Indo-American physics professor Abhay Ashtekar to be honored with prestigious Einstein Award

Indo-American physics professor Abhay Ashtekar will receive the 2018 Einstein Prize for his contribution to the field of gravitational physics.

The prize, awarded by the American Physical Society and priced at $ 10,000, will be announced on October 23.

"For his many contributions to general relativity, including black hole theory, canonical quantum gravity and quantum cosmology."

Abhay, a native of Kolhapur district in Maharashtra, is Holder, Eberly Chair and Director of the Institute of Gravitational Physics and Geometry at Pennsylvania State University in the United States, according to The Better India.

In an e-mail interview with IANS, Abhay said:

"The award is special because it is the highest distinction awarded by APS in the vast field of gravitational sciences.The first Einstein Prize was awarded jointly to Peter Bergmann and John Wheeler, who introduced relativity In the US universities, by creating research groups, because the first prize often sets the tone, the following awards have been rewarded for recognizing the "achievements of a lifetime." The news was therefore extremely satisfying.

In 1974, Abhay earned her PhD at the University of Chicago. Since then, he has been a distinguished member of several universities in France, Canada and India, says News 18.

His biography on the National Academy of Sciences, of which he was elected member in 2016, describes it as follows:

"Theoretical physicist specializing in general relativity, cosmology and quantum gravity. He is best known for launching the Loop Quantum Gravity program by introducing new variables to simplify Einstein's equations, analyzing the very ancient universe with the help of Loop Quantum Cosmology and contributing to the study of the asymptotic structure of space-time and gravitational waves in complete nonlinear general relativity ".

Ashtekar explored fundamental physics during his college years. He described it as the purest and deepest way of understanding nature (the outside world). To graduate, he chose to study general relativity, cosmology and quantum physics because it was the nature of time, space, and the physical universe that was discussed , says The Financial Express.

He then discovered that gravity was the weakest force among the four forces of nature. He said,

"Gravity has two main characteristics that other forces do not share. Unlike the weak and strong force, it is long-range and therefore essential for large-scale structures and phenomena. The electromagnetic force is also long-range. But because the electric charge is associated with both signs, the force can be both attractive and repulsive. "

He added,

"The big bodies like the sun and the planets are all electrically neutral and therefore do not exert any electromagnetic force, so the dominant force between these bodies is gravitational."

When asked what he thought Indian physicists, he replied:

"In India, extremely talented physicists are making a major contribution to pure physics in areas I know well. I am particularly pleased with the "LIGO-India" project, which now places India at the forefront of international efforts. The Interuniversity Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, in particular, will play an important role in the major discoveries that will be made in the international network of gravitational wave observatories in 5 to 10 years. years. In this area. India is ahead of China, for example. "