Breakthrough Prize – “The Oscars Of Science” – Celebrates Top Achievements In Physics, Life Sciences & Mathematics, Awards $22 Million In Prizes At Gala Televised Ceremony In Silicon Valley

2018 Breakthrough Prizes in Life Sciences Awarded to Joanne Chory, Don W. Cleveland, Kazutoshi Mori, Kim Nasmyth, and Peter Walter.

2018 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Awarded to Charles L. Bennett, Gary Hinshaw, Norman Jarosik, Lyman Page Jr., David N. Spergel, and the WMAP Science Team.

2018 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics Awarded to Christopher Hacon and James McKernan.

New Horizons in Physics Prizes Awarded to Christopher Hirata, Douglas Stanford, and Andrea Young.

New Horizons in Mathematics Prizes Awarded to Aaron Naber, Maryna Viazovska, Zhiwei Yun, and Wei Zhang.

Third Annual International Breakthrough Junior Challenge Won by Hillary Diane Andales.

Laureates to be honored at glittering awards gala hosted by Morgan Freeman, with live performance by Wiz Khalifa and musician Nana Ou-Yang, and presentations from Mayim Bialik, Lily Collins, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Katie Ledecky, Kerry Washington, John Urschel, Miss USA Kára McCullough and the founders of the Breakthrough Prize.

December 3, 2017 – (San Francisco) – The Breakthrough Prize and sponsors Sergey Brin, Yuri and Julia Milner, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, Anne Wojcicki, and Pony Ma, will tonight announce the recipients of the 2018 Breakthrough Prizes, which recognize top achievements in Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics and Mathematics. A combined total of $22 million will be awarded at the gala ceremony in Silicon Valley, to be hosted by Morgan Freeman, which will air live tonight on National Geographic at 10p ET/7p PT. Each Breakthrough Prize award is $3 million, the largest individual monetary prize in science.

This year, a total of seven $3 million prizes will be awarded. In addition, three $100,000 New Horizons in Physics Prizes will be awarded to three early-career physicists, and three New Horizons in Mathematics Prizes totaling $300,000 will be awarded to four early-career mathematicians. The Breakthrough Junior Challenge will recognize one student with a $250,000 scholarship and provide an additional $150,000 in educational prizes for the winner’s science teacher and school.

Since its inception in 2012, the Breakthrough Prize has awarded close to $200 million to honor paradigm-shifting research in the fields of fundamental physics, life sciences, and mathematics.

“The Breakthrough Prize was created to celebrate the achievements of scientists, physicists, and mathematicians, whose genius help us understand our world, and whose advances shape our future,” said Breakthrough Prize co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg. “The world needs their inspiration, and their reminder that even though it doesn’t always feel that way, we are making steady progress toward building a better future for everyone. Priscilla and I want to congratulate all of tonight’s laureates and give our deepest thanks for all that they do.”

The 2018 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences will be awarded to Joanne Chory (Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Howard Hughes Medical Institute), Don W. Cleveland (Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at University of California, San Diego), Kazutoshi Mori (Kyoto University), Kim Nasmyth (University of Oxford) and Peter Walter (University of California, San Francisco).

The 2018 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics will be awarded to Charles L. Bennett (Johns Hopkins University), Gary Hinshaw (University of British Columbia), Norman Jarosik (Princeton University), Lyman Page Jr. (Princeton University), and David N. Spergel (Princeton University).

The 2018 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics will be awarded to Christopher Hacon (University of Utah) and James McKernan (University of California, San Diego).

Laureates will take to the stage tonight at an exclusive gala co-hosted by founders Sergey Brin, Yuri and Julia Milner, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, Anne Wojcicki, Pony Ma, and Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. Academy Award®-winning actor Morgan Freeman will host the show, which will feature a performance by multi-platinum selling hip hop artist and entrepreneur Wiz Khalifa with musician Nana Ou-Yang, presentations from actress Mila Kunis, actor and investor Ashton Kutcher, critically acclaimed actress and producer Kerry Washington, actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik, actress Lily Collins, U.S. Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, former NFL player turned mathematician John Urschel and Miss USA Kára McCullough, as well as the founders of the Breakthrough Prize. The theme of the evening will be “Sparks of Creation.” The ceremony will be directed and produced, for the fifth time, by Don Mischer alongside executive producers Charlie Haykel and Juliane Hare of Don Mischer Productions.

“It is always the right time to celebrate great scientists,” said Internet investor and science philanthropist Yuri Milner. “All of our futures depend on them.”

In addition, six New Horizons Prizes – an annual prize of $100,000, recognizing the achievements of early-career physicists and mathematicians – will be awarded.

The New Horizons in Physics Prize is awarded to: Christopher Hirata (Ohio State University), Andrea Young (University of California, Santa Barbara), and Douglas Stanford (Institute for Advanced Study and Stanford University).

The New Horizons in Mathematics Prize is awarded to: Aaron Naber (Northwestern University), Maryna Viazovska (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Zhiwei Yun (Yale University), and Wei Zhang (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University).

“Every year I am inspired by the Breakthrough Prize laureates and the deep insights that are made possible by pure curiosity-driven research. This year is no exception," said Breakthrough Prize co-founder, Anne Wojcicki.

The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a global science video competition designed to inspire creative thinking about fundamental concepts in the life sciences, physics, and mathematics. In recognition of her winning submission, Hillary Diane Andales receives up to $400,000 in educational prizes, including a scholarship worth up to $250,000, another $50,000 for the science teacher who inspired her, and a state-of-the-art science lab valued at $100,000 designed by and in partnership with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

This was Andales’ second time in the competition, and last year, she was the Top Scorer in the Popular Vote, a segment of the contest that allows the public to vote for their favorites online. As the Top Scorer in the Popular Vote, she won a DNA molecular-biology laboratory as her school recovered from damage by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. This year, her overall victory in the competition will secure for her school a Fabrication/Physics/Design/Innovation Lab.

More than 11,000 entries from 178 countries were received in the 2017 installment of the global competition, which kicked off on September 1, 2017. The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is funded by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, and Yuri and Julia Milner, through the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, based on a grant from Mark Zuckerberg’s fund at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and a grant from the Milner Global Foundation.

2018 Breakthrough Prize In Life Sciences

The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences honors transformative advances toward understanding living systems and extending human life, with one prize dedicated to work that contributes to the understanding of neurological diseases.

Each of the five Life Science winners will receive a $3 million prize.

Joanne Chory

Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Howard Hughes Medical Institute
For discovering the molecular mechanisms by which plants extract information from light and shade to modify their programs of shoot and leaf growth in the photosynthetic harvest of light.

Don W. Cleveland

Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at University of California, San Diego
For elucidating the molecular pathogenesis of a type of inherited ALS, including the role of glia in neurodegeneration, and for establishing antisense oligonucleotide therapy in animal models of ALS and Huntington disease.

Kazutoshi Mori

Kyoto University
For elucidating the unfolded protein response, a cellular quality-control system that detects disease-causing unfolded proteins and directs cells to take corrective measures.

Kim Nasmyth

University of Oxford
For elucidating the sophisticated mechanism that mediates the perilous separation of duplicated chromosomes during cell division and thereby prevents genetic diseases such as cancer.

Peter Walter

University of California, San Francisco and Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Also for elucidating the unfolded protein response, a cellular quality-control system that detects disease-causing unfolded proteins and directs cells to take corrective measures.

2018 Breakthrough Prize In Fundamental Physics

The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics recognizes major insights into the deepest questions of the universe.

The $3 million physics prize will be shared among the entire 27-member WMAP experimental team, including the following five team leaders:

Charles L. Bennett

Johns Hopkins University

Gary Hinshaw

University of British Columbia

Norman Jarosik

Princeton University

Lyman Page, Jr.

Princeton University

David N. Spergel

Princeton University

For detailed maps of the early universe that greatly improved our knowledge of the evolution of the cosmos and the fluctuations that seeded the formation of galaxies.

2018 Breakthrough Prize In Mathematics

The Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics honors the world’s best mathematicians who have contributed to major advances in the field.

The joint winners of the $3 million prize, are:

Christopher Hacon

University of Utah

James McKernan

University of California, San Diego

For transformational contributions to birational algebraic geometry, especially to the minimal model program in all dimensions.

2018 New Horizons In Physics Prize

The New Horizons in Physics Prize is awarded to promising early-career researchers who have already produced important work in fundamental physics.

Christopher Hirata

Ohio State University

Andrea Young

University of California, Santa Barbara

Douglas Stanford

Institute for Advanced Study and Stanford University

2018 New Horizons In Mathematics Prize

The New Horizons in Mathematics Prize is awarded to promising early-career researchers who have already produced important work in mathematics.

Aaron Naber

Northwestern University

Maryna Viazovska

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Zhiwei Yun

Yale University

Wei Zhang

Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University

2017 Breakthrough Junior Challenge

The third annual Breakthrough Junior Challenge will recognize Hillary Diane Andales (18) of the Philippines. She will receive $250,000 in educational prizes; her science teacher will receive $50,000; and her school will receive a new science laboratory valued at $100,000 designed by and in partnership with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Hillary’s video, submitted in the physics category, focused on reference frames in general relativity.

Images and select video from the 2018 Breakthrough Prize Gala – red carpet and ceremony – can be downloaded for media use at: http://www.epklink.com/2018breakthroughprize

About the Breakthrough Prizes

For the sixth year, the Breakthrough Prizes will recognize the contributions of the world’s top scientists. Each prize is $3 million and awarded in the fields of Life Sciences (up to five per year), Fundamental Physics (up to one per year) and Mathematics (up to one per year). In addition, up to three New Horizons in Physics and up to three New Horizons in Mathematics Prizes are given out to early-career researchers each year. Laureates attend a televised awards ceremony designed to celebrate their achievements and inspire the next generation of scientists. As part of the ceremony schedule, they also engage in a program of lectures and discussions. The Breakthrough Prizes were founded by Sergey Brin, Yuri and Julia Milner, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, Anne Wojcicki, and Pony Ma. Selection Committees composed of previous Breakthrough Prize laureates choose the winners.

Information on the Breakthrough Prizes is available at breakthroughprize.org.

Contacts

For Breakthrough Prize

Contact: Rubenstein
Janet Wootten – Jwootten@Rubenstein.com / 212-843-8024
Emily Gest – Egest@Rubenstein.com / 212-843-8061
Kristen Bothwell – Kbothwell@Rubenstein.com / 212-843-9227