The Infosys Science Foundation recently announced that KANNAN SOUNDARARAJAN, professor of mathematics and director of the Mathematics Research Center, won the Infosys Prize 2011 for Mathematical Sciences. The award recognizes outstanding contributions in engineering and computer science, life sciences, mathematical sciences, physical sciences and social sciences.
The citation credits Soundararajan for “fundamental contributions to analytic number theory. These include numerous brilliant breakthroughs in well known and difficult problems, as well as the resolution of some that have been open for a long time. In particular, his recent development of new unexpected techniques to study the critical values of general zeta functions has led to the proof of the Quantum Unique Ergodicity Conjecture for classical holomorphic modular forms. Many of the analytic and combinatorial tools that Soundararajan and his collaborators have developed, in works ranging from prime numbers and sieve methods to character sums and zeta functions, have become standard tools for researchers in these fields.”
Soundararajan serves as an editor for the Journal of Number Theory, the International Journal of Number Theory, Communications in Contemporary Mathematics and The Ramanujan Journal.
According to the foundation’s press release, the Infosys Prize carries the largest prize in India for scientific research. Winners receive a 22-karat gold medallion, a citation certificate and prize money of 50 lakh.
The award ceremony for the Infosys Prize 2011 will be held on Jan. 9, 2012 in Bangalore.
