Inf prize: Bhargava’s number patterns enthrall audience

Bengaluru: Scientists and researchers from various fields got well-deserved laurels at the annual Infosys Prize ceremony on Saturday.

Renowned Canadian-American mathematician Manjul Bhargava enthralled the audience with his grasp over number patterns and their relations at the ceremony.

“Number patterns” inspired Bhargava to take up mathematics as a research discipline to delve deeper into number theory.

“The goal of every mathematician is to understand the origin of these patterns and teach kids the same to broaden their mathematical skills,” said Bhargava, a professor of Mathematics at Princeton University and the first Distinguished Chair for the Public Dissemination of Mathematics at the National Museum of Mathematics in New York.

Bhargava explained how various number sequences can be formed along with the pictorial representations.

Scientists and researchers from several fields, including Engineering and Computer Science, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences, were chosen from among 244 nominations.

The jury was headed by Pradeep K, University of California, Amartya Sen, Harvard University, Mriganka Sur, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Srinivasa S R Varadhan, New York University, Shrinivasa Kulkarni, California Institute of Technology and Kaushik Basu, Cornell University.

Navakanta Bhat, chairperson of Centre for Nano Science and Engineering, IISc, won the prize for devising gas sensors with ultra-precise detection accuracies necessary for space and environmental monitoring used in India’s growing space, atomic energy and national security programmes.

Kavita Singh, professor and dean, school of arts and aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, won the prize for her study of Mughal, Rajput and Deccan art, and writing on the historical role of museums.

Roop Malik, professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, won the prize for his work on molecular motor proteins crucial for the functioning of living cells, proving insights to improve therapies for obesity and diabetes.

Nalini Anantharaman, professor and chair of Mathematics, University of Strasbourg, France, received the award for work related to “Quantum Chaos”.

S K Satheesh, professor, Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, IISc, received the award for his work in the field of climate change. Sendhil Mullainathan, professor, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, received the award for his work on behavioural economics.