Kavli Prize 2014 Announced

Nine pioneering scientists have been named this year's recipients of the Kavli Prizes - prizes that recognize scientists for their seminal advances in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience.

Two of the prize recipients for astrophysics are ICTP Dirac Medallists Alan H. Guth, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, and Andrei D. Linde, Stanford University, USA, who share the 2014 Kavli Prize with Alexei A. Starobinsky, Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Russia, "for pioneering the theory of cosmic inflation". The theory of cosmic  inflation, proposed and developed by the three prize winners, has revolutionized our thinking about the universe. 

According to this theory, very soon after our universe came into existence it underwent a short-lived phase of exponential expansion. During this brief period the universe expanded by a huge factor - hence the name inflation. The consequences of this episode were momentous for the evolution of the cosmos. The field of inflation theory now occupies thousands of theorists, and many variations of inflation are being actively debated.

Guth and Linde shared ICTP's 2002 Dirac Medal with Paul Steinhardt for the development of the concept of inflation in cosmology.

The Kavli Prize is awarded by The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and consists of a cash award of 1 million US dollars in each field. The laureates receive in addition a gold medal and a scroll. More details are available on the Kavli Prize web page.