A Russian physics student turned social media billionaire just made theoretical physics the most lucrative thing in science, heaping $3 million apiece on nine researchers. The new Fundamental Physics Prize is worth more than double the Nobel, at least monetarily speaking.
Yuri Milner, whose investments are reportedly worth $12 billion, studied theoretical physics as a student in Russia in the 1980s and 1990s and founded the prize for his love of the field. He told the New York Times that the quest to understand the universe "really defines us as human beings." And he told Nature News yesterday that physics should get its day in the sun: "The intention was to say that science is as important as shares trading on Wall Street," he said.
There are no strings attached, according to him - the goal is to raise the stature of theoretical physics and the people who study it. Milner chose the winners, all of whom are male and all but one of whom are from Western countries, himself.
