Bengaluru, NFAPost: ICTS-TIFR scientist Prof. Parameswaran Ajith has been awarded the inaugural TWAS-CAS Young Scientist Award for Frontier Science in the Physical Sciences, by the Italy-based World Academy of Sciences. This award recognizes outstanding young scientists from developing countries.
Expressing happiness over the recognition, Prof. Parameswaran Ajith said he is honoured and humbled by this recognition.
“I was fortunate to have many wonderful mentors, collaborators and students who made my work possible. Modern science is a collaborative enterprise. This is particularly true in my area of research,” said Professor Parameswaran Ajith.
Prof. Parameswaran Ajith’s research spans the physics and astrophysics of gravitational waves — ripples in spacetime whose existence was predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago, and first detected by LIGO observations in 2015.
A member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration since 2004, Prof. Ajith and his research group at ICTS-TIFR have made important contributions towards deciphering this Nobel-winning discovery.
Prof. Parameswaran Ajith pioneered a method to model the expected gravitational-wave signals from colliding binary black holes. Theoretical models calculated using this method are now being used to extract the properties of gravitational-wave signals from LIGO observations.
His research group at ICTS-TIFR has also developed ways to test Einstein’s theory from gravitational-wave observations and to study the properties of black holes that produce these waves.
Commenting on the achievement of Professor Ajit Parameswaran, ICTS-TIFR Centre Director Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar said ICTS-TIFR is immensely proud of Prof. Ajith and his accomplishments.
“This recognition by TWAS in giving its inaugural award for young scientists in frontier areas to Ajith, in recognition of his important contributions to the LIGO discovery, is a particularly singular honour. It is a matter of pride not only for ICTS and TIFR but also for India, given how competitive this award is. Of course, this is not the first time that Ajith’s work has gotten international recognition and I am sure it will not be the last,” said Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar.
He also highlighted the fact that ICTS is actively growing the area of gravitational wave astronomy which will be one of the frontiers of humanity’s exploration of the universe and through LIGO-India we can be world leaders in this area.
Based in Trieste, Italy, TWAS – The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science, works to support sustainable prosperity through research, education, policy and diplomacy in developing countries. TWAS-CAS Young Scientist Award for Frontier Science was established in 2020 and is awarded to scientists not older than 45 years old, from developing countries. The first edition (2020) of the award recognizes achievements in the field of physical sciences.
Founded in 2007, the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS), Bengaluru is a new initiative in Indian science. Part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), ICTS contributes to the growth of excellence in the basic sciences through its programs, in-house research and public outreach. ICTS programs provide a platform for cross-fertilization between disciplines; ICTS has active in-house research groups in theoretical natural sciences and mathematics. It also has an active public outreach program that connects with tens of thousands of science enthusiasts every year.
