Infosys : Science Foundation Announces Winners of the 11th Infosys Prize

Infosys Science Foundation Announces Winners of the 11th Infosys Prize

Bengaluru, November 07, 2019

Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) announced the winners of the Infosys Prize 2019 in six categories - Engineering and Computer Sciences, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences. The Prize celebrates the success of the recipients in science and research by recognizing their achievements in each category. The prize for each category comprises a pure gold medal, a citation and a prize purse of USD 100,000 (or its equivalent in Rupees) this year.

A panel of accomplished jurors comprising renowned scholars and professors shortlisted the winners of Infosys Prize 2019 from 196 nominations. With a history of awarding some of the best talent, who have earned prestigious international honors like Fields Medal and the Nobel Memorial Prize more recently, the ISF believes that this year's winners too will leave an indelible impression in their domains. The Infosys Prize not only recognizes these outstanding researchers and celebrates their achievements, but in doing so, creates role models who will encourage young minds to explore science as a career option.

S. D. Shibulal, Co-founder, Infosys Limited and President of the Infosys Science Foundation, said, 'The Infosys Prize continues to recognize exemplary work in scientific research and enquiry. Many Infosys Prize laureates have gone on to contribute significantly in key areas like healthcare, genetics, climate science, astronomy and poverty alleviation, amongst other things. Their work has immediate implications for the human race and the planet. We hope it catalyzes social development.'

Elaborating on the importance of Fundamental research at the event, N. R. Narayana Murthy, Founder - Infosys, Trustee - Infosys Science Foundation, said, 'We should start helping our youngsters pursue fundamental research enthusiastically. They should be encouraged and equipped to become contributors to solving huge problems that confront us every day. I want India to be a place where discovery and invention happen every month.'

Winners of the Infosys Prize 2019 in the six categories are:

Engineering and Computer Science

The Infosys Prize 2019 for Engineering and Computer Science is awarded to Sunita Sarawagi, Institute Chair Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay for her research in databases, data mining, machine learning and natural language processing, and for important applications of these research techniques. The prize recognizes her pioneering work in developing information extraction techniques for unstructured data. Prof. Sarawagi's work has practical applications in helping clean up unstructured data like addresses on the web and in repositories which then helps in more efficient handling of queries.

Humanities

The Infosys Prize 2019 for Humanities is awarded to Manu V. Devadevan, Assistant Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi for his original and wide-ranging work on pre-modern South India. He critically reinterprets much of the conventional wisdom about the cultural, religious and social history of the Deccan and South India. Dr. Devadevan's primary research interests include political and economic processes in pre-modern South India, literary practices in South India and the study of ancient inscriptions from the region.

Life Sciences

The Infosys Prize 2019 for Life Sciences is awarded to Manjula Reddy, Chief Scientist, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad for her groundbreaking discoveries concerning the structure of cell walls in bacteria. Dr. Reddy and her colleagues have revealed critical steps of cell wall growth that are fundamental for understanding bacterial biology. This work could potentially help in creating a new class of antibiotics to combat antibiotic resistant microbes.

Mathematical Sciences

The Infosys Prize 2019 for Mathematical Sciences is awarded to Siddhartha Mishra, Professor, Department of Mathematics, ETH Zürich, for his outstanding contributions to Applied Mathematics, particularly for designing numerical tools for solving problems in the real world. Prof. Mishra's work has been used in climate models, in astrophysics, aerodynamics, and plasma physics. He has produced codes for complicated realistic problems such as tsunamis generated by rock slides, and waves in the solar atmosphere.

Physical Sciences

The Infosys Prize 2019 for Physical Sciences is awarded to G. Mugesh, Professor, Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru for his seminal work in the chemical synthesis of small molecules and nanomaterials for biomedical applications. His work has contributed to the understanding of the role of trace elements, selenium and iodine, in thyroid hormone activation and metabolism, and this research has led to major medical advances.

Social Sciences

The Infosys Prize 2019 for Social Sciences is awarded to Anand Pandian, Professor, Department of Anthropology, Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, Johns Hopkins University for his imaginative work on ethics, selfhood and the creative process. Prof. Pandian's research encompasses several themes such as cinema, public culture, ecology, nature and the theory and methods of anthropology. His writing pushes the boundaries of how anthropologists render into words the worlds they encounter. His work breaks new ground.

About the Infosys Science Foundation

The Infosys Prize is awarded by the Infosys Science Foundation, a not-for-profit trust set up in 2009. The award is given annually to honor outstanding achievements of contemporary researchers and scientists across six categories: Engineering and Computer Sciences, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences. Each prize consists of a gold medal, a citation and a purse of USD 100,000. The award intends to celebrate success in research and stand as a marker of excellence in these fields.

Jury Chairs

Prof. Kaushik Basu | Prof. Arvind | Prof. Shrinivas Kulkarni | Prof. Akeel Bilgrami | Dr. Mriganka Sur | Prof. Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan

Trustees

Srinath Batni | K. Dinesh | S. Gopalakrishnan | N. R. Narayana Murthy | Nandan Nilekani | T. V. Mohandas Pai | Shibulal S.D.

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. We enable clients in 46 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With over three decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer our clients through their digital journey. We do it by enabling the enterprise with an AI-powered core that helps prioritize the execution of change. We also empower the business with agile digital at scale to deliver unprecedented levels of performance and customer delight. Our always-on learning agenda drives their continuous improvement through building and transferring digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

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