PM's daughter among Infosys Prize winners

Upinder Singh, daughter of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was one of the recipients of the inaugural Infosys Prize who were felicitated at a function in New Delhi on Monday.

While Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari was the chief guest, the prime minister too attended the function.

The Infosys Prize comprises a special gold medallion, a citation expounding the laureate's work and Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) as prize money.

The prize has been instituted by Infosys to reward and recognise outstanding inventions or discovery or a cumulative body of work done in India in five major disciplines: engineering and computer science, life sciences, mathematical sciences, physical sciences and social sciences. Click NEXT to check out the winners. . .

The laureates of the Infosys Prize 2009, in the different disciplines are:

Social Sciences and Economics

Upinder Singh of the University of Delhi, in recognition for her contributions as an outstanding historian of ancient and early medieval India.

The laureates of the Infosys Prize are chosen by individual jury panels, comprising international jurors who evaluate the candidates against international research.

For the inaugural Infosys Prize, the jury consisted of Prof Amartya Sen for Social Sciences and Economics; Prof Shrinivas Kulkarni for Physical Sciences; Prof Srinivas Varadhan for Mathematical Sciences; Prof Subra Suresh for Engineering Sciences; and Prof Inder Verma for Life Sciences -- described the evaluation methodology of each category and introduced the laureates. . . .

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.

The Infosys Science Foundation was established in February 2009 to promote world-class research in the  natural and social sciences in India. . . .

Mathematical Sciences

Ashoke Sen of Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad, in recognition of his fundamental contributions to Mathematical Physics, particularly to String Theory.

Delivering the welcome address, N R Narayana Murthy, the president of the board of trustees of the Infosys Science Foundation said, "Research in sciences is the bedrock of social and technological progress in our society and this has never been more crucial to India's future than at this point in time. There is a significant depth of scientific talent in this country and the objective of the Infosys Prize is to identify and encourage such outstanding talent."

"The work done by the Infosys Prize 2009 laureates is a strong example of the quality of research talent in India. By recognizing and appropriately rewarding their achievements, we hope to persuade more bright young people to adopt careers in research," Murthy added. . . .

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.

Speaking on the occasion, Hamid Ansari, said, "I congratulate the laureates of the Infosys Prize 2009. Their signal contributions in their areas of specialization have been recognized. They pursued excellence with an intensity that made all obstacles evaporate. Its recognition today will have a demonstration effect and inspire others to do likewise. It will boost the confidence of researchers in physical, biological and social sciences and related branches of knowledge." . . .

Engineering Sciences

No prize was awarded for the Engineering Sciences discipline this year. This is a unanimous decision by the Jury as they did not find a suitable candidate in accordance with the statutes of the Infosys Prize.

The prize also seeks to boost confidence of scientists, doctors, social scientists and other researchers already engaged in exemplary work, for despite a number of stellar achievements in recent times, research carried out in India in pure and applied sciences has not been given its due. . . .

Life Sciences

K Vijay Raghavan of National Centre of Biological Sciences, Bangalore, in recognition of his many contributions as a developmental geneticist and neurobiologist.

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.