Shiraz Minwalla

Indian physicist

ICTP Prize (2010)
S.S. Bhatnagar Prize (2011)
Nishina Asia Award (2013)
Infosys Prize (2013)
New Horizons in Physics Prize (2014)
TWAS Prize (2016)

Scientific careerFieldsString Theory, Theoretical PhysicsInstitutionsTata Institute of Fundamental Research, Harvard UniversityDoctoral advisorNathan SeibergOther academic advisorsAndrew Strominger, Spenta Wadia^[1]Doctoral studentsMatthew Headrick

Shiraz Naval Minwalla^[1] (born January 2, 1972)^[3]^[4]^[5] is an Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist.^[6] He is a faculty member in the Department of Theoretical Physics at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.^[7] Prior to his present position, Minwalla was a Harvard Junior Fellow and subsequently an assistant professor at Harvard University.^[8]^[9]

Early life

Born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, in 1972, to a Parsi-Zoroastrian father (Naval) and a Muslim mother (Khadija), Minwalla graduated from Campion School, Mumbai in 1988 and then Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in 1995. He later moved to Princeton University to earn his PhD under the guidance of Nathan Seiberg.^[1]

Awards

Minwalla was awarded the Swarnajayanti Fellowship 2005-06 by the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India. He was awarded the ICTP Prize in 2010 and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, the highest science award in India, in the physical sciences category in 2011.^[10]^[3] He was awarded the Infosys Prize 2013 in the field of Physical Sciences by the Infosys Science Foundation.^[11]^[12] Minwalla was awarded the 2014 New Horizons in Physics Prize by the Fundamental Physics Prize for "his pioneering contributions to the study of string theory and quantum field theory; and in particular his work on the connection between the equations of fluid dynamics and Albert Einstein's equations of general relativity."^[12]^[13]^[14] In 2016, The World Academy of Sciences awarded him the TWAS Prize in Physics.^[15]

Notable contributions to the field

Analysis of primary operators on AdS4 and AdS7
Three-point functions in N=4 supersymmetric Yang–Mills theory and AdS/CFT
Noncommutative perturbative dynamics (with Nathan Seiberg and Mark Van Raamsdonk)
Noncommutative solitons (with Andrew Strominger and Rajesh Gopakumar)
OM-theory (with Nathan Seiberg, Andrew Strominger and Rajesh Gopakumar)
Stringy interactions in pp-waves
Some insights about tachyon condensation
Dualities in supersymmetric gauge theories, in particular Chern-Simons-matter theories
Fluid-Gravity correspondence, the connections between hydrodynamics and AdS/CFT.(with Sayantani Bhattacharyya)

Personal life

Shiraz Minwalla lives in Mumbai with his wife and two children.^[1]

Selected works

Bhattacharyya, Sayantani; Hubeny, Veronika E.; Loganayagam, R.; Mandal, Gautam; Minwalla, Shiraz; Morita, Takeshi; Rangamani, Mukund; Reall, Harvey S. (2008). "Local fluid dynamical entropy from gravity". Journal of High Energy Physics. 2008 (6): 055. arXiv:0803.2526. Bibcode:2008JHEP...06..055B. doi:10.1088/1126-6708/2008/06/055. S2CID 3085486.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Breakthrough Prize – Fundamental Physics Breakthrough Prize Laureates – Shiraz Naval Minwalla". breakthroughprize.org. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
^ Sengupta, Swati (28 November 2008). "A night of horror". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Awardee Details: Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize". ssbprize.gov.in. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
^ "Indian Academy of Sciences". fellows.ias.ac.in. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
^ "Fellowship | Indian Academy of Sciences". www.ias.ac.in. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
^ "Physicist makes string theory look simple" (PDF). Tufts Institute of Cosmology. 26 April 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
^ "Members of the Department of Theoretical Physics". Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
^ "Sultans of String". The Indian Express. 27 February 2005. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
^ "Calcutta: Metro". The Telegraph. 4 November 2004. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
^ "11 scientists selected for Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award" ibn live, 26 September 2011. "11 scientists selected for Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award, IBN Live News". Archived from the original on 4 January 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
^ "News18.com: CNN-News18 Breaking News India, Latest News, Current News Headlines". News18. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
^ ^a ^b Vasudevan Mukunth (14 November 2013). "'Research in India happens in a few elite institutions'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
^ "Fundamental Physics Prize - News". Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
^ "NEWS - ICTS". www.icts.res.in. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
^ "Prizes and Awards". The World Academy of Sciences. 2016. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017.