University scientists win gravitational waves prize

Just months after being involved in one of the biggest scientific breakthroughs of the decade, University of Glasgow scientists involved in the Gravitational Waves discovery have won a share of a top international prize. Simulation of gravitational wave emission from merging black holes (NASA/C. Henze) A third of the $3m (£2.04m) Yuri Milner Breakthrough Prize Foundation in Fundamental Physics will be shared among three of the founders of the 'LIGO' gravitational waves observatory with the remainder shared among the team of scientists involved in the research. The founders of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) group - which included Kip Thorne (Emeritus Caltech); Rainer Weiss (Emeritus MIT); and Professor Ronald Drever (Emeritus Caltech, formerly of Glasgow) - will share $1m equally between them. The remaining $2m (£1.35m) will be shared equally among the 1,012 other researchers and engineers globally who worked on the LIGO team or contributed to the research, including scientists from the University of Glasgow's Institute for Gravitational Research. Each receives about $2000 (£1350). The prestigious prizes will be awarded at a formal ceremony later this year.