Stephen Hawking wins $3 million in physics prize

AYESHA SIDDIQUI

KARACHI: Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking has won the Special Fundamental Physics Prize for his life time achievements in the field.

The discovery of the black holes that release radiation, contributions to quantum gravity and research on aspects of early universe counts some of the major contributions. The former Lucasian mathematician professor of Cambridge University rose to fame with his book “A Brief History of Time” in 1998. Sources add that the professor is delighted by the win.

The award was set up by Russian internet mogul, Yuri Milner who invested in social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Groupon. The prizes were setup to recognize the contributions in the field of Physics.

Other winners include scientists who led the Large Hadron Collider and discovered the Higgs Boson, the missing particle, which was the subject of interest for many in the scientific field. Another three physicists all under 35 years old won $100,000 prizes for their contributions.

Hawking is said to take a vacation with his autistic grandson and help her daughter with the win however the other scientists have shown interest in investing part of their win towards the younger physicists working in their organization.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2012