Mohammed bin Rashid hails Emirati physicist for winning prestigious scientific award

Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, congratulated the Emirati physicist Ahmed Al Muhairi after securing a prestigious scientific award.

“We congratulate the son of the Emirates, physicist Ahmed Al Mheiri, for winning the prestigious New Horizon Prize in Physics for his research on black holes in space,” said Sheikh Mohammed.

“Ahmed is doing post-doctoral studies in the field of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University. “An Emirati physicist we are proud of in our Arab world.”


Ahmed Al Mheiri and his fellow research team members were among the winners of a $100,000 New Horizons prize presented by The Breakthrough Prize Foundation – dubbed the Science Oscars.

The Breakthrough Prize Foundation is considered one of the biggest scientific awards in the world; it has awarded more than $250 million to 3,000 scientists since its inception in 2012.

This year, the prize money distributed to winners from all categories reached $18.75 million.

The prize’s three categories include the main Breakthrough Prize of $3 million. This year there were winners announced in this category.

The second category is dedicated to new scientists under the title New Horizons Prize, worth $100,000.

Mr Al Mheiri is one of six winners to be awarded under this category.

The third category is dedicated to female scientists under the title Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize. The $50,000 prize was named after a young prominent Iranian scientist who died in 2017.

Three winners have been awarded under this category this year.

The awards ceremony was held virtually in line with coronavirus safety measures.