We are pleased to formally congratulate Joseph Polchinski, Andrew Strominger, and Cumrun Vafa and all of the winners of the 2017 Breakthrough Prize In Fundamental Physics. 

Breakthrough Prize marks 5th anniversary celebrating top achievement in science and awards more than $25 million in prizes at gala ceremony in Silicon Valley. 

2017 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Awarded to Stephen J. Elledge, Harry F. Noller, Roeland Nusse, Yoshinori Ohsumi, and Huda Yahya Zoghbi.

2017 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Awarded to...

2016 Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics Recipient

Andrew E. Strominger 
Harvard University

Citation:

"For leadership in numerous central developments in string theory, quantum field theory...

Discover Magazine covers Professor Strominger's journey to String Theory in a new article. 

"Strominger was never one for the beaten path. He dropped out of Harvard twice in the 1970s to live in communes in New Hampshire and China before returning to college, bent on probing the universe through theoretical physics. As an MIT graduate student, Strominger was told to steer clear of risky subjects like string...

This week Hawking, the University of Cambridge physicist Malcolm J. Perry, and the Harvard University physicist Andrew Strominger posted a paper online in which the authors claim to make real progress toward solving the black-hole information paradox. Despite the inviting title—“Soft Hair on Black Holes”—the paper is mercilessly technical, so I asked Strominger to walk me...