Scientists and Silicon Valley to Mingle at Breakthrough Prizes

Discoveries that could help with the development of powerful new computers and cancer therapies will be among the achievements recognized Sunday night at a ceremony for the 2019 Breakthrough Prizes, an event that styles itself as the “Oscars for science.”

The event Sunday night will be the seventh for the Breakthrough Prizes, which bring the elite of Silicon Valley together with their counterparts in physics, mathematics and life sciences for an evening of mingling under the roof of a NASA research facility with actual celebrities. (Actor Pierce Brosnan, a former James Bond, is emceeing the event.) The event has coincided with Silicon Valley’s growing interest in life sciences as companies ranging from Google-owner Alphabet to small startups have invested heavily in the area.