Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell awarded special Breakthrough Prize in fundamental physics

Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the pioneering British astrophysicist, has been awarded a special Breakthrough Prize in fundamental physics for her celebrated discovery of pulsars and her inspirational leadership within the scientific community. Dame Jocelyn is a Visiting Professor in Oxford's Department of Physics and a Professorial Fellow in Physics at Mansfield College, Oxford. Her detection of pulsars in 1967, made while a graduate student at Cambridge, led to one of the first empirical confirmations of Einstein's theory of general relativity. She receives this special Breathrough Prize 'for fundamental contributions to the discovery of pulsars, and a lifetime of inspiring leadership in the scientific community'. Dame Jocelyn has indicated that she intends to donate the prize, worth $3m, to the Institute of Physics to fund PhD studentships for people underrepresented in the field. Yuri Milner, one of the founders of the Breakthrough Prizes, said: 'Professor Bell Burnell thoroughly deserves this recognition. Her curiosity, diligent observations and rigorous analysis revealed some of the most interesting and mysterious objects in the Universe.' Edward Witten, chair of the selection committee, said: 'Jocelyn Bell Burnell's discovery of pulsars will always stand as one of the great surprises in the history of astronomy.