russian prize

Fundamental Physics Prize to Nine physicists
Current Affairs Published on www.gktoday.in from January 1, 2012 to
September 10, 2012
Fundamental Physics Prize has been given to Nine Physicist from across the globe. The prizes were given to the
physicists for their outstanding contribution to the field of fundamental physics.
Winners:
· Prof. Ashoke Sen
· N J Nima
· Arkani-Hamed
· Juan Maldacena
· Nathan Seiberg
· Edward Witten
· Andrei Linde
· Alexei Kitaev
· Maxim Kontsevich




Physicist Prof. Ashok Sen wins The Fundamental Physics Prize (Yuri
Milner Prize, Russian Nobel)
Prof. Ashok Sen, a theoretical Indian Physicist at Allahabad is one among the nine winners of the first Yuri
Milner Prize which is worth $ 3 million, the biggest academic prize in the world in terms of prized money.
The prized money is around threefold as compared to the Nobel Prize.
Prof. Sen has been recognized for his String Theory.
The String Theory describes all forces of nature, incorporating the physics of gravity as well as Quantum field theory.
Opening the path to the realization that all string theories are different limits of the same underlying theory.
What is The Fundamental Physics Prize (or Yuri Milner Prize or Russian Nobel) ?
 The Fundamental Physics Prize is awarded by the The Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation (a non-for-profit
organization)
 Dedicated to awarding physicists involved in fundamental research
 Founded in July 2012 by physicist and internet entrepreneur Yuri Milner.
 This prize is the most lucrative academic prize in the world as of July 2012
 It is 3 times bigger than the amount given to the Nobel awardees. The monetary value exceeds that of the
prestigious Nobel Prize, which last year stood at slightly more than $1 million.
 This prize is also dubbed by the media as ‘Russian Nobel’.
 This is world’s biggest prize in physics as of July 2012.
 Award Money: each award is worth $3 million.
Who is Yuri Milner?
 Yuri Borisovich (Bentsionovich) Milner is a Russian entrepreneur and venture capitalist.
Current Affairs Published on www.gktoday.in from January 1, 2012 to
September 10, 2012
 He founded investment firms Digital Sky Technologies (DST), now called Mail.ru Group and DST Global.
 Via Mail.ru Group and DST Global, Milner is an investor in Facebook, Zynga, Twitter, Spotify, ZocDoc, 360Buy.com
and Groupon.
 quit his PhD in physics and made a billion dollars from social networking and other investments has established
the most lucrative annual prize in the history of science.
 Yuri Milner made his fortune from investments in Facebook, Twitter, Zynga and Groupon.
 He has launched a clutch of awards to recognize advances in the obscure field of fundamental physics, which
aims to understand the basic laws of nature.
Why Fundamental Physics Prize?
 As per Mr. Yuri Milner, when the Nobel prize is awarded for fundamental physics, the recipients are often at the
end of their careers or even worse as it can take decades for theoretical advances to be proved right by
experiments.
Yuri Milner Prize v/s Nobel Prize:
 Unlike Nobel Prize, the Milner Prize can go to even younger researchers because experimental verification of
theoretical breakthroughs is not required.
 Also unlike a Nobel prize, which can be shared by 3 scientists at most, the Milner prize inflicts no such limit.
 Award Money for each award is worth $3 million which exceeds that of the prestigious Nobel Prize (last year
slightly more than $1 million).
 Anyone can nominate a winner online, and the selection panel is public, in contrast to the secretive gathering
and closed voting process that decides the Nobel prizes each year.