Russian investor launches award for theoretical physics

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Wednesday, 01 August 2012 11:05

August 1, 2012

A Russian investor who made billions on internet companies like Facebook and Twitter announced today the creation of a new award to recognize the work of the leading minds in the field of theoretical physics, according to The Guardian.

Yuri Milner, who once studied in a PhD program at Moscow State University to become a theoretical physicist himself before turning to business, issued the first nine awards to people actively working in theoretical physics, giving each person a reward of $3 million.

By comparison, the Nobel prize offers only $1.1 million and, notably, it also tends to go toward physicists who have reached the end of their career but whose work has served as an important underpinning of modern work.

"Prizes don't motivate people to do physics," Milner told The Guardian. "The rush of discovery is typically the greatest pleasure we have in this game, but this will be an opportunity to really showcase the subject."

PandoDaily.com explains that the most notable fact about the new award is the fact that it is largely impractical, with little or not possibility of return for Milner's investment, but nevertheless representing an important endeavor in science and engineering research.

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