The Breakthrough Prize Foundation has announced the winners of the 2023 Breakthrough Prizes in life sciences, fundamental physics, and mathematics. 

In its 11th year, the foundation awarded a total of $15.75 million to laureates and early-career scientists in support of groundbreaking discoveries. Each of the five main Breakthrough Prizes includes a $3 million award.

Recipients in the life sciences category include Clifford P. Brangwynne and Anthony A. Hyman for discovering a new mechanism of cellular organization; Demis Hassabis and John Jumper for developing AlphaFold, which predicts the structure of proteins; and Emmanuel Mignot and Masashi Yanagisawa for discovering the causes of narcolepsy. The Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics went to Daniel A. Spielman for multiple discoveries in theoretical computer science and mathematics. The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics was shared by Charles H. Bennett, Gilles Brassard, David Deutsch, and Peter Shor for their foundational work in quantum information. 

In addition, the foundation awarded six New Horizons Prizes of $100,000 each to 11 early-career scientists and mathematicians who have already made a substantial impact on their fields, and three Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prizes of $50,000 each to early-career women mathematicians. The Breakthrough Prizes were founded by Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, Anne Wojcicki, and Yuri and Julia Milner, and have been sponsored by the personal foundations established by the founders as well as Ma Huateng and Jack Ma. 

“Congratulations to all of the Breakthrough Prize winners, whose incredible discoveries will pave the way for scientific discovery and spur innovation,” said Chan and Zuckerberg, who are the co-founders and co-CEOs of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. “These laureates and early-career scientists are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in research and science, and we’re thrilled to honor their accomplishments.” 

(Photo credit: Breakthrough Prize Foundation)