New annual US$3 million Fundamental Physics Prize recognizes transformative advances in the field
31 July 2012: The Milner Foundation announces today the launch of the Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation (“Foundation”) dedicated to advancing our knowledge of the Universe at the deepest level by awarding annual prizes for scientific breakthroughs, as well as communicating the excitement of fundamental physics to the public.
Two categories of prizes will be awarded for past achievements in the field of fundamental physics, with the aim of providing the recipients with more freedom and opportunity to pursue even greater future accomplishments. The Fundamental Physics Prize recognizes transformative advances in the field, while the New Horizons in Physics Prizes are targeted at promising junior researchers.
All prize recipients are invited to present public talks targeted at a broad audience, on subjects ranging from the basics of modern physics to cutting-edge research. These lectures, together with supporting materials, will be made available to the public, allowing them to keep abreast of the latest developments in fundamental physics, guided by contemporary masters of the field.
In its inaugural year, the Milner Foundation has awarded nine Fundamental Physics Prizes and the recipients are:
- Nima Arkani-Hamed
- Alan Guth
- Alexei Kitaev
- Maxim Kontsevich
- Andrei Linde
- Juan Maldacena
- Nathan Seiberg
- Ashoke Sen
- Edward Witten
All the recipients have agreed to serve on the Selection Committee of the Foundation to select recipients of future prizes.
The Foundation announces also that Steven Weinberg, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate, has agreed to join its Board of Directors. Mr. Weinberg did not participate in the process of selecting prize recipients.
Yuri Milner commented:
"I am delighted to announce the launch of the Fundamental Physics Prize and welcome its first recipients. I hope the new prize will bring long overdue recognition to the greatest minds working in the field of fundamental physics, and if this helps encourage young people to be inspired by science, I will be deeply gratified”.