Thaindian News

Bangalore, Nov 16 (IANS) The Infosys Science Foundation of the IT bellwether Wednesday selected premier Indian Institute of Science (IISc) physics professor Sriram Ramaswamy for the Infosys Prize 2011 in recognition of his outstanding contribution in Physical Sciences.

For similar prizes in five other categories of scientific research, the Foundation selected Kanpur Genetic Algorithms Laboratory director Kalyanmoy Deb in Engineering and Computer Science, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology scientist Imran Siddiqi in Life Sciences, Stanford University professor Kannan Soundararajan in Mathematical Sciences, University of Chicago professor Raghuram G. Rajan in Social Sciences and Centre for Policy Research chief executive Pratap Bhanu Mehta in Political Science and International Relations.

In recognition of their contribution, each of the six distinguished winners will receive prize money of Rs.50 lakh, a 22-carat gold medallion and a citation certificate from former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Jan 9, 2012 in Bangalore.

Congratulating the winners for world-class contributions in their respective areas of specialisation, Infosys chairman emeritus N.R. Narayana Murthy said the prestigious prize for the third year was a commitment to encourage the distinguished scientists at a time when it could make a greater difference to their career and attract young minds to research.

“The winners’ effort and dedication to science, discovery and development will inspire educationists and researchers in India and the world over to strive harder to excel in science and technology and attain global recognition,” Murthy said on the occasion.

The selection was made by the Foundation trustees and the eminent jury panels comprising Nobel laureate Amartya Sen for Social Sciences, Shrinivas Kulkarni (Physical Sciences), Pradeep K. Khosla (Engineering and Computer Science), S.R. Varadhan (Mathematical Sciences) and Inder Verma (Life Sciences).

“Scientific research is one of the most powerful accelerators of growth and development, especially for an emerging economy like India. The prize was instituted in 2009 to not only reward some of the finest researchers, but also encourage a research-oriented mindset among students,” trustees board president and former Infosys director T.V. Mohandas Pai said.

The not-for-profit Foundation also unveiled the Infosys Prize Lecturers at national level to inspire young minds to pursue careers in scientific research.

“The lectures, a series of public talks, will showcase research and experiences of laureates and distinguished jurors of the prize, with a view to motivating and encouraging young talent to undertake research as a career, thereby advancing and promoting scientific research across the country,” Pai added.

The Foundation is funded by a corpus of Rs.100 crore, contributed by the trustees and an annual grant from the global software major.

The Infosys Prize is amongst the highest in terms of money for any award in India. The winners are chosen by five jury panels, comprising international jurors who evaluate the candidates against international research.