Professor of Physics Stephen Naculich was invited to give the May 3 “Uncommon Hour,” a student-run lecture series modeled after TED Talks. Prior to spring break, Bowdoin Student Government accepted nominations for speakers, and Naculich was one of the most popular nominees, according to Allen Wong ’14, BSG Vice President for Student Affairs.

Naculich spoke about the Higgs boson, the key to understanding the origin of mass. His talk, “Finding the ‘God Particle’: What is the Higgs boson, and why does physics need it?” was limited to 18 minutes. “I’m confident I can explain the Higgs boson in the 18 hours that have been generously alloted to me by BSG,” he joked before launching into his engaging lecture.

Physicist Stephen Naculich: Finding the ‘God Particle’ from Bowdoin College on Vimeo.