Hollywood and Silicon Valley Collide at Breakthrough Prize Ceremony, With Science Celebrated and Trump Slammed

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At various award ceremonies in Hollywood, such as the Oscars and the Golden Globes, there’s no scarcity of glamorous events. However, it is only at one gathering where pop icons like Lizzo and Katy Perry mingle with Nobel Prize winners, while Paris Hilton snaps selfies with researchers pioneering gene-editing technologies that could potentially eradicate cancer.

The annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony, often referred to as the “Nobel Prizes of Science,” was established by prominent figures in Silicon Valley, including Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Julia and Yuri Milner, and Anne Wojcicki. This event, now celebrating its 13th year, recognizes scientists, medical professionals, and researchers who have achieved groundbreaking advancements in their individual disciplines. The victors are rewarded with substantial cash prizes totaling $3 million each.

This year’s event took place at Santa Monica’s Barker Hanger on a Saturday, and a host of celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jodie Foster, Alicia Keys, Drew Barrymore, Christina Aguilera, Mr. Beast, Gayle King, Jeremy Strong, Jessica Chastain, Kate Hudson, Olivia Wilde, Rob Lowe, Glenn Close and Zoe Saldaña were among the attendees. Notable tech figures such as Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Rupert Murdoch (a businessman) also graced the occasion with their presence.

As I took my seat at the gaming convention, James Corden was up on stage, ready to kick off another exciting event. He started things off by addressing the recent turmoil in the financial markets – a stark reminder that even our virtual worlds sometimes echo the real one.

Many of you have experienced a challenging week. From my perspective, it appears that we are surrounded by individuals who are becoming increasingly anxious about the possibility of traveling commercially once more. Lightly jesting, he made this observation while also alluding to the impact that President Trump’s recent tariffs might have on foreign researchers.

Corden announced that not just honoring them, but we’ll also contribute to their crucial and pioneering research as every winner receives a prize of $3 million tonight. However, I must mention an unfortunate fact: due to recent tariffs, international winners will take home only $45,000 instead.

After James Corden’s introductory comments, six Breakthrough Prizes were bestowed across the realms of life sciences, physics, and mathematics. Furthermore, the Breakthrough Prize Foundation declared that eight up-and-coming physicists and mathematicians would be splitting six $100,000 New Horizons Prizes among themselves. Among those recognized were David Liu, who engineered innovative gene-editing tools that played a crucial role in saving a young girl’s life from Leukemia by rectifying the harmful mutations in her genetic material, and Dr. Stephen Hauser, celebrated for his groundbreaking work in developing advanced treatments for multiple sclerosis patients. As a fan, I feel incredibly inspired by these remarkable achievements!

The show paid tribute to scientists, but it wasn’t without its touch of Hollywood glitz. Each award recipient was introduced with a movie-style trailer highlighting their achievements. Several famous personalities, acting as presenters for the evening, spoke about how scientific advancements affected their lives personally. In memory of George Berci, an inventor who pioneered the use of miniature cameras in minimally invasive surgeries, Gal Gadot explained how his work averted a significant medical complication during her pregnancy.

Just over a year past, while eight months pregnant, I encountered a severe health crisis. I was plagued by relentless headaches and couldn’t fathom the turmoil within my mind,” I shared with the gathering. “Today, I stand before you, a testament to the extraordinary care provided by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center right here in Los Angeles. Through the use of MRI technology – a marvel made feasible by particle physics – their skilled physicians identified three major blood clots within me. Despite my tendency to be an ‘all or nothing’ individual, I owe my presence here today to their dedication and the advanced tools they wield.

Midway through the performance, Perry appeared on stage alongside a pianist and a cellist to deliver heartfelt interpretations of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Firework.” Meanwhile, Brin showcased his magic skills, while renowned magician David Blaine astounded everyone with an intricate trick. Here, all the attendees were asked to shuffle their cards according to Blaine’s guidance, and amazingly, many chose the same card as hundreds of others did.

As I stood there alongside Edward Norton, presenting an award at this prestigious event, I couldn’t help but share my candid thoughts about the current state of affairs. Following Norton’s heartfelt appreciation for those who generously underwrote our show with millions of dollars, I felt compelled to remark, “It’s truly astounding that some individuals in this room also played a crucial role in electing a man whose actions over the past week have effectively dismantled the very foundations of American science.

Rogen, alluding to Elon Musk’s appearance at the previous year’s Breakthrough Prize event and his influence on reducing government funding, added, “It’s astounding how much progress in science can be undone with $320 million and RFK Jr., swiftly.

A full list of winners follows.

Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

Daniel J. Drucker, Joel Habener, Jens Juul Holst, Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, and Svetlana Mojsov were recognized for the identification and analysis of GLP-1, as well as shedding light on its functioning and possible applications in managing diabetes and obesity.

Alberto Ascherio and Stephen L. Hauser have significantly contributed to our understanding of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) by determining the importance of B cells in this disease and creating B-cell focused therapies. Additionally, they discovered that an infection with Epstein-Barr virus is the primary risk factor associated with MS.

David R. Liu is recognized for his innovation in creating base editing and prime editing techniques – methods that alter the genetic code within active biological systems without breaking the DNA double helix structure. These advanced technologies effectively modify gene segments at their original positions, empowering us to correct or swap nearly any genetic mutation.

Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

At CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, the ATLAS, CMS, ALICE, and LHCb collaborations are conducting in-depth studies to verify the mechanism behind mass generation through Higgs boson properties, discover new strongly interacting particles, investigate rare processes and the imbalance between matter and antimatter, as well as delve into the fundamental aspects of nature at its shortest distances and most severe conditions.

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The teams working on ATLAS, CMS, ALICE, and LHCb projects at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider are focusing their efforts on detailed investigations to confirm the mass generation mechanism via Higgs boson properties, uncover new strongly interacting particles, examine unusual processes, and study the disparity between matter and antimatter, all while exploring the core aspects of nature under the most minute distances and extreme conditions at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.

Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

Gerardus ‘t Hooft, for fundamental insights into gauge theory and the standard model.

Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics

Dennis Gaitsgory is recognized for his fundamental research and groundbreaking advancements in the Geometric Langlands Program and its quantum variant. Notably, he is credited with establishing the derived algebraic geometry methodology and proving the Geometric Langlands Conjecture in non-zero characteristic settings.

New Horizons in Mathematics Prize

Ewain Gwynne, recognized for his significant advancements in the field of conformal probability, notably in unraveling the intricacies of the LQG metric.

John Pardon, for contributions to symplectic topology and other areas of geometry and topology.

As an ardent admirer, I’m thrilled to acknowledge Sam Raskin for his groundbreaking work in the realm of the geometric Langlands program. His theories on the Whittaker model and the remarkable proof of the geometric Langlands conjecture in characteristic zero have left an indelible mark in mathematics, illuminating our understanding of this intricate field.

Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize

Si Ying Lee, for contributions to the theory of Shimura varieties.

Rajula Srivastava is recognized for his significant work in the areas of harmonic analysis and analytic number theory. Specifically, he has made valuable contributions towards solving the issue of calculating the number of rational points close to smooth surfaces.

Ewin Tang, for creating classical equivalents of quantum algorithms applicable to machine learning and linear algebra, as well as progress in the field of quantum machine learning using quantum data.

New Horizons in Physics Prize

Waseem Bakr is working towards creating quantum gas microscopes that can observe atoms and molecules at a microscopic level, offering insights into the connections and movement patterns within intensely interactive quantum systems.

Jeongwan Haah is recognized for his groundbreaking work, specifically the creation of Haah’s Code. This innovative system gives rise to the principles of fractal conservation laws, and it introduces intricate mathematical structures to the field of physics using a discrete approach.

Sebastiaan Haffert, Rebecca Jensen-Clem, and Maaike van Kooten have shown innovative techniques in adaptive optics, enabling the possibility of directly detecting the tiniest known exoplanets.

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2025-04-06 22:25