The 2016 Fundamental Physics Breakthrough Award, announced at 11:00am November 9th, 2015 (Beijing time) in NASA Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, U.S.A., goes to WANG Yifang and his team for the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment. This is the first time for the Chinese scientists to win the Award.

In 2012, the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment discovered a new type of neutrino oscillation by precisely measuring theta one-three expressed as sin²2θ₁₃, paving the way for future understanding of matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe.

As the studies and discoveries with respect to neutrino oscillation revealed the new frontiers far beyond the standard model, the 2016 Fundamental Physics Breakthrough Award was conferred on seven leading scientists and five research teams for neutrino experiments. They are the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment led by WANG Yifang and Kambu Luk, the KamLAND Experiment led by Atsuto Suzuki, the K2K/T2K Experiment led by Koichiro Nishikawa, the Canadian Sudbury Neutrino Observatory led by Arthur B.McDonald and the Super-Kamiokande Experiment led by Takaaki Kajita and Yoichiro Suzuki.

The Award was founded by Yuri Milner, a well-known Russian investor. The Award, different from the Noble Prize, emphasizes and encourages predictions and discoveries rather than experimental demonstration of theories.

WANG Yifang （in the middle） and His Team Win 2016 Fundamental Physics Breakthrough Award

(Image by Steve Jennings, 2015 Getty Images)