Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

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Published Sep 13, 2026 Updated Sep 13, 2026 1 min read

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Name	Breakthrough Prize
Type	Science Awards
Award For	Outstanding contributions in life sciences, fundamental physics, and mathematics
Award By	Breakthrough Prize Organization
First	2012
Last	5th April 2025
Status	Active

About Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences are given annually. Each winner receives $3 million. The life science prizes have been sponsored by the personal foundations established by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Ma Huateng, Jack Ma, Yuri and Julia Milner, and Anne Wojcicki.

Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Winners List

This Winners List features 17 winners of the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, from 2013 to 2025.

Image	Year	Winner Name	Country	Disciplines

	2025	Gerard 't Hooft	Netherlands	Special Fundamental Physics
Gerard 't Hooft won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For fundamental insights into gauge theory and the standard model.
	2020	Steven Weinberg	United States	Special Fundamental Physics
Steven Weinberg won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For continuous leadership in fundamental physics, with broad impact across particle physics, gravity and cosmology, and for communicating science to a wider audience.
	2019	Daniel Z. Freedman	United States	Special Fundamental Physics
Daniel Z. Freedman won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For the invention of supergravity, in which quantum variables are part of the description of the geometry of spacetime.
	2019	Peter van Nieuwenhuizen	Netherlands	Special Fundamental Physics
Peter van Nieuwenhuizen won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For the invention of supergravity, in which quantum variables are part of the description of the geometry of spacetime.
	2019	Sergio Ferrara	Italy	Special Fundamental Physics
Sergio Ferrara won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For the invention of supergravity, in which quantum variables are part of the description of the geometry of spacetime.
	2018	Jocelyn Bell Burnell	United Kingdom	Special Fundamental Physics
Jocelyn Bell Burnell won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For fundamental contributions to the discovery of pulsars, and a lifetime of inspiring leadership in the scientific community.
	2016	Ronald W. P. Drever and the LIGO Contributors	United Kingdom	Special Fundamental Physics
Ronald W. P. Drever and the LIGO Contributors won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For the observation of gravitational waves, opening new horizons in astronomy and physics.
	2016	Kip S. Thorne and the LIGO Contributors	United States	Special Fundamental Physics
Kip S. Thorne and the LIGO Contributors won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For the observation of gravitational waves, opening new horizons in astronomy and physics.
	2016	Rainer Weiss and the LIGO Contributors	United States, Germany	Special Fundamental Physics
Rainer Weiss and the LIGO Contributors won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For the observation of gravitational waves, opening new horizons in astronomy and physics.
	2013	Peter Jenni	Switzerland	Special Fundamental Physics
Peter Jenni won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For his leadership role in the scientific endeavour that led to the discovery of the new Higgs-like particle by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.
	2013	Michel Della Negra	France	Special Fundamental Physics
Michel Della Negra won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For his leadership role in the scientific endeavour that led to the discovery of the new Higgs-like particle by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.
	2013	Tejinder Singh Virdee	United Kingdom	Special Fundamental Physics
Tejinder Singh Virdee won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For his leadership role in the scientific endeavour that led to the discovery of the new Higgs-like particle by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.
	2013	Lyn Evans	United Kingdom	Special Fundamental Physics
Lyn Evans won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For his leadership role in the scientific endeavour that led to the discovery of the new Higgs-like particle by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.
	2013	Guido Tonelli	Italy	Special Fundamental Physics
Guido Tonelli won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For his leadership role in the scientific endeavor that led to the discovery of the new Higgs-like particle by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.
	2013	Joe Incandela	United States	Special Fundamental Physics
Joe Incandela won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For his leadership role in the scientific endeavor that led to the discovery of the new Higgs-like particle by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.
	2013	Fabiola Gianotti	Italy	Special Fundamental Physics
Fabiola Gianotti won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For her leadership role in the scientific endeavour that led to the discovery of the new Higgs-like particle by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.
	2013	Stephen Hawking	United Kingdom	Special Fundamental Physics
Stephen Hawking won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics For his discovery of Hawking radiation from black holes, and his deep contributions to quantum gravity and quantum aspects of the early Universe.

Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Award Chart by Country

This chart tracks Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics winners by year from 2013 to 2025, spanning 6 years, with the most wins (8) recorded in 2013.

Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Award Chart by Disciplines

This chart groups 17 Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics winners by Disciplines, across 1 distinct entry — Special Fundamental Physics leads with 17 wins.