The winners came from diverse fields such as areas of accessible healthcare and diagnostics, inclusive economic and social policy design, a better understanding of our mental health and how our constitution protects India’s democratic polity.
The Infosys Prize is awarded in six different categories. The winners were felicitated with a gold medal, a citation, and a prize of $100,000, by Shafi Goldwasser, director, Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing – the chief guest at the occasion.
In the engineering and computer science category, the award was given to Suman Chakraborty – a professor of mechanical engineering, and the dean of research and development at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
He was awarded for his work in elucidating the interaction of fluid mechanics, interfacial phenomena, and electromechanics at the micro- and nanoscale.
“From exploring the frontiers of brain research and astronomy to developing solutions for the urgent healthcare needs of underserved populations to examining the notions of justice in a fast-changing world inundated by the climate emergency and pandemics, our laureates are working on the cutting edge of science, technology, and scholarship,” said S (Kris) Gopalakrishnan, cofounder of Infosys and president of Infosys Science Foundation.
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“Their work is inspiring a new generation of researchers while revolutionizing the science and research landscape in India,” he added.
The humanities prize was awarded to Sudhir Krishnaswamy, vice chancellor, the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru for his understanding of the Indian Constitution, particularly his carefully-argued account of the importance of the landmark ‘basic structure doctrine’ adopted by the Supreme Court in 1973.
Vidita Vaidya, professor and chairperson, Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai bagged the life sciences prize for her fundamental contributions to understanding brain mechanisms that underlie mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Mahesh Kakde, a professor of Mathematics at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, won the mathematics prize for his contributions to algebraic number theory.
Meanwhile, Nissim Kanekar, professor, National Centre for Radio Astronomy, Pune, was declared the winner in the physical sciences category for his study of galaxies in an era – the so-called “high noon” period – in which stars were being formed at a maximum rate.
Lastly, Rohini Pande, professor of economics at Yale University won the prize for social sciences for her research on governance and accountability, women’s empowerment, the role of credit in the lives of the poor and the environment.
“Congratulations to all the individuals that were awarded the Infosys prize,” said Salil Parekh, CEO, Infosys and one of the trustees of the foundation. “We heard about the passion and the depth of each of the work, especially as it relates to the world around us and the world within us – from the simple prime numbers to the complex astronomy and then on the development economics within our country.”
The 14th edition of awards ceremony was attended by the trustees of the Infosys Science Foundation— Gopalakrishnan, Srinath Batni, K. Dinesh, T V Mohandas Pai, Parekh, and SD Shibulal. The company’s founder N R Narayana Murthy was also present at the gathering.
(Illustration by Rahul Awasthi)
