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Indian scientist wins prestigious Dan David Prize

Indian scientist Shrinivas Kulkarni has won the Dan David prize for his contribution in the field of astronomy.

Kulkarni is a professor of astrophysics and planetary science at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

He is a leading figure in time-domain astrophysics across the electromagnetic spectrum who built and conducted the Palomar Transient Factory, a large-area survey of the night sky in search of variable and transient phenomena.

The survey has turned up thousands of stellar explosions, transforming our knowledge of the transient sky.

Kulkarni, with this honour, joins other prominent Indian laureates of the Dan David prize including author Amitav Ghosh, music conductor Zubin Mehta and renowned chemist CNR Rao.

Three Dan David prizes of USD 1 million each are given every year in the categories of “Past”, “Present” and “Future” to people around the world who have made outstanding contributions to humanity in the sciences, humanities, or through their work in civil society.

The recipients in the “Past” category are generally drawn from the field of history, archaeology, palaeontology, biography, etc; the “Present” from arts, media, policy, economics, etc; and the “Future” from one of the exact or natural sciences.

The “Future” category this year is dedicated to astronomy and will be shared by Kulkarni, Andrej Udalski of the University of Warsaw and Neil Gehrels of NASA for their discoveries on time-domain astrophysics.

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