American Physical Society (APS) Elects Prof. Sanjeev Dhurandhar As A Fellow
Pune, September 29, 2020: Prof. Sanjeev Dhurandhar (Emeritus Professor, IUCAA) has been elected as a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) for his Outstanding Contributions to Physics. It is a rare international honour, especially for scientists working in India.
It was decided at the APS Council at its September 2020 meeting upon the recommendation of the APS Division of Gravitational Physics (DGRAV). It is a prestigious recognition of his achievements in physics and in general in science.
Prof. Somak Raychaudhury, Director of IUCAA, said “When Sanjiv Dhurandhar started working on Gravitational Waves (GW) in IUCAA in the late 1980s-early 90s, it was not a fashionable field. Very few people thought that GW would be realistically ever detected.
Prof. Dhurandhar built the first group in India with Dr Sathyaprakash (who is now in Penn State and a leader in LIGO) and a very smart bunch of postdocs and students. The mathematical method he developed (matched filtering) was used by the LIGO collaboration for the first detection in 2015 and is still used. Almost all of the activity in GW in India can be traced back to Dhurandhar and Prof Bala Iyer in Bengaluru who became an APS fellow a few years ago. I am very happy indeed that Prof Dhurandhar’s seminal contribution to Indian science and the suddenly-popular science of GW has been aptly recognised.”
Former Directors also join in the celebration of this achievement
In celebration of this major recognition, Prof. Naresh Dadhich, former Director, IUCAA said, “Sanjeev had pioneered gravitational wave research in India and had not only contributed to the fundamental understanding of gravitational wave detection phenomena but had trained a large number of students and colleagues who are spread over all the leading gravitational centres in the world. A well-deserved tribute and recognition to his pioneering efforts, warmest congratulations.”
Prof. Ajit Kembhavi, also a former Director, IUCAA said, “Prof. Sanjeev Dhurandhar’s contribution to the analysis and interpretation of gravitational wave data has been truly pioneering and he is still very active in the field. He has also been responsible for setting up a whole school of young gravitational wave scientists who are contributing to the global effort. The Fellowship of the American Physical Society is richly deserved. ”
Citation reads
Citation on the APS certificate reads, “For foundational contributions to the theoretical underpinnings of gravitational wave detection, especially in data analysis techniques and for developing a gravitational wave community in India which has led to LIGO-India (a laser interferometric gravitational wave detector on Indian soil)”.
About Prof. Sanjeev Dhurandhar
Sanjeev Dhurandhar has been honoured with national as well as international awards such as Meghnad Saha Memorial Gold Medal (individual), Firodia Vijnan Bhushan (individual) and Milner’s Special Breakthrough Prize (shared with the LIGO Science Collaboration). His ongoing work involves improving search methods in gravitational-wave data analysis.
