CalTech Professor Wins Shaw Prize In Astronomy

Photo: www.shawprize.org

India West News Desk
PASADENA, CA – Shrinivas R. Kulkarni, has been honored with the prestigious Shaw Prize in Astronomy for his pioneering discoveries related to millisecond pulsars, gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, and other transient astronomical objects.
Kulkarni is the George Ellery Hale Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science at the California Institute of Technology’s Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy.
The Shaw Prize Foundation announced the 2024 laureates on May 21, highlighting Kulkarni’s significant contributions to time-domain astronomy. His work led to the creation and leadership of the Palomar Transient Factory and its successor, the Zwicky Transient Facility, which dramatically advanced understanding of the variable optical sky.
“The Shaw Prize in Astronomy is awarded to Shrinivas R. Kulkarni for his ground-breaking discoveries about millisecond pulsars, gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, and other variable or transient astronomical objects,” the foundation stated. “His contributions to time-domain astronomy culminated in the conception, construction, and leadership of the Palomar Transient Factory and its successor, the Zwicky Transient Facility.”

Alongside Kulkarni, the other Shaw Prize awardees for 2024 include Swee Lay Thein and Stuart Orkin, who received the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine, and Peter Sarnak, who was awarded the Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences. Each of the three annual prizes carries a monetary award of $1.2 million. The award ceremony is scheduled for November 12, in Hong Kong.

Shrinivas R. Kulkarni grew up in Karnataka and began his academic journey began with a Master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in 1978, followed by a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1983.
His university webpage says, “I love music and like my research, I switch my focus every few years. I have successively been a fan of Salsa, Qawali, Latin Jazz and music from Mali. I am a great student of macro-finance and especially financial meltdowns. Finally, I love rabbits since they best reflect my personality.”