HARTFORD — Top achievements in the fields of physics, life sciences and mathematics were celebrated Sunday night on FOX 61 with a star studded line-up.
The Breakthrough Prize was recorded earlier this month the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. It aired Sunday at 7 p.m. on FOX 61.
The ceremony was hosted by actor Morgan Freeman and features a special performance by singer, songwriter and producer Alicia Keys.
Presenters included some top names in the high tech industry including Sergey Brin of Google, Anne Wojcicki, of 23andMe, Yuri Milner, DST Global, and Julia Milner, and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Priscilla Chan of Chan Zuckerberg Initiatives, along with Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter.
The Breakthrough Prize honors paradigm-shifting research and discovery in the fields of fundamental physics, life sciences and mathematics. The Foundation awarded $25 million this year to honor both outstanding career achievement and emerging talent. A total of eight $3 million prizes were awarded to 12 individuals and another six $100,000 prizes were awarded to 10 winners of the New Horizons in Physics and Mathematics Prizes.
The ceremony also recognized the winner of the second annual Breakthrough Junior Challenge for students, which awarded $250,000 scholarship to a student whose original science video brings to life an important scientific or mathematical idea or principle. The science teacher who inspired the winning student won $50,000. The winner’s school also received a state-of-the-art science lab valued at $100,000.
