Leading air pollution expert SN Tripathi among 6 selected for Infosys Prize

Professor Arun Kumar Shukla, Tripathi’s colleague at IIT Kanpur, was selected for the award in the life sciences category, while Mukund Thattai, a professor at the Bengaluru-based National Centre for Biological Sciences, was given the prize in physical sciences. Shukla has been recognised for his work on G-protein-coupled receptors, a key component of cell function, which has opened up new opportunities in the design of novel therapeutics. An evolutionary cell biologist, Thattai has been awarded for his work on the “origins of endomembrane organelles, shedding new light on how they emerged from ancient, primordial cells”.

For mathematics, the award was given to Bhargav Bhat, a professor at the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, United States, for his contributions in arithmetic geometry and commutative algebra.

Jahnavi Phalkey, a science historian and founding director of Science Gallery Bengaluru, was awarded the prize in humanities for her research in the history of science in modern India, particularly the history of nuclear science, which resulted in the book The Atomic State.

The Infosys Prize in social sciences was given to Karuna Mantena, a professor of political science at the Conference for Study of Political Thought, Columbia University, for her work on the theory of imperial rule.

The USD 100,000 Infosys Prize, being awarded since 2008, is now given to six outstanding researchers every year, and has established itself as one of the most prestigious awards in the country.