Scientists and researchers who were awarded the Infosys Prize 2018, presented by the Infosys Science Foundation in Bengaluru on Saturday, did not shy away from addressing issues such as climate change and the growing discontent in universities.
In her acceptance speech, Kavita Singh of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), who was honoured for her work on Mughal, Rajput and Deccan art in the Humanities category, touched upon the current issues and climate of instability within JNU. “I have to thank JNU, an institution that until a few years back was a great place for researchers to continue their work unbridled and free. But things are bad now. How bad? When I checked my email this morning, I found that the leave that I had applied for receiving this award had been rejected by the Vice-Chancellor. My presence here is illegitimate,” she said.
Speaking to The Hindu earlier in the day, Ms. Singh said that despite the volume of art India has produced since the ancient age, the country had a bad track record of taking care of its heritage. “Art history has been a marginal discipline in India. But by not giving it due importance, we are not only impoverishing our capacity to ask pertinent questions, but also failing to understand India’s relationship with the world,” she said.
Six researchers and scientists were honoured on the occasion. Professor S.K. Satheesh of the Indian Institute of Science was felicitated for his work in the field of climate change. Vehicular emission, coal plants and burning of all kinds of materials are increasing light-absorption aerosols that trap the radiation in the atmosphere, heating it and causing changes in monsoon patterns. “But emissions from aircraft are a bigger danger. They are injecting the aerosols into the sky. This can have a negative impact on the ozone layer. The need of the hour is to regulate aircraft emissions,” he said.
Other scientists and researchers who were honoured included Navakanta Bhat of the Indian Institute of Science (for engineering and computer science); Roop Mallik from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research for Life Sciences; Nalini Anantharaman from the Institute of Advanced Study, University of Strasbourg, (for mathematics); and Sendhil Mullainathan from the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago (for social science).
The prize carried a gold medal, citation and a purse of $100,000. The winners were selected by a jury that included Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, former Chief Economist Kaushik Basu, and eminent mathematician S.R. Srinivasa Varadhan.
Chief guest Manjul Bhargava, professor of mathematics at Princeton University, who has been known to use ancient Sanskrit poetry and the sounds of tabla in solving mathematical problems, said, “Mathematics is a search for patterns and finding explanations as to why they exist. This understanding can be used beyond the context to study other phenomena.”
Drawing a connection between ancient Indian poetry and mathematics, he said what is taught as the Fibonacci sequence should be credited to the poetic works of Virahanka, a Sanskrit poet who lived around 600 AD, 500 years before Fibonacci.
Nutrition challenge
The Infosys Science Foundation, which organised a nutrition challenge for students in collaboration with the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), has announced the winning team. The challenge involved using STEM skills to combat malnutrition among expectant mothers and children under five.
Members of the winning team — Arunima S., Kesava D.K., Leela J., Prithve S., and Sandeep R. — collaborated virtually as they were from different cities in India. The solution designed by the team centred around effective distribution of a nutrient pod. The pod could be used as a supplement for midday meals.
The members of the winning team will get to visit the ISRO centre in Sriharikota to watch a rocket launch. They will also get member- ship in the Junior Academy of the NYAS and a scholarship of ₹5 lakh each.
