Recognizes Outstanding Contributions to Research in India in Fundamental and Applied Sciences
The Infosys Science Foundation today announced the winners of the Infosys Prize 2009, recognizing outstanding contributions to scientific research in India. The winners were announced by the Trustees of the Infosys Science Foundation at an event held at the Infosys campus in Bangalore. Mr. Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Human Resource Development was the Chief Guest of the program (via video conference).
The award ceremony for the Infosys Prize 2009 will be held on January 4, 2010, in New Delhi, where the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh will award the winners.
The winners of the Infosys Prize 2009 are:
Physical Sciences
Thanu Padmanabhan of Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, in recognition of his contribution to a deeper understanding of Einstein’s theory of gravity in the context of thermo dynamics and large scale structure in cosmology.
Mathematical Sciences
Ashoke Sen of Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad, in recognition of his fundamental contributions to Mathematical Physics, in particular to String Theory.
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Life Sciences
K. VijayRaghavan of National Centre of Biological Sciences, Bangalore, in recognition of his many contributions as a developmental geneticist and neurobiologist.
Social Sciences and Economics
Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the economic theory of development, and for his pioneering work in the empirical evaluation of public policy.
Upinder Singh of the University of Delhi, in recognition for her contributions as an outstanding historian of ancient and early medieval India.
Engineering Sciences
No prize has been awarded for the Engineering Sciences discipline this year. This is a unanimous decision by the Jury as they did not find a suitable candidate as per the statutes of the Infosys Prize.
The Infosys Science Foundation was established in February 2009 to promote world-class research in the natural and social sciences in India. The Infosys Prize is an annual prize across five disciplines to reward and recognize outstanding inventions or discovery, or a cumulative body of work done in India that has a positive impact on the nation. The Infosys Prize is amongst the highest in terms of prize money for any award in India, and carries with it a cash award of Rs. 50 lakh, a citation and a medallion.
Welcoming the Chief Guest, dignitaries, academicians and students at the event, Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy, President of the Board of Trustees, Infosys Science Foundation, spoke about the Foundation, its objectives, and Infosys’ commitment to the cause of strengthening India’s research capabilities. Each of the trustees then announced the individual winners for 2009 and read out their citations.
In his speech, Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, said, “Indian scientific talent has strong roots and is well respected the world over. The work done by the winners of the Infosys Prize for 2009 are clear examples of the world-class quality of scientific talent in this country. Research in the sciences is key to India’s development and progress, and we must find ways to recognize and reward relevant, leading research in India. The Infosys Prize is Infosys Technologies’ commitment to the country to promote and honor outstanding research efforts in India.”
Congratulating the winners of the Infosys Prize 2009 and addressing the audience, the Chief Guest, Mr. Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development said, “I commend the winners of the Infosys Prize 2009 for their exceptional research achievements. Research is the foundation on which rests a nation’s growth. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s recognition of the critical importance of scientific research for India’s development can be seen in the doubling of the science and technology expenditure in the recent budget. To realize India’s scientific potential, the government’s efforts need to be supplemented by non-governmental efforts as well. In this context, I welcome the initiative of the Infosys Science Foundation to recognize and encourage scientific achievement in India.”
Mr. Kapil Sibal highlighted the need for industry and academia to collaborate in developing an environment that encourages and supports scientific research in India. He pointed out that the government is giving a policy thrust for higher levels of research in the country, in sciences and in humanities. Congratulations were also extended to the trustees and employees of Infosys on the success of the Infosys Science Foundation in its inaugural year.
The Infosys Prize seeks to recognize outstanding contributions in the fields of Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering and Computer Sciences, Life Sciences and the Social Sciences. The winners of the Infosys Prize were chosen by individual category panels, comprising of international jurors against a backdrop of international research.
The objective of the Infosys Prize is to elevate the prestige of scientific research in India and to inspire young Indians to pursue a career in scientific research. It also seeks to boost the confidence of economists, social scientists and other researchers who are already engaged in significant research.
About the Infosys Science Foundation
The Infosys Science Foundation is a not-for-profit trust set up by Infosys Technologies in February 2009 to promote research in sciences in India. Under the aegis of the foundation, Infosys will honor outstanding contributions and achievements by Indians across various sciences. The annual award for each category is Rs. 50 lakh. The Infosys Science Foundation is funded by a corpus of Rs. 45 crore* contributed by Infosys executive board members and an annual grant from Infosys Technologies Ltd. The jury panel for each area consists of eminent international personalities in each area selected by the trustees of the foundation. For more information, please refer – www.infosys-science-foundation.com
About Infosys Technologies Ltd.
Infosys Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: INFY) defines, designs and delivers IT-enabled business solutions that help Global 2000 companies win in a Flat World. These solutions focus on providing strategic differentiation and operational superiority to clients. With Infosys, clients are assured of a transparent business partner, world-class processes, speed of execution and the power to stretch their IT budget by leveraging the Global Delivery Model that Infosys pioneered. Infosys has over 105,000 employees in over 50 offices worldwide. Infosys is part of the NASDAQ-100 Index and The Global Dow.
For more information, visit www.infosys.com.