At the Breakthrough Prizes, Silicon Valley Puts Scientists in the Spotlight

Published: Dec. 4, 2017, 4:30 p.m.

b'Every year in December, a makeshift hangar at the NASA Ames Research Center pops up for one night, transforming the austere airfield into a glitzy, paparazzi\\u2019d, black velvet-roped Nerd Prom. At the Breakthrough Prizes\\u2014where on December 3, a total of $22 million was handed out to pioneers in math, physics, and the life sciences\\u2014researchers traded lab coats and latex gloves for floor-length gowns and bow-tied tuxedos.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices'