Six eminent scientists, including Prof Jayant Haritsa of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and Prof Shubha Tole of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai received the prestigious Infosys Prize 2014 at a ceremony here today.
Prof Haritsa is Professor, Supercomputer Education and Research Centre (SERC) and Chair, Department of Computer Science and Automation (CSA) at IISc. He has been awarded the prize for his contributions to the design and optimization of database engines.
Prof Tole is Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, TIFR. She has been chosen for her significant contributions to studying the hippocampus and amygdala – centres of learning and memory in the brain. Her work can lead to a better understanding of human behavior, cognition and emotions.
Mr Shamnad Basheer, founder and Managing Trustee, Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access (IDIA), Bangalore and Founder – SpicyIP, India was awarded the prize in Humanities for contributions to theanalysis of a range of legal issues, including pharmaceutical patent injunctions and enforcement.
In the area of Life Sciences, the prize was presented to Prof Madhu Sudan, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research New England and Adjunct Professor, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS) department and Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), MassachusettsInstitute of Technology (MIT). He was awarded for his seminal contributions to probabilistically checkable proofs and error-correcting codes.Dr Srivari Chandrasekhar, Scientist G, Organic Chemistry Division, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), Hyderabad, received the prize for his contributions in the general area of synthetic organic chemistry with a special focus on the synthesis of complex molecules from natural sources.
In the category of Social Sciences, Prof Esther Duflo, Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Founder & Director, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), United States, has been chosen for the prize for her pioneering contributions to development economics, especially work related to countries such as India and Africa.
Nobel Laureate and renowned economist Amartya Sen, the Thomas W. Lamont University Professor at Harvard University, felicitated the winners, who received a purse of Rs 65 lakh (over $ 100,000) each, a 22 karat gold medallion and a citation certificate describing their winning work.
The prize purse was increased from Rs 55 lakhs to Rs 65 lakhs this year.
The members of the jury, Prof. Pradeep K. Khosla ? Engineering and Computer Science, Justice. Leila Seth – Humanities, Prof. Inder Verma – Life Sciences, Prof. Srinivasa S. R. Varadhan – Mathematical Sciences, Prof. Shrinivas Kulkarni – Physical Sciences, and Prof. Kaushik Basu – Social Sciences, cited the work done by the winners.
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