Infosys awards contributors to science and research

The winners of the Infosys Prize 2020 were awarded by the Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) at a virtual ceremony on December 2.

The winners were identified based on their contributions in six fields, including engineering and computer science, humanities, life sciences, mathematical sciences, physical sciences and social sciences. The award consists of a gold medal, citation and a prize money worth USD 1,00,000.

The awards were handed over by the professor of Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York, Abel Prize winner, S.R. Srinivasa Varadhan. 

“The trustees of Infosys Science Foundation dream of an India where the poorest of children have reasonable access to nutrition, education, healthcare and shelter, and have confidence in a better future. For that, we need well-thought-out and impactful ideas that are speedily executed without corruption… The Infosys Prize contributes to this mission in India by honouring the best scientists and researchers, whose work has the potential to improve our world,” said the founder of Infosys and president of ISF, Narayana Murthy.

The winners are: 

• Physical Sciences: Arindam Ghosh, professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, for developing the atomically thin two-dimensional semiconductors to build a new generation of functional electronic, thermoelectric and optoelectronic devices
• Mathematical Sciences: Sourav Chatterjee, professor at Stanford University,, for his contribution to probability and statistical physics
• Social Sciences: Raj Chetty, professor at Harvard University, for his research on identifying barriers to economic opportunity. He also developed solutions to help people escape poverty and improve life outcomes.
• Life Sciences: Dr Rajan Sankaranarayanan of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, for his contributions to understand the error-free translation of the genetic code to make protein molecules.
• Engineering and Computer Science: Hari Balakrishnan, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for his seminal work on mobile and wireless systems and contributions to computer networking.
• Humanities: Dr Prachi Deshpande of the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences (CSSS), Kolkata, for her contribution to the treatment of South Asian historiography.