Yang is being honored for his work in forming the Yang-Mills theory, which is widely held by physicists to be as basic a contribution to science as Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. The theory is considered to be the foundation for current understanding of how subatomic particles interact, a contribution which has restructured modern physics and mathematics.
The award will be given to Yang on May 4 at the Franklin Institute Medal Awards Program. Yang, the first physicist to be honored with the five-year-old award, will receive a gold medal in addition to the cash prize. The size of the award makes it the "richest American prize in science," according to an institute statement. The prize, along with 16 other honors to be presented at the ceremony, is selected by the institute's Committee on Science and the Arts and is administered by the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.
Yang, Albert Einstein ...
