MIT Physicist Wins $3M Prize

Alan Guth, a 65-year-old MIT professor, is $3 million richer today, thanks to a new prize he won that rewards cutting-edge physics research.

He and eight other physicists from around the world are the first recipients of the annual Fundamental Physics Prize, given out by the Milner Foundation, which was established by a former Russian physics student who became a billionaire investing in companies including Facebook and Groupon.

WBUR's All Things Considered host Sacha Pfeiffer spoke with Guth about his award.