Infosys Prize 2013 winners will be honoured at a ceremony in city by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan.
Money is not the only incentive to lure youngsters for research. Alongside monetary incentives; recognition, respect from society, and opportunities to interact with a global audience are equally important, feels NR Narayana Murthy, trustee of the Infosys Science Foundation.
Speaking at an event held to announce winners of the Infosys Prize 2013 in various sciences, Murthy says the intention behind the Prize is to acknowledge contributions by luminaries in sciences, and provide them with exposure “so that they become role models for youngsters, who then feel encouraged to take up research.”
The awards recognise researchers from India and those of Indian origin, pursuing research in India, who have made significant contributions in the fields of humanities, life sciences, engineering and computer science, mathematical sciences, physical sciences and social sciences.
Instituted to recognise world-class achievements of researchers in the various sciences, the Prize is currently in its fifth year.
Murthy said he believes India is producing world class research, and the winners of the Prize stand testimony to that.
“If the jury for the Prize would not have felt confident about world-class research happening in a particular field, we would not have declared a winner in that field. In the first year of the Prize, we did not award any prize in engineering, as the jury had not found anyone back then who was doing world class work that year,” says Murthy.
The jury for the Prize comprises Prof Pradeep K Khosla for engineering and computer science, Prof Amartya Sen for humanities, Inder Verma for life sciences, Prof Srinivasa Varadhan for mathematical sciences, Prof Shrinivas Kulkarni for physical sciences, and Kaushik Basu for social sciences.
There were about 216 nominations for the Prize, with 59 for engineering, 46 for life sciences, 45 for physical sciences, 26 for humanities and 15 in social sciences.
Prize winners get a cash prize of Rs55 lakh, a gold medallion and a citation certificate.
According to Srinath Batni, president of board of trustees, Infosys Science Foundation, to encourage more young minds towards science and research in the country, the Foundation has decided to increase the prize money from Rs50 lakh to Rs55 lakh, “with an aim to build a strong future in science, humanities and mathematics. This will help nurture the right ecosystem for others to pursue similar and important careers in the sciences.”
The foundation, which was started as a not-for-profit in 2009 by the Infosys management, is funded by a corpus of over Rs100 crore. In future, if the Foundation has the right corpus, they would look at extending the awards to achievers in management sciences as well, says Murthy.
Winners of Infosys Prize 2013
Engineering and computer science: Prof Ramgopal Rao from IIT Bombay, for his work comprising nanoelectronics.
Archaeology: Prof Nayanjot Lahiri from Delhi University, for her work integrating archaeological knowledge with historical understanding of India.
Linguistics: Prof Ayesha Kidwai from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, for her research in relations between Hindi and Urdu.
Life sciences: Rajesh Gokhale, director, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), for his work in lipid metabolism in tuberculosis.
Mathematical sciences: Prof Rahul Pandharipande, from ETH Zurich, for his work in algebraic geometry.
Physical sciences: Prof Shiraz Minwalla, from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), for his work on the study of string theory, gravity and quantum field theory.
Social sciences: Prof AR Vasavi, from Nehru Memorial Museum in New Delhi, for her work on agrarian society, globalization and its impact.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}