Russian billionaire Yuri Milner envisions decisive age for science

Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, who has bet boldly and sometimes daringly on technology companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Alibaba, and closer to home on Flipkart and Ola, has a mission to make science a reality. Since 2012, he has hosted the annual Breakthrough Award Ceremony in Silicon Valley and is commonly known as the "Oscars of Science".

Speaking exclusively to ET, Milner said that while it was encouraging to see an Indian student from Bengaluru win the Junior Challenge this year, they had a lot of work to do to raise awareness about science and technology. Breakthrough initiatives in India.

Samay Godika, 16, who won the fourth annual Breakthrough Junior Challenge, will receive $ 4,000,000 in education prizes for himself, his teacher and his school.

She is currently studying at the Koramangala National Public School in Bengaluru, in the life sciences category devoted to circadian rhythms, a 24-hour biological process that can influence simple everyday experiences such as school awakening or jet lag. . Godika said he would continue his research on the correlation between circadian rhythms and the effectiveness of medical treatments as he prepared to go to university. While talking to ET, he said that he wanted to pursue the business spirit.

Rana Adhikara, an Indian American, received the New Horizons Prize in Physics, awarded to early career researchers. Rana, currently working at the California Institute of Technology, received $ 1,000,000 for his research on present and future ground-based gravitational wave detectors.

"We now have nearly 100 winners and a majority of them are spending prize money for nonprofit initiatives. Some have set up separate foundations and have raised funds from other sponsors. Second, the prize is much more recognized by academic institutions. And we are seeing more and more people watching the ceremony live. Last year, for the first time, we went to live in China through our partner Tencent, while we were expanding our geographic coverage, "said Milner, founder of the company. DST Global investment, which supports Internet companies globally.

The 56-year-old physicist who became a 56-year-old internet investor also gave Breakthrough Starshot $ 100 million and funded an ambitious $ 100-million science project to find out if smart life existed off the planet. Breakthrough Listen.

Among the main Breakthrough, New Horizon and Junior Challenge awards, 100 winners have won $ 220 million over the past seven years.

Areas of research include life sciences, mathematics and physics. Milner told ET, in a Californian phone interview, that the goal of each winner of the Breakthrough Junior Challenge was to encourage more kids to get into science. "We are trying to send children a message that allows them to become popular and what people want to see as role models. Past winners have become celebrities and have been widely covered by the local press. If you check social media, be it Facebook, Twitter or any other platform, you will not find a single scientist among the 100 to 200 most followed people in the world. That's what we try to change, "he said.