Researchers from the University of Arizona are named in a collaboration that will receive the 2020 Breakthrough Prize, also known as the "Oscars of Science." Considered the world’s most generous science prize, each Breakthrough Prize comes with $3 million in prize money.

Twenty-one University of Arizona faculty, postdoctoral researchers, students and staff members, including electrical and computer engineering student Arash Roshanineshat, were part of the Event Horizon Telescope project, which was just awarded the 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for capturing the first-ever photo of a black hole.

The prize money will be split equally among all of the coauthors of the papers published on April 10 presenting the image and the scientific interpretation of the measurements made from the data. 

"A huge congratulations to all the Event Horizon Telescope contributors for this outstanding award," said UA President Robert C. Robbins. "The University of Arizona community is incredibly proud of the longstanding tradition of leadership in astronomy and space exploration, and it is fitting that Dimitrios Psaltis, Feryal Ozel, Chi-kwan Chan, Dan Marrone, and their UA colleagues and students were involved with this collaborative international project. The first-ever picture of a black hole is a fantastic triumph of human endeavor, and I am thrilled to see it recognized with the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics."