<p>A Russian billionaire's foundation is awarding two special prizes of USD 3 million each to British cosmologist Stephen Hawking for his work on black holes and to seven scientists at the world's biggest atom-smasher for their roles in the discovery of a new subatomic particle believed to be the long-sought Higgs boson.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Yuri Milner's Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation announced the awards in a statement today.<br /><br />Hawking is honored for his discovery of Hawking radiation from black holes "and his deep contributions to quantum gravity and quantum aspects of the early universe."<br /><br />The prize money for the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, is being split among a scientist who oversaw the building of the USD 10 billion atom smasher and six physicists who oversaw two teams of 3,000 scientists each. <br /></p>
<p>A Russian billionaire's foundation is awarding two special prizes of USD 3 million each to British cosmologist Stephen Hawking for his work on black holes and to seven scientists at the world's biggest atom-smasher for their roles in the discovery of a new subatomic particle believed to be the long-sought Higgs boson.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Yuri Milner's Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation announced the awards in a statement today.<br /><br />Hawking is honored for his discovery of Hawking radiation from black holes "and his deep contributions to quantum gravity and quantum aspects of the early universe."<br /><br />The prize money for the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, is being split among a scientist who oversaw the building of the USD 10 billion atom smasher and six physicists who oversaw two teams of 3,000 scientists each. <br /></p>