A 98-year-old pioneering physicist who gave up her PhD 75 years ago to have a family has received an honorary doctorate from her old university.

In 1948, Rosemary Fowler’s findings at the University of Bristol paved the way for critical discoveries that would rewrite the laws of physics.

Her discovery of the Kaon particle helped lead to a revolution in the theory of particle physics. But in a post-war Britain, she decided to leave academia when she married fellow physicist Peter Fowler in 1949 and went on to have three children.

Dr Fowler said she felt “very honoured”, but added: “I haven’t done anything since to deserve special respect.”