By INAS,
New Delhi: Felicitating the brightest scientific minds of the year, the Infosys Science Foundation Monday awarded five achievement prizes to eminent Indian scientists and scholars for their path breaking research.
Vice President Hamid Ansari gave away the prizes that are aimed to inspire young Indians to pursue a career in scientific research.
The Infosys prize in life sciences went to K. Vijay Raghavan, a neurobiologist and gene expert at the National Centre of Biological Science in Bangalore while Ashok Sen won the award for his contribution to mathematical physics and string theory. Sen is a professor at the Harish Chandra Research institute in Allahabad.
The Infosys prize in physical sciences went to Thanu Padhmanabhan for his deeper understanding of Einstein’s theory of gravity and cosmology. He is a professor at the Interuniversity Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune.
The prize in social sciences and economics was awarded to Ahijeet Banerjee for his contribution to economic theory of development. He is a Ford International professor of economics at MIT in the US.
The Infosys prize in history was won by Upinder Singh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s daughter, for her research in early medieval Indian history. She teaches at Delhi University.