New Delhi, January 05: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s daughter Upinder Singh was one of the recipients of the inaugural Infosys Prize who were felicitated at a function, attended by Singh as well, here on Monday. Vice-President Hamid Ansari was the chief guest.
Instituted by Infosys, the prize “seeks to boost confidence of scientists, doctors, social scientists and other researchers already engaged in exemplary work, for despite a number of stellar achievements in recent times, research carried out in India in pure and applied sciences has not been given its due”.
The Infosys Prize, comprising a gold medallion, Rs 50 lakh and a citation, recognises achievements in five major disciplines: engineering and computer science, life sciences, mathematical sciences, physical sciences and social sciences. Special juries of eminent scientists and professors from all over the world, were set up to decide the winners.
Professor K Vijay Raghavan was awarded the prize for life sciences “in recognition of his many contributions as a development geneticist and neurobiologist”. A senior professor in the area of development genetics, he is director of the National Centre of Biological Sciences in Bangalore.
Professor Ashoke Sen, a professor at the Harish Chandra Research Institute in Allahabad, was awarded the prize in mathematical sciences “in recognition of his fundamental contributions to mathematical physics, in particular, to string theory”. He also received special commendation from the physical sciences jury.
Professor Thanu Padmanabhan, a distinguished professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, was awarded the prize for physical sciences “in recognition of his contributions to a deeper understanding of Einstein’s theory of gravity in the context of thermodynamics, and for his work on the large-scale structure in cosmology.
Additionally, his interpretation of the cosmological constant and dark energy has had a significant impact on the overall work in this field”.
The award for social sciences was split into two further disciplines — economics and history — and the jury was headed by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.
Professor Abhijit Banerjee, a Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was awarded in economics category “in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the economic theory of development, and for his pioneering work in the empirical evaluation of public theory”.
Upinder Singh, a Professor of History at the University of Delhi, was awarded in history category “in recognition of her contribution as an outstanding historian of ancient and early medieval Indian history.
The depth and breadth of her scholarly research are matched by a rare ability to communicate her findings to a broad audience of students and intellectually curious non-specialists”. The jury in the engineering and computer science category could not select a winner.
Asserting that “research in pure and applied sciences has not received its due”, Ansari said “we do need new investments and incentives from the private sector so that our young people will be encouraged increasingly to pursue and thereafter seek a career in science”.
—Agencies