The Fundamental Physics Prize

History

In 2012 the billionaire Yury Milner, one of the most successful investors of Runet founded the largest scientific award under the name The Fundamental Physics Prize. To nine winners of a new award called by it it is awarded on three million dollars that exceeds the size of the main scientific award of the world almost three times – Nobel^[1].

Milner selected the first winners. Them became:

• Nym Arkani-Hamed (Institute of perspective researches in Princeton, elementary particle physics),
• Alan Gut (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, cosmology),
• Alexey Kitayev (California Institute of Technology, quantum computers),
• Maxim Kontsevich (France, Institute of perspective scientific research, theoretical physics), * Andrey to Linda (Stanford University, cosmology, string theory),
• Huang Maldasenga (Institute of perspective researches in Princeton, the quantum field theory, cosmology),
• Nathan Sayberg (the same institute in Princeton, the quantum field theory, the string theory),
• Ashuk Seong (India, Research institute Harish Chandra, string theory strong and weak interactions) and
• Edward Uitten (Institute of perspective researches in Princeton, the string theory, dark matter, etc.).

In total they received 27 million dollars.

Milner's award in comparison with other international scientific awards

Source: Scientificamerican.com, 2012

So far it is unknown how the following winners, but as Milner said in an interview to The Guardian will be selected, its award is intended for "the greatest minds working in the field of fundamental physics", and will cardinally differ from Nobel. Each winner will receive a full amount of an award, but not to share it with coauthors, and the number of coauthors is not limited. The committee as it is specified on the award website, in addition to Yury Milner includes the outstanding physicist, the Nobel laureate Stephen Weinberg.

The award is awarded only working scientists and it is desirable for young people. The main difference is that this award will be soon awarded after the made discovery, the scientist should not wait, occasionally decades until his work gains plenary confession. By the way, winners received three million in day of the declaration. Alan Gut, for example, foreknowing about what will become the winner, nevertheless, was pleasantly surprised when 200 dollars lying on his account suddenly turned into 3000200 dollars.

Milner's passion for physics is quite explainable. He is a graduate of physics department of MSU, and, by own recognition, went to business after "was disappointed in himself as in physics". He succeeded in business and so far became the co-owner of DST Global and Mail.ru Group.

Links

Award website

Notes