Indian-origin scientist wins prestigious Shaw Prize in Astronomy for 2024

An Indian-origin professor of astronomy, Shrinivas R. Kulkarni from the US, will be awarded the prestigious Shaw Prize in Astronomy in recognition of his pioneering discoveries on millisecond pulsars, gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, and other variable or transient astronomical objects.

Shrinivas R. Kulkarni is the George Ellery Hale Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology.

While announcing the Shaw Laureates for 2024, The Shaw Prize Foundation said, "His contributions to time-domain astronomy culminated in the conception, construction, and leadership of the Palomar Transient Factory and its successor, the Zwicky Transient Facility, which has revolutionised our understanding of the time-variable optical sky."

“The Shaw Prize consists of three annual prizes: Astronomy, Life Science and Medicine, and Mathematical Sciences, each bearing a monetary award of US$1.2 million. This will be the 21st year that the prize has been awarded, and the presentation ceremony is scheduled for November 12 in Hong Kong,” the Foundation said.

The other recipients of the Shaw Prize are US scientist Peter Sarnak, who received a Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences; and US scientists Stuart Orkin and Swee Lay Thein, who shared a Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine.

Kulkarni earned his master's degree in 1978 from the Indian Institute of Technology, followed by a PhD from the University of California, in 1983. From 2006 to 2018, he served as the Director of Caltech Optical Observatories.

Run Run Shaw (1907–2014), a philanthropist and renowned personality in Hong Kong cinema and television, established the Sir Run Run Shaw Charitable Trust and the Shaw Foundation Hong Kong, both of which are committed to advancing education, science and technology research, healthcare, social services, and the arts.

(PTI news syndicate)