Indian-American physicist, prof at UT, missed Nobel 9 times; passed away

[PHLaggie 110]

Physicist E C G Sudarshan, who missed Noble Prize 9 times, dies at 86

In 2007, the Indian government recognised and awarded the physicist with the second highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan

Press Trust of India  |  Houston  Last Updated at May 15, 2018 14:18 IST

The cremation of eminent Indian-American theoretical physicist, EC George Sudarshan who passed away on Sunday in Austin, Texas will be held on Thursday.

According to the family sources and close friends, Sudarshan, 86, died of natural causes. He is survived by his wife Bhamathi Sudarshan and two children.

The cremation services will be held in Austin, Texas on Thursday.

Sudarshan had been teaching as a professor at University of Texas for over 40 years.

He served as Honorary Advisory Council Member of Houston Sri Meenakshi Temple. He was associated with the temple from 1977.

Sudarshan, an outstanding theoretical physicist, was born in Kottayam, Kerala, India, in 1931. The professional career of Sudarshan spans five decades.

He discovered the V - A theory of weak interactions while working on his PhD thesis under the late Robert E. Marshak.

He has made remarkable discoveries in many fields of physics, including quantum optics, tachyons, quantum Zeno effect, non-invariance groups, positive maps of density matrices, quantum computation, etc. His contributions include also relations between east and west science, philosophy and religion.

In 2007, the Indian government recognised and awarded the physicist with the second highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan.

He was also awarded the Dirac Medal in 2010, which is known to be given out to scientists who have made substantial contributions in theoretical physics, computational chemistry and mathematics.

The renowned physicist was even recommended for the Nobel Prize nine times but never awarded.

 

 

First Published: Tue, May 15 2018. 14:18 IST

 

http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/physicist-e-c-g-sudarshan-who-missed-noble-prize-9-times-dies-at-86-118051500393_1.html

[PHLaggie 110]

For the physics/quantum mechanics/spirituality geeks in here, here's a deeper dive:

https://swarajyamag.com/ideas/george-sudarshan-a-lifelong-pursuit-of-science-and-vedanta

[PHLaggie 110]

This gives more perspective on his work and his legacy...

https://www.hindustantimes.com/science/ecg-sudarshan-physicist-who-proposed-faster-than-light-theory-dies-at-86/story-STfgrT2o5xC2tC7olCFS0I.html

 

[Not that Bob 739]

Damn.

[Newdoc 3465]

Looks like he left a legacy to science that looms large even if there is not a “Nobel” attached to it.

[PHLaggie 110]

1 hour ago, Newdoc said:

Looks like he left a legacy to science that looms large even if there is not a “Nobel” attached to it.

yea, it's one of those examples in history where the medal or the award is the loser for not having been bestowed on the person. the person, their legacy shines regardless.

Everyone knows the Nobel Peace Prize is thoroughly politicized; and it was for colonial political reasons that Gandhi was never awarded one. That doesn't reduce Gandhi's legacy. It just makes the Nobel committee look worse off in hindsight.

And it's a shame that Shawshank Redemption was zero Oscars, but doesn't take away from the fact that it's one of the best movies ever made...

 

[old white guy 11]

Thanks for posting. He's been an asset to the University community for a very long time. Under-recognized locally, IMHO, until The University gave him a President's Reception and lit the tower orange in his honor in 2010.

[TheYoungHorn 68]

Randomly took a class of his back in the day. Physics for non-technical majors. 

On some days it was among the worst classes I ever attended on campus. On others, it was pure genius. It was odd, when a lecture hall of students looking for a blow-off science credit ran into someone that should have won at least one Nobel prize, and had no idea of his background. 

He had a unique style when dealing with people who didn't want to learn physics, often slowing things down in an attempt to simplify topics, but then the next class getting extremely frustrated.

Though, he seemed to relish the chance to convey at least some of what he was passionate about to a diverse audience and had a great sense of humor, though it almost entirely came at the expense of other students. Many of which, because of his thick accent, and style had no idea what was going on. 

I do remember him joking about some of the Nobel drama a lot, at least he found some humor in it. 

[DoobieWah 1477]

Well, they just don't hand out Nobel Prizes to just anyone.

 

Oh...wait...