id="article-body" class="row" section="article-body"> These scientists discovered supergravity. 

CERN The scientists who came up with the theory of supergravity in the 1970s are $3 million richer. 

The trio, physicists Sergio Ferrara, Daniel Z. Freedman and Peter van Nieuwenhuizen, won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, according to a statement Wednesday. 

Supergravity is described in the prize announcement as a theory in which, "quantum variables are part of the description of the geometry of spacetime." 

"Supergravity is an amazing thing because it extends general relativity to a higher symmetry -- the dream of Einstein -- but none of us expected this," Ferrara said in a statement.

The Breakthrough prize, which bills itself as the "Oscars of Science" is sponsored by some big names from the tech world, including Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

Past recipients include Stephen Hawking for his discovery of "Hawki