Professor Philip Harris

Philip Harris, Professor of Physics and Head of School for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, has decided to retire this summer, after a long and distinguished career at the University of Sussex.

Professor Harris began his career as a secondary school teacher in Upminster, before completing a PhD at the University of New Mexico in 1990. He joined the University on a lectureship in 1994, progressing to become Head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy from 2011–2014 and then, since 2016, Head of School.

Professor Keith Jones, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) and Acting Provost, said: “Philip’s dedication to his School and service to the wider University has been outstanding.

“His strong leadership over the past 12 months in particular, with all the challenges brought on by the pandemic, has played a significant part in the University’s ongoing response.

“I’m sure all staff will join me in thanking Philip for all he has contributed to Sussex over nearly three decades, and I personally wish him all the very best for an enjoyable retirement.”

Professor Harris has worked for most of his career on the measurement of the neutron electric dipole moment, a small asymmetry in the structure of the neutron that is strongly related to the question of why the universe contains so much more matter than antimatter. This is a fundamentally important measurement in particle physics, and for more than two decades a small collaboration led by the Sussex group held the world sensitivity record. 

Professor Harris also led for a period the nascent Sussex neutrino group, now well known for its expertise in calibration of large detectors, and was in addition instrumental in enabling the establishment of the highly successful ATLAS LHC group. 

The nature of his career has led him to work in laboratories worldwide: at Los Alamos, CERN, Fermilab, ILL (Grenoble) and PSI (Switzerland).

The University will soon be advertising for Professor Harris’ replacement as Head of School, with a view to appointing an interim head initially.