Why in News?
Indian theoretical physicist Deepak Dhar has been named a co-recipient of the Dirac Medal, one of the highest international honours in theoretical physics. The award was instituted in 1985 by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Italy, and is named after renowned physicist Paul Dirac.
Key Points
Deepak Dhar, born in 1951 in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, is a distinguished theoretical physicist and currently serves as an INSA Distinguished Professor at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS), Bengaluru.
He is an alumnus of the University of Allahabad and IIT Kanpur and has made important contributions to theoretical physics, particularly in understanding how simple interactions can produce complex and sometimes unpredictable behaviour in large systems.
The Dirac Medal, instituted in 1985, honours scientists who have made outstanding contributions to theoretical physics. It is named after Paul Dirac, one of the key figures in the development of quantum theory.
Dhar had earlier received the prestigious Boltzmann Medal in 2022, becoming the first Indian to receive the award. With the Dirac Medal, he joins a select group of only ten scientists who have received both the Boltzmann Medal and Dirac Medal.
Several scientists belonging to this distinguished group have subsequently received the Nobel Prize in Physics, highlighting the significance of these two honours in the field of theoretical physics.
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