In this episode of The Frontier, we are joined by Dr. Rajesh Gopakumar, theoretical physicist and Director of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS).  Dr. Gopakumar is an eminent string theorist who has worked in various domains at the intersection of string theory and quantum field theory. A significant proportion of his research has been attempting to derive the AdS/CFT correspondence, and he is well known for his contributions in N gauge theories, noncommutative field theories and topological string theory.  

After ranking 1 in his entrance exams, he entered the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (1987). He graduated with an integrated M.Sc. in physics there (1992), following which he received his Ph.D. from Princeton University (1997) under the supervision of David Gross—Nobel laureate. Before returning to India to teach at the Harish Chandra Institute (2001), he was a research associate at Harvard University. He was also a long-term Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), at Princeton, New Jersey.  

Dr. Gopakumar has received numerous accolades throughout his career: he is the recipient of the ICTP Prize (2006), the S.S. Bhatnagar Award (2009), and the TWAS Prize in the Physical Sciences (2013)—and more. He is also a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy and the National Academy of Sciences, India. In 2015, he was elected fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). He is a founding member (now alumnus) of the Global Young Academy (GYA).  

To learn more about Dr. Rajesh Gopakumar, see below:
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajesh_Gopakumar
Publications: https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=pvyvhfQAAAAJ&hl=en
Homepage: https://www.icts.res.in/people/rajesh-gopakumar 

Find ICTS summer program for undergraduates here: https://www.icts.res.in/academic/summer-research-program

In this episode of The Frontier, we have Dr. Somak Raychaudhury, the Director of IUCAA Pune and an Indian astrophysicist well-known for his work across a wide range of domains from Observational Astronomy to Theoretical Astrophysics to Data Science.  Over the years, he has had affiliations with various leading institutions around the world.  

In this episode, we talk about his journey with science and his connection with Astrophysics, his experience with research, his take on ideas not just within Astronomy but also from philosophy to art, and much more! We hope you find this conversation illuminating!

In this episode, your host, Arnav Das, introduces this endeavour to the audience.