The Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology (IPPP) is a leading international centre for research in particle physics phenomenology - the bridge between theory and experiment in the study of the tiny building blocks of all matter in the universe and of the fundamental forces that operate between them.

We are trying to understand what happens when elementary particles are smashed into each other at very high energies and we provide the theory and analysis behind experiments carried out at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a gigantic particle accelerator built 100m underground on the Swiss/French border at Geneva. We are seeking answers to some of the Universe’s greatest secrets such as the existence and the properties of the elusive Higgs boson, which is the final but crucial ingredient of the Standard Model. We are also working on the ambitious quest of identifying, predicting and studying physics scenarios beyond the Standard Model. This quest is closely related with the mysteries surrounding antimatter and dark matter, the possibility of supersymmetry, new fundamental forces and even the very modifications of the structure of space-time at very high energies.

The IPPP is a joint venture of Durham University and the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). Members of the IPPP also belong to the Centre for Particle Theory in Durham, based jointly in the Departments of Physics and Mathematical Sciences.

The IPPP forms part of the Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics, housed in a new building adjacent to the Physics Department. The building was officially opened by the Prime Minister on 18th October 2002, and the Inauguration Day for the Ogden Centre took place on 15th November 2002.