leading a step change for British business which
has helped the UK become Germany’s leading trading partner as well as his work through
the Eurozone crisis, building on a longer term career including as HM Ambassador to Israel
and Foreign Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister.

Sebastian WOOD CMG

HM Ambassador, China. For services to British prosperity and British interests in China

Sebastian Wood has provided exceptional vision and leadership to the British representation
in China, one of HMG’s largest networks overseas, advancing British interests particularly
UK prosperity, investment and financial services, digital diplomacy, human rights, climate
change, the Olympics and enhancing the network of British Missions across China, building
on a 28-year career including as Director Asia Pacific, FCO and Private Secretary to Lord
Wilson, former Cabinet Secretary.

KNIGHT BACHELOR 

Professor Tejinder Singh VIRDEE

Professor of Physics, Imperial College, London. For services to science

Professor Virdee is one of the UK's most distinguished physicists and, as one of the creators
of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Experiment he has made outstanding contributions to
science. The CMS experiment, at the Large Hadron Collider, CERN, Geneva, has delivered
seminal results in particle physics, including, and along with the ATLAS experiment, the
groundbreaking discovery of the Higgs Boson. Beyond his innovative work in particle
physics, he is also a great campaigner for science, and promoter of science and education in
Africa and India.
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Queen Elizabeth II bestows Knighthood on Professor Tejinder (Jim) Virdee FRS

June 19, 2014, 12:01 am
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Queen Elizabeth II bestows Knighthood on Professor Tejinder (Jim) Virdee FRS

14 June 2014 London, England
Tejinder (Jim) Virdee has been honoured with a knighthood “for services to science”. This was announced on the Queen’s 2014 Birthday Honours list on 14thJune.
Jim said, "It was a complete surprise to me when I heard the news. To be frank it took a while for it to really sink in” adding “I am humbled and delighted”.
The long citation reads, “Professor Virdee is one of the UK's most distinguished physicists and, as one of the creators of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Experiment, he has made outstanding contributions to science. The CMS experiment, at the Large Hadron Collider, CERN, Geneva, has delivered seminal results in particle physics, including, and along with the ATLAS experiment, the groundbreaking discovery of the Higgs Boson. Beyond his innovative work in particle physics, he is also a great campaigner for science, and promoter of science and education in Africa and India.”

Jim added that, “Many thousands of brilliant scientists and engineers have worked on both experiments to make these results, and the Higgs discovery, possible. In particular I have had the pleasure and the honour to work closely with the many colleagues who have created the technological wonder that we call “CMS”.”

Jim has played a key role in all phases of CMS; the conceptual design, construction, commissioning and exploitation of physics and continues to be actively involved in the experiment. Looking ahead he says “no doubt next year will be another one filled with suspense for CMS as we again start to search for new physics at the higher energies”. He is also looking to the longer-term future of CMS with the proposal for a high granularity silicon based endcap calorimeter.
He continued “The discovery of a Higgs boson is only the end of one chapter in experimental particle physics.  We are about to embark on another new exciting one hopefully one that will reveal new unknown physics phenomena in the next more higher energy run of CMS.
Professor Tom Kibble, also from Imperial College London, has been knighted as well. Tom is one of six distinguished researchers whose pioneering theoretical work in 1964 revealed the mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking with the prediction of the Higgs boson, most likely to be the one we discovered in July 2012. Our warmest congratulations to Jim and Tom.




Jim at P5 CMS Control Room, Cessy France, at the startup of CMS in 2009
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Hearing the news in Paradou, Provence.

June 19, 2014, 11:26 pm
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Celebrating in Paradou by the poolside next to Brian's Boozle Bar on hearing the news of the Knighthood late evening 13 June 2014.
Drinking the very first bottle of celebratory Champagne!
Who's hiding the bottle of beer?
Who is drinking the beer?
Not me!
Anna, Vatsala, Tejinder and Brian 

Surrounded by aces of olive trees and lavender fields.
Anna and Brian are under their shady veranda covered in vines leaves overlooking the panoramic countryside. It's Monday 16 June, at their fabulous country estate holding up the article about the Knighthood in The Telegraph, Calcutta which actually mentions we are in Provence! Something to be chuffed about eh! A good reason to take a photo!
One two three pick up move shuffle and place!

Seaside lunch at Les Vagues at St Marie de la Mer Saturday 14 June 2014 just before dipping into the Mediterranean for a very very cold swim!  It took me at least 10 minutes to dare put my whole body in the water it was that cold! I just couldn't catch my breath enough to dip in immediately cause the icy water of the Med just took it all away! Outside temperature was a scorching hot 37C! Phew! Wonderful! Refreshing! And since it was so sunny and hot that day we ended up moving this lunching table all over the place (one, two three, pick up, move, shuffle and place) catching the shade to stay firmly under the gigantic parasol.  Here we are in 4th position eating sea bream, wild rice and ratatouille!
Who's drinking beer?
Not me!

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Midsummer Night's Dream

June 23, 2014, 9:15 am
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Midsummer Night’s Dream

Invitation for dinner to celebrate


Saturday, 21 June 2014, 7pm


At home with  Vatsala & Tejinder
Dress code: Summer Smart

6b chemin de la Cressonnière, 1294 Genthod

RSVP 
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Eastern Eye, Asian Voice, The Daily Telegraph, Calcutta, Monday 7 July 2014 Indian High Commission London

July 13, 2014, 3:28 am
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  • Sir Modest people: Ranjan Mathai (centre) with Tejinder Virdee (second from left), Vatsala (fourth from left) and other members of the family





















Ranjan Mathai, the Indian high commissioner, held a reception at India House last week for Dr Yusuf Hamied, to celebrate his honorary doctorate of science from Cambridge University, and Prof. Sir Tejinder Virdee, who was knighted by the Queen for his services to science — in Geneva, Tejinder built the detector that was crucial in finding the Higgs boson fundamental particle.
Also present was Tejinder's colleague from Imperial, (Chennai-born) Prof. Sir Tom Kibble, 81, who was knighted at the same time for his seminal paper and work on the Higgs boson.

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A Doctor Honoris Causa from the University Claude Bernard Lyon honor

August 4, 2014, 12:51 am
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A Doctor Honoris Causa from the UCBL honor


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Professor Tejinder (Jim) Virdee from Imperial College London, who UCBL awarded in 2013 the title of Honoris Causa of the University, was knighted by the Queen of England on 14 June 2014.
Virdee
Professor Virdee, now Professor Sir Jim Virdee, is one of the most renowned physicists of the United Kingdom.

After working on the UA1 experiment at CERN nobélisée, which highlighted the W and Z bosons, he was one of the creators of the CMS experiment at the LHC at CERN. He has worked extensively in this respect with members of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of Lyon , where he came to give a seminar entitled "The Quest for the Higgs Boson at the Large Hadron Collider" in late 2013. Responsible for international CMS collaboration until 2010, its contribution to the discovery of the Higgs boson was essential.

Sir Jim Virdee is also a great promoter of science. He has participated in many projects, particularly in Africa, India and the BBC.

It should be noted that Professor Sir Tom Kibble, also Emeritus Professor at Imperial College, whose work led to the prediction of the existence of this particle and is thus considered to be one of the fathers of the boson Higgs was knighted at the same time.

The Institute of Nuclear Physics of Lyon, through its director and many colleagues, extends its warmest congratulations to Professor Sir Jim Virdee!

Sir J. Virdee with Sir T. Kibble
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Ramgharia Gurdwara, 24 August 2014

September 1, 2014, 8:30 am
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Birmingham Gurdwara

WJKK WGJKF
Waheguru, Waheguru

Shri Guru Ji Ki Sangat

I am truly humbled to be here in the Ramgharia Gurdwara, Birmingham.
It is with sincere humility that I acknowledge and recognize the tremendous efforts and sacrifices made by our forefathers who brought our generation to the UK.

I want to pay homage to my late Papaji, Sardar Chain Singh Virdee and Biji, Bibi Udham Kaur, who changed continents twice, from India to Kenya, and then to the UK, to give us, their children, exceptional opportunities.

I also want to pay homage to my late father-in-law, Shri Mulshankar Oza who came to the UK in 1947 with his wife Smt. Ramaben Oza in 1950.

Today I would like to talk to you about success and disappointment. As true success always comes in small doses, by the grace of Waheguru.

As a young kids in Kisumu, Papaji and Biji, instilled in us the importance of a good education. They believed, I am sure like most of you here today, that a good life comes from a good education. 

For me, education in England was to give me the freedom to pursue fundamental science as a profession. My success has come in small doses by working with teams of scientists who would go on to make a major scientific discovery. But my journey into science also comes from having many disappointments.  Resolving problems, refocusing, and carrying on was always going to be a challenge. This has been the trend for me throughout my 40-year scientific career.

My early education in Africa was essential to how I would deal with these disappointments. The first one I can remember vividly when I was around 8 years old.  My clever elder brother, Lakh, was scoring high in class and I wasn’t doing well at all. He always came first and I almost last. My father rewarded him with a present for coming in first place.  Unfortunately, I did badly and achieved 26th place.  I cheekily asked Papaji for 26 presents! Papaji was not amused, and I was disappointed with myself.  I began to study very hard realizing that with every effort to achieve one small goal - success will come, but in small doses. 

My mother Biji coached us daily in arithmetic and English at home while Papaji worked as a customs officer. In 1967, realising that all their children had the potential to go to University they decided to move to the UK. 

My brothers and I went to Kings Norton Grammar School in Birmingham. There I had a passionate and demanding physics teacher. I was lucky, for he took a keen interest in me.  He expected a very high standard.  And he was very proud when his students did well. If I had not understood a problem he would come home to explain it to me all over again. He pushed me hard. I could not disappoint him. He was the one who inspired me to go into a career as mind-boggling as physics. 

Now I would like to tell you about my work in physics and talk about the Higgs boson.
I am Professor of Physics at Imperial College, London, doing research at CERN in Geneva, where I live with my family. In the early 90’s, with three colleagues, I started and led a very challenging scientific endeavour, the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Geneva. Today it comprises 3000 scientists and engineers from over 40 countries. It is one of two largest scientific experiments ever built, to search for the elusive Higgs boson, and probe Nature a fraction of a second after the Big Bang. 

The Higgs boson is the quantum of the field that pervades the entire universe, through which fundamental particles, like the electron, acquire mass. Mass is what gives our universe substance, and allows structures to form, so us to exist.

Foreseeing the challenges that lay ahead was almost impossible. Our experiment was faced with challenges that were at the same time scientific, technical, industrial, financial and managerial, of a magnitude never faced before in fundamental science. We suffered many setbacks, several major disappointments and constantly worked under enormous pressure and time-constraints.  We finally made a ground-breaking discovery of the Higgs boson in July 2012. Success was slow and long and took 20-years in the making.

Risks have to be taken when we try to discover the secrets of Nature. An example is a pioneering technique using crystals, crucial for the measurement of energies of electrons and photons to enable the detection of the elusive Higgs boson. These crystals were produced in a Russian factory that ran round the clock for over ten years encountering and overcoming many difficulties.

Many ask the question “Why do fundamental Science”?
Progress in fundamental Science allows us to get a deeper understanding of how Nature works. Over the centuries this understanding has very much altered the way we live – giving us a better life – providing us with paradigm shifting technologies, such as electricity, electronics, telecommunication, medical imaging, WWW, invented at CERN just over 20 years ago, to name a few.

And now let me say a few words about family as families provide the backbone for the lives we lead.

So let me again acknowledge the support of Papaji and Biji, the families here in the UK, of Pinder and Harvinder, Amrik and Bubli, the Birdi, the Sokhi and the Oza families, and abroad, in Washington, of Lakhbir and Kulwant and in Kenya, the Sokhi family, and the many relatives and friends, here in this great community of ours. It is a profound sorrow for me that Papji and Mulshanker Oza is not here to celebrate with us, for they would have been very happy and proud.

My success would not have been possible without the support, for almost 40 years, of my loving wife, Vatsala. She has provided the bedrock for our family. She also has worked for 35 years in the United Nations refugee agency in Geneva, and throughout she has supported our children in their education, giving them a family life that has allowed them to flourish and taste success. Natisha is a school teacher in London and Jas is now working in the UN in Geneva after finishing his PhD at Oxford.

So success comes in small doses with great perseverance and application and by the grace of Waheguru.

Thank you to all who have performed “seva” for today.

Let me end with a few words from our Ardas

Sikhaan’ dah maaNN neevaan’, maTT ouchee,

WJKK WGJKF
Tejinder Virdee




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Knighthood Party Wilmslow Cheshire 6 Setpember 2014

September 15, 2014, 2:36 pm
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Bharat and Rashmi 

 cordially invite you to celebrate
at their home

Tejinder's Knighthood
and

on

6 September, Saturday night 

7.30pm


Wilmslow, Cheshire

  

6 September 2014
Wilmslow, Cheshire
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you all for coming to this special occasion for Vatsala and I.
In particular I would like to thank my mother-in-law Ramaben Oza, Rashmi and Bharat, Tejus and Neehil for hosting this fabulous party tonight in honour of Vatsala and myself. 
Vatsala, as you know, was born in Manchester and spent her early years studying in Alderley Edge.   Every chance she got throughout the years living and working abroad in Geneva she’s never missed an opportunity to be in Wilmslow with her family and friends.
 
I’ve had the incredibly good fortune to meet my beautiful wife Vatsala in Geneva in 1975 when some of my fellow physicists told me about a glamorous young British-Indian girl they had just met.  They told me, quite rightly, that I should definitely meet her, so with great anticipation, I took them up on the offer! It was to be an introduction of a lifetime journey of love and friendship already in its 40th year. At the time she was studying, and I was a young physics student also studying, for a doctorate at Imperial College London and working at CERN in Geneva.  

Vatsala went on to have a tremendous career working full-time with the United Nations in Geneva spanning 28 years where her humanitarian work would be to help displaced refugees fleeing for their lives across borders all over the world - and through it all - we had our two children Natisha and Jas and she wrote a successful fiction book called Rubies and Rickshaws.  Our children are here tonight, Natisha with her fiancé Andrew and Jas with his partner Devani.

In 1976, I met Bharat and Vatsala’s parents, Ramaben and Mulshanker Oza. Bharat has been a devoted brother to Vatsala, always there to support her throughout.  For me Bharat has been a model brother-in-law, supportive and reliable for 40 years.  Bharat and Rashmi have been a pillar of friendship to us and we could not have this party without their kindness, love and support. 

I want also to pay my respects and remember the Late Mulshanker Oza.  Many of you here will remember him fondly. Without his vision and tenacity, his bravery and foresight to come to the United Kingdom in 1947 alone and penniless, speaking very little English,  to a devastated London just after Indian Independence and the Second World War, our family would not be here today.  London was so badly damaged after the WWII that my father-in-law decided to come to Manchester to find work.  Today Mulshanker Oza would have been proud and delighted for his family.

I would also like to remember my late father, Chain Singh Virdee and my mother Udam Kaur who is here today.  Both my parents also made difficult decisions and sacrifices to afford their children a good education. My family came to the UK from Kenya in 1967 when I was 15 years-old.

So to end, let me thank you all for coming tonight and in particular our many guests from Geneva, family members and guests from Birmingham, London and Brighton who made the journey - up north - just for us.

So again thank you Ramamben, Bharat and Rashmi for hosting us tonight to celebrate the past and welcome in the future.

Thank you
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Asian Achievers Awards 2014 Professional of the Year Award

October 8, 2014, 7:25 am
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At a glittering awards ceremony in London, organized by the Asian Achievers Awards 2014, Virdee received the award for his outstanding achievements in the field of physics.

Virdee's design and construction of CMS also lead to the discovery of Higgs Boson that merited the 2013 Physics Nobel Prize.

In recognition of his work on CMS he has been awarded the Institute of Physics 2007 High Energy Physics Prize and the IOP 2009 Chadwick Medal and Prize.

He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Institute of Physics in 2012 and in 2014 he was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to science.

The award recipients on Friday night also included Dr Richie Nanda, an international security magnate and the Executive Chairman of Topsgrup and The Shield Group (Entrepreneur of the Year).

Other award recipients were Bombay-born Hanif Kureishi, an English playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker and novelist (Achievement in Media, Arts and Culture), Wasim Gulzar Khan, the first British born Pakistani to play professional cricket in England (Achievement in Community Service), Dilawar Singh, Director, Sports Council for Glasgow, the first Asian and Sikh police officer in Scotland, who spent over 30 years with Strathclyde Police (Sports Personality of the Year).

Priya Lakhani, a former barrister who founded the FMCG business Masala Masala in 2008 (Woman of the Year).

Sir Anwar Pervez, founder and chairman of Bestway Group (Lifetime Achievement Award), Mahmud Kamani, a leader in fashion industry (Business Person of the Year), Shahid Khan (Editor's Award for Rising Star) and Late Flt Lt Rakesh Chauhan (Editor's award for Bravery and Patriotism).

Philip Hammond, MP, Britain's Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth affairs, who was the Chief Guest, said a new generation of Asian entrepreneurs is encouraging the British Asian community to expand into new sectors.

"Today, 50,000 British Asian businesses in the UK together generate more than 60 billion pounds nationwide," he said.

Organizer of the event, C B Patel, Publisher/Editor, ABPL Group, said, "The Asian Achievers Awards prides itself on showcasing remarkable people and role models and our 2014 nominee list exemplifies that perfectly.

The High Commissioner of India to the UK, Ranjan Mathai was among the prominent personalities present on the occasion.
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Winner of the Gujarati Samacher, Professional of the Year

October 8, 2014, 7:27 am
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22 Setpember 2014 
Thank you Ladies and Gentlemen,

It's a great honour to receive this award.  

Just briefly I would like to say a few words about the importance of scientific research. Doing scientific research and making progress in fundamental Science, allows us to get a deeper understanding of how Nature works which goes on to improve the way we live and at the same time continues to explore the universe around us.  All this, ultimately, inspires us scientists to continue our thirst for the quest for knowledge!

Over the centuries this deep understanding of science has very much altered the way we live – giving us a much better life and a far better future.  Scientific research has given us paradigm shifting technologies, such as electricity, electronics, telecommunication, medical imaging and the World Wide Wide invented at the Centre for European Particle Physics in Geneva, Switzerland 20 years ago. Without it we could not be the society we are today. 

I would like to thank the organizers of the 2014 Asian Achievers Awards for this prestigious award.


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Exporing Whichlight by Kawan Virdee, Open Web Artist

October 9, 2014, 2:40 am
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Watch Kawandeep Virdee on youtube by Jonathan Dana


Bubblegum postcards, projecting on building images from your mobile phone using sounds and dots
Dancy Dots, connecting sounds and music on a webpage through dots. Creating a virtual world using creativity and artistry.
Cellular network devises projected on a mural

Building an Artist's Web Canvass to make sounds to develop interactive and collaborative works

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Christmas Day 25 December 2014

December 29, 2014, 2:14 am
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Christmas Day, 25 December 2014

December 29, 2014, 2:14 am
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Tejinder Singh Virdee Knighted 17 October 2014

March 10, 2015, 8:01 am
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Experimental particle physicist Tejinder Virdee accorded prestigious Knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II


On 17 October 2014, Tejinder Virdee FRS was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle.  He is best known for his innovative design, physics research and overseeing the construction of the gigantic CMS Experiment at CERN located 100 meters underground in a vast cathedral-like cavern at the Large Hadron Collider. 

Sir Tejinder, also Professor of Physics at Imperial College in London, was named a Knight Bachelor for his Services to Science in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, released in June 2014.

Sir Tejinder, the citation reads, is one of the UK's most distinguished physicists and, as one of the creators of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Experiment, he has made outstanding contributions to science.

The CMS experiment, at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva, has delivered seminal results in particle physics, including the groundbreaking discovery of the Higgs Boson, a particle that gives mass to other particles.

Beyond his innovative work in particle physics, he is also a great campaigner for science, and promoter of science and education in India and in Africa where he was born.

Sir Tejinder, 62, developed new technologies within the detector that allowed it to find the Higgs - the mechanism that explains how fundamental particles acquire mass, and ultimately explains why our universe has substance.

Asked how he felt upon receiving the news, he said, "This accolade was a complete surprise to me. It's really quite humbling and of course I'm delighted to receive it. The Higgs boson is a very special type of particle - a type we've never seen before. It has unusual properties that we need to study and understand in more detail”, he said. 

Sir Tejinder celebrated his knighthood in style.
“My wife Vatsala and I had three grand and memorable events.  Celebrations kicked off last summer with a garden party around our swimming pool in Geneva with my scientific colleagues, friends and family. Another event was held in Birmingham, which my mother organized at the Sikh Gurdwara. And finally on 6 Sepember, Ramaben Oza, Rashmi and Bharat and family organized a big Bollywood bash in Cheshire at Vatsala’s family home. 

On the day of the Knighthood we opted to have a small intimate family luncheon in Windsor following the official ceremony at Windsor Castle. This gave us a chance to really soak in the events of whole day, relax and talk about the Queen, prolonging the excitement of a truly fantastic day for all of us".




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UNAIDS Gala 19 March 2015 at the Intercontinental Geneva

March 20, 2015, 2:03 am
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The Lady, the Knight and the Elusive Higgs Boson! UNHCR Dialogue

April 13, 2015, 2:19 pm
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The Lady, the Knight and the Elusive Higgs Boson!

Former UNHCR staff member and author Vatsala Virdee was accorded the honourable title of Lady Virdee on 17 October 2014 when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II knighted her husband, Tejinder, at Windsor Castle for his services to science.
Vatsala’s career in the United Nations spanned 28 years.  She first worked for UNDRO (OCHA) in 1981, followed by a long and successful career in DIP, SMS, DIST and the Staff Council at the UNHCR.  However, it was only in 2005 that we discovered that we had a writer in our midst when she published her first novel, Rubies and Rickshaws, a romantic story set in the Himalayas. Inspired by her experiences while living in India in the early 70’s, Vatsala wrote it all down creating this fairytale romance. 
Born British to parents from India, Vatsala’s father took a big step when he decided to leave India. Her father had been displaced from his home in Karachi following the partition of India and, in 1947, decided to leave the Indian sub-continent altogether to start a new life in the UK.  He borrowed just enough money to buy a ticket on the first passenger steamer to leave Bombay for Southampton after independence, arriving alone and penniless in post WWII London.  He would become a successful businessman and repay the borrowed sum a few years later. He also built a school in his native village back in India, which Vatsala and her husband, Tejinder continue to support.
Having grown up in the UK, Vatsala decided to move to Geneva in her late teens where she met her husband, particle physicist Tejinder Virdee, in 1975.  I asked her to tell me the story behind her husband’s recent knighthood.
She explained that Tejinder, who is Professor of Physics at Imperial College in London, is based at CERN, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory located on the Franco-Swiss border.  In the early 1990s physicists at CERN began designing an accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which could recreate some of the conditions present in the universe immediately after the Big Bang. The LHC needed powerful detectors so Tejinder and a handful of colleagues designed and then with colleagues from all over the world built the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), which had the potential to record any new fundamental particles the LHC could produce.
On the 4th July 2012, CMS and a sister experiment discovered the elusive Higgs Boson.  CMS can be described as a gigantic state-of-art digital camera, able to take 40 million 3D pictures per second of some events similar to those that would have been occurring moments after the Big Bang. CMS is located 100 meters underground in a vast cathedral-like cavern, and weighs a hefty 14,000 tones. The LHC is like a super-highway 27-kilometer tunnel smashing sub-atomic particles at speeds very close to that of the speed of light.  All this is only accessible by way of a lift shaft designed to take physicists, engineers, and equipment up and down to the underground tunnel. The Higgs Boson is the last of the fundamental particles of the Standard Model of Physics, the most powerful scientific theory humankind has ever devised.
Tejinder, also of Indian origin was born at the foothills of Mt. Kenya, Nyeri, and studied in Kisumu, Kenya until the age of 15. In 1967 his family settled in the UK. Now, as one of the UK's most distinguished physicists, Tejinder is well known for developing new technologies within CMS that enabled it to prove the existence of a field, whose quantum is the Higgs boson, and hence the mechanism that explains how fundamental particles acquire mass, and ultimately why our universe has substance. To acknowledge his extraordinary contribution to science he was awarded a knighthood, which was bestowed by the Queen herself.
Angelina Jolie, the UNHCR Special Envoy, was also among the recipients in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list of 2014, becoming an honorary Dame.
I asked Vatsala how she sees her life now that she is titled Lady Virdee.  “Nothing has really changed. Life after UNHCR carries on as normal,” she says, “I’m delighted for my husband who risked so much professionally to stick with a project he firmly believes in.  To achieve success and then get the recognition for it is a bonus.  We met the Queen and that was a fantastic moment – one we’ll never forget!“
During her retirement, Vatsala has always stayed connected to UNHCR and helps the Staff Council whenever she can. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Vatsala for this interview and extend sincere congratulations to Professor Sir Tejinder and UNHCR’s own Lady Virdee!  By Peggy Brown


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Remembering Rita 1945 - 2015

April 25, 2015, 2:48 pm
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Remembering Rita 1945 - 2015

Rita disliked fuss.   She was pretty straightforward about most things. She would fidget when things got overly complicated for no reason. In fact, this was a delightful quality she had.  She would often say to me, ‘Why make something so complicated when it’s not complicated at all!

Rita started work for UNHCR in 1973.  I met her in 1992 when she joined the computer section. She came to the section when desktop computers were becoming available to all staff for the very first time and laptops were becoming popular in the mobile workplace.  At that time, I was responsible for the purchasing, installation and shipment of all computer related equipment to the field by truck, ship or plane and Rita was responsible for managing the international loan pool for laptops operating out of Headquarters.  So we both worked very closely together discussing daily the new emergencies we had to handle and how best to deal with each situation which was always vastly different from the previous one. 

She was one of the first staff members in the computer section in the early 90’s to have made a successful career managing the hugely popular loan pool for laptops for more than 1000 staff members at Headquarters. Laptops used to be just too heavy, had a short battery life and often broke down, but this did not deter her in the least.  She would be at her desk during many lunch breaks fiddling about with her laptops until she got them going.  Rita was responsible for emergency preparedness – that is staff that would go to the field to take care of refugee situations at short notice.  She also had an extensive online computer system making absolutely sure that no-one would even dream of running off with her precious equipment!

Her contribution to UNHCR’s humanitarian effort was something that Rita took very seriously. She stood her ground for what she believed in and her idea of a lifestyle was to be true to that. Her strong work ethics played an important role in her life.  Rita was reliable, always available, never took sick leave, and never quit until she had solved every technical problem she faced and this meant she was full of surprises.  She was also an expert on the UN Staff Rules, Staff Rights, the complicated UN Pension fund, and knew all about how to manage your money in retirement!  I learnt a lot from her. So when she retired at the end of 2003, after 30 years of dedicated service to UNHCR, many colleagues, including myself, missed her.

We celebrated many events together in particular the annual Christmas lunch, which started in 1984.  Rita enjoyed this enormously.  She always looked forward to these warm get-togethers and over the years our dear colleagues became our dear friends.  It was at these special occasions she would tell us her quirky interesting stories about her life in New York in the 60’s with her sister Gwen. A true fan of the rock group - Queen - she was very much a babe of the 60’s and 70's – really into their music. 

However, Rita’s primary focus was always her loving son Christopher.  Coffee mornings at the office were always about Christopher - he achieving his maturity - and growing up into a handsome young man with such great promise.  How very proud she was of him.  I remember the time when he worked in a bank.  Disillusioned by the world of banking, he decided to leave to become a primary school teacher.  Rita took delight in his choices and successes and then the most exciting moment came when her son married Nadine becoming her loving daughter-in-law. 

During these last most difficult weeks Rita and I talked about the future, her fears, her concerns, her past and her present.  You see Rita was a lady who had truly enjoyed her life and was grateful for the good times.  In particular, she told me she would miss her dear sisters Gwen and Pat who she leaves behind.

I met Pat some years ago when she requested a visit to CMS at CERN's Large Hadron Collider, which Rita asked me to organise.  Last week, Pat came back to Geneva to spend quality time with Rita just a few days before she passed away.  I know how precious and important Pat’s love and support meant. 

Rita’s sister Gwen, who Rita also cherished and loved, was with Rita during her last 6 days.  Gwen, who had tragically lost her own young son 20 years ago to the sea, consoled Rita in her last hours.   Realising that her time was limited, Rita remained philosophical, brave and resilient to the end.  Her last wishes to me were that it was important to her that she was able to spend some time with the people she loved.  She knew she had to leave us and she accepted that.  She said that her family should stay strong, they should stay united and that they must do their best without her – the best they know how in her memory.

And finally, I would like to mention Rita’s best friend, Liz Tayfun who Rita met her first week in UNHCR in 1973 in the English typing pool.  It was there they discussed how they could find better jobs and thereon remained good friends for 40 years helping each other through the drama of life and Liz remained true to friendship soothing her to the end.

I’m trying not to cry for Rita.  But however hard I try to fight back the tears, I can only cry, and, as every tear trickles from my heart like dew on a morning meadow, I know she would be fidgeting in her seat and telling me ‘don’t make the situation more complicated then it actually is and don’t make such a fuss, all on account of me!’

Her family was everything
Her faith paramount
Her son and his wife her legacy
God Bless Rita
May she rest in peace





The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announces with profound regret the death of

Ms. Rita Kitto Burki
Former Staff Member

on 17 April 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Ms Rita Kitto Burki joined UNHCR in July 1973 as a Shorthand Typist at Headquarters in Geneva. In 1975, she was assigned as Secretary in the PPR Unit and subsequently as Secretary in the Public Information Section. In 1992, Rita joined the IT & Telecom Service (ITSS) as Senior EDP Clerk. In 1998 she was appointed in ITTS as EDP Assistant, a position held until her separation from the organization at the end of 2003.

She leaves behind her son Christopher.

The funeral ceremony will take place on Thursday, 30 April 2015 at 10 a.m. in the Sainte-Croix Church in Carouge, Switzerland.

Colleagues wishing to express condolences may do so by addressing them to the staff council (HQSR00@unhcr.org ) who will transmit them to the family.


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