Martin Rees picks up the Templeton Prize from Prince Philip
(Courtesy: Clifford Shirley)
By Michael Banks
Can you guess what these two are saying to each other?
The photo, which was taken yesterday, shows the cosmologist Martin Rees from Cambridge University picking up the 2011 Templeton Prize at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Rees was presented with the gong, which comes with a cheque for a whopping £1m, by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, in a private ceremony that was also attended by seven former Templeton winners, including Paul Davis and George Ellis.
Yesterday also happened to be Prince Philip’s 90th birthday.
According to the Templeton Foundation, the prize is awarded for “progress toward research or discoveries about spiritual realities”.
The 68-year-old cosmologist was awarded it for his “profound insights” into the nature of the cosmos that have “provoked vital questions that address mankind’s deepest hopes and fears”.
There was some controversy around Rees being awarded the prize. Indeed, he told me he was “surprised” on hearing he had won and that he usually tries to avoid discussing science and religion with his views being “rather boring”.
There is not a £1m prize on offer from us, but physicsworld.com readers – can you guess what is being said between Rees (right) and Prince Philip in our caption competition?
If we have some funny submissions then we may be able to dig out a prize for the best one.
