Seth MacFarlane to Host 2nd ANNUAL BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE CEREMONY

Honoring the world's top scientists and mathematicians, the 2nd Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane. The special, produced again by the Emmy Award-winning Don Mischer Productions, will be televised in the U.S. as a simulcast on Discovery Channel and Science Channel on November 15 at 6 PM ET/PT and globally the weekend of November 22 on BBC World News.

The Breakthrough Prize, which awards each laureate in Fundamental Physics, Life Sciences and Mathematics $3 million with a total awarded amount of $36 million, is sponsored by Breakthrough Prize Founders Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki, Jack Ma and Cathy Zhang, Yuri and Julia Milner and Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan. The goal is to celebrate scientists and generate excitement about the pursuit of Science as a career.

The exclusive ceremony, co-hosted by the Breakthrough Prize founders and Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, will take place in SILICON VALLEY on November 9.

Award presenters include Kate Beckinsale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cameron Diaz, Jon Hamm and Eddie Redmayne.

The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics recognizes major insights into the deepest questions of the Universe. Up to six BREAKTHROUGH PRIZES in Life Sciences honor transformative advances toward understanding living systems and extending human life with one prize dedicated to work contributing to the understanding of Parkinson's disease. The inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics honors five of the world's best mathematicians who have contributed to major advances in the field. The prize will support their future endeavors and aim to communicate the excitement of mathematics to general public. Laureates of each prize are chosen by its respective Selection Committee, comprising previous recipients of the prize.

ABOUT BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE
The BREAKTHROUGH PRIZES were founded by Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki, Jack Ma and Cathy Zhang, Yuri and Julia Milner, and Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan. The prizes aim to celebrate scientists and generate excitement about the pursuit of Science as a career.
Laureates of each prize are chosen by its respective Selection Committee, comprising previous recipients of the prize.

The Selection Committee for the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics includes:
· Nima Arkani-Hamed

· Lyn Evans

· Fabiola Gianotti

· Michael B. Green

· Alan Guth

· Stephen Hawking

· Joseph Incandela

· Alexei Kitaev

· Maxim Kontsevich

· Juan Maldacena

· Alexander Polyakov

· Nathan Seiberg

· Ashoke Sen

· John H. Schwarz

· Edward Witten

The Selection Committee for the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences includes:
· James P. Allison

· Cornelia I. Bargmann

· David Botstein

· Lewis C. Cantley

· Hans Clevers

· Titia de Lange

· Mahlon R. DeLong

· Napoleone Ferrara

· Michael N. Hall

· Eric S. Lander

· Robert Langer

· Richard P. Lifton

· Charles L. Sawyers

· Alexander Varshavsky

· Bert Vogelstein

· Robert A. Weinberg

· Shinya Yamanaka

Additional information on the BREAKTHROUGH PRIZES is available at www.breakthroughprize.org.

About Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which is distributed to 98 million U.S. homes, can be seen in 225 countries and territories, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres including, Science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world. For more information, please visit www.discovery.com.

About Science Channel
Science Channel, a division of Discovery Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), is home for the thought provocateur, the individual who is unafraid to ask the killer questions of "how" and "why not." The network is a playground for those with audacious intellects and features programming willing to go beyond imagination to explore the unknown. Guided by curiosity, Science Channel looks for innovation in mysterious new worlds as well as in its own backyard. Science Channel and The Science Channel HD simulcast reach more than 75 million U.S. households. The network also features high-traffic online and social media destinations, including facebook.com/Science Channel and twitter.com/ScienceChannel.

Photo: Facebook/Seth MacFarlane