Noted physicist E C G Sudarshan and structural biologist Prof M Vijayan have been selected for the Kerala Science Awards for the years 2011 and 2012 respectively.
The awards have been jointly instituted by the Department of Science and Technology and State Council for Science, Technology and Environment to honour scientists born in Kerala but working abroad. The lifetime contributions made for science is what is considered for selection of the scientists.
Hailing from Pallam in Kottayam, E. C. George Sudarshan has made significant contributions to several areas of physics. He was the originator of the V-A theory of the weak force which eventually paved the way for the electroweak theory. He also developed a quantum representation of coherent light.
Dr Sudarshan’s most significant work is considered his contribution to the field of quantum optics. He, in collaboration with Baidyanaith Misra, had also proposed the quantum Zeno effect. He currently works at the University of Texas, Austin.
Prof M Vijayan is one of the most distinguished scientists in India and has been associated with the advancement of science in Kerala for a very long time. Vijayan had carried out outstanding research in the field of structural biology. He has greatly contributed to the growth of the field of macromolecular crystallography in India and his research on the structures of plant lectins and proteins from mycobacterium tuberculosis have been very widely recognised.
Prof Vijayan has also been involved in the administration of science both at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and at the national level.
He had served as the Associate Director at IISc and has been president of Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi. He continues to be an active researcher. The awards would be distributed by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at a function here on January 22.