Scientists aren't exactly fueled by fame and fortune, but it won't hurt to have their work recognized, most especially when that recognition comes with a $3 million prize.
Sunday saw the awarding of 12 Breakthrough Prizes, an award created two years ago by venture capitalist Yuri Milner, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and other luminaries in the tech industry. Mathematicians are being awarded for the first time this year, with five being chosen for their work, from analytic number theory to algebraic geometry.
Six of the other Breakthrough Prizes were given to researchers in the field of life sciences for their discoveries in various areas, such as genetic regulation and bacterial immunity. The lone physics prize was given to two teams of scientists whose work showed that the universe was expanding faster, not slowing down as previously assumed.
According to Milner, who was a physics Ph.D. student in Moscow in the past, the Breakthrough Prize aims to generate excitement around accomplishments in scientific fields.
"If you look at the list of celebrities now, you could probably not find a single scientist in the list of the top 200. We are trying to use all means available, including money, to get the message across," he added.
In making scientists celebrities in their own right, Breakthrough Prize organizers held an event that would make Hollywood proud. There was Seth MacFarlane as host for the ceremony; Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, chatting up Kate Beckinsale, one of the presenters; and Dick Costolo, Twitter's chief executive, watching festivities beside Christina Aguilera.
What's an all-star gathering without good food? Thomas Keller from French Laundry took care of filling up the brightest minds in various fields by whipping up a meal that included caviar as appetizers with some black truffle lasagna.
Aside from Beckinsale, other Breakthrough Prize presenters included Jon Hamm, Eddie Redmayne, Cameron Diaz and Benedict Cumberbatch.
The Breakthrough Prize began in 2012 as the Fundamental Physics Prize, which Milner started with nine winners on its first year. The Fundamental Physics Prize was renamed Breakthrough Prize. This year, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, Australian National University and Space Telescope Institute will be splitting the prize.
For emerging work, the Breakthrough Prize also has the New Horizons Prizes. Three were awarded this year, each receiving $100,000 for their contributions.
