Seven scientists and social scientists have bagged the Infosys Prize for 2013, in recognition of their “outstanding contributions to research” in fields ranging from theoretical linguistics and archaeology to algebraic geometry and nanoscale electronics.
Ramgopal Rao, Institute Chair Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Chief Investigator, Centre of Excellence in Nanoelectronics, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai was awarded the prize for Engineering and Computer Science. The Humanities award was shared by Nayanjot Lahiri, Professor, Department of History, University of Delhi, New Delhi (for Archaeology) and Ayesha Kidwai, Professor, Centre for Linguistics, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (for Linguistics).
The prize for Life Sciences was awarded to Rajesh Gokhale, Director, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, and the prize for Mathematical Sciences given to Rahul Pandharipande, Professor, Department of Mathematics, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, Zürich (ETH Zurich).
Shiraz Naval Minwalla, Professor, Department of Theoretical Physics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai received the award in the Physical Sciences category, while Aninhalli R. Vasavi, Senior Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi received the prize for Social Sciences.
The winners of the Infosys Prize 2013 were evaluated by a panel of jurors comprising eminent scientists and professors from around the world, and comprised Pradeep K. Khosla, Amartya Sen, Inder Verma, Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan, Shrinivas Kulkarni and Kaushik Basu.
The Infosys Prize, awarded annually by the Infosys Science Foundation includes a cash award of Rs. 55 lakh, a citation certificate and medal. The awards would be formally presented on February 8 in Bangalore and Kofi Annan, Seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations is expected to felicitate the winners.
N.R. Narayana Murthy, Infosys co-founder, Executive Chairman told reporters on Tuesday that it was “a cause of great concern” that “India is really nowhere” in international education ranks.
