The Fundamental Physics Prize – A Fundamental Imagination Prize?

The Fundamental Physics Prize is awarded by the Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to awarding physicists involved in fundamental research which was founded in July 2012 by a Russian physicist and internet entrepreneur Yuri Milner. As of July 2012, this prize is the most lucrative academic prize in the world and is three times bigger than the amount given to the Nobel Prize awardees. This prize is also dubbed by the media as 'Russian Nobel'.^[

As of July 2012, anyone can nominate a candidate through the FPP website.^[1] As of July 2012, each award is worth $3 million. The monetary value exceeds that of the prestigious Nobel Prize, which in 2012 stood at slightly more than $1.2 million.^[

In 2012, the Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation give 11 fundamental Physics Prizes. Ten of the prizes, each has only one Laureate, but the 11^th prize has seven Laureates for the discovery of the Higgs-like particle.

However, since there are no solid experimental or observational grounds for the other ten awards, it is more appropriate to called them fundamental imagination prizes. In fact, some of the theories such as Hawking’s are known as not truth. Nevertheless, this foundation should be appreciated for her efforts in encouraging fundamental research.