2Colorful, One Might Say
The Breakthrough Prizes staging team did a marvelous job on the huge hangar for the event. The greenhouse-style structure inside (at bottom) seated about 500 guests, including such non-technical folks as former Prime Minister Ehud Barak of Israel, movie producer Harvey Weinstein and media mogul Rupert Murdoch. The overall color of the building changed frequently.
3Two Men at the Top of Their Games
4Emcee of the Show
Singer, writer and television producer Seth MacFarlane was the emcee and was very smooth at his job. (He’s emceed the Oscars previously.) But some of his Hollywood-type humor was lost on the very scientific crowd he was addressing. For example: “This is a great event, and I’m glad to be here with you tonight. But this will be different from, say, emceeing the Oscars, because we won’t be hearing too many references to God tonight.” Crickets. Nonetheless, MacFarlane was a wonderful host.
5Zuck and Wife
6Google Him Please
7Two of the Prize Winners
8OK to Tweet About This Matchup
9Beauty and the Musk
10Knows IT From the Inside Out
11Fresh From Re-Election
12Mrs. Jobs Makes an Appearance
13She Did One Song, but Made It Count
Singer Christina Aguilera, most recently a cast member on NBC’s “The Voice,” came out and sang the ballad “Beautiful” and received a ringing ovation for her work.