Anders ''Gösta'' Ekspong (born Anders Gösta Carlson on 24 February 1922 in Skogstorp, Husby-Rekarne Township,

Södermanland County Södermanland County (, ) is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' on the southeast coast of Sweden. In the local Sörmlandic dialects it is virtually universally shortened and pronounced as Sörmlands län, or simply Sörmland, which is the ...

, – 24 February 2017) was a Swedish physicist and former professor at

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

. His main area of work was

atomic physics Atomic physics is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus. Atomic physics typically refers to the study of atomic structure and the interaction between atoms. It is primarily concerned wit ...

. Ekspong defended his thesis for doctorate in 1955 at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

with a dissertation on

Cosmic Radiation Cosmic rays or astroparticles are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Sol ...

under supervision of

Axel E. Lindh Axel may refer to: People * Axel (name), all persons with the name Places * Axel, Netherlands, a town ** Capture of Axel, a battle at Axel in 1586 Arts, entertainment, media * ''Axel'', a 1988 short film by Nigel Wingrove * ''Axel'', a Cirque ...

. Ekspong is considered to be one of the Swedish pioneers in the involvement of the particle physics laboratory at

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...

. At CERN, he was chairman of the Emulsion Experiments Committee from the early 1960s as well as member of the Scientific Policy Committee (1969-1975), where he also spent two years as chairman (1972-1974). He made a significant contribution to the search strategies that would later be used in the search of the

Higgs boson The Higgs boson, sometimes called the Higgs particle, is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics produced by the excited state, quantum excitation of the Higgs field, one of the field (physics), fields in particl ...

and participated in the technological development of

DELPHI Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

. Ekspong was elected as a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

in 1969. From 1975 to 1988 he was also a member of the

Nobel Committee for Physics The Nobel Committee for Physics is the Nobel Committee responsible for proposing laureates for the Nobel Prize for Physics.

where he held the post of chairman between 1987 and 1988. During his career Ekspong published several scientific publications regarding subjects such as

particle physics Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

and

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

, some together with researchers at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

and the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

. He is currently buried at

Skogskyrkogården (; ) is a cemetery located in the Gamla Enskede district south of central Stockholm, Sweden. It was inaugurated in 1920 and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. Its design, by Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz, reflects th ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ekspong, Gösta Uppsala University alumni People associated with CERN Swedish physicists Particle physicists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 1922 births 2017 deaths Burials at Skogskyrkogården