Physicist Ashoke Sen has been awarded the 2026 Oskar Klein Medal, becoming the first physicist from India to receive this honour.Sen, who holds the ICTS-infosys Madhava chair professorship at the International centre for theoretical sciences (ICTS), tata institute of fundamental research (TIFR), Bengaluru, is widely recognised for his pioneering contributions to modern string theory.String theory proposes that the fundamental building blocks of matter are tiny, one-dimensional strings rather than point-like particles. The theory seeks to provide a unified framework for understanding matter and the forces governing interactions between its constituents.Established in 1988, the Oskar Klein Medal is named after Swedish theoretical physicist Oskar Klein. It is awarded annually by stockholm university and the nobel committee for physics of the royal swedish academy of sciences.As part of the oskar klein memorial lectures, a distinguished researcher is invited each year to deliver a lecture in klein’s memory and receive the medal.Sen delivered his memorial lecture, titled ‘gravity from strings and strings from gravity’, on October 22 at the AlbaNova university centre in Stockholm.His presentation explored how string theory can provide a consistent quantum description of gravity and help address unresolved questions surrounding the quantum physics of black holes.
Contributions to modern string theory
A recipient of the Padma Shri in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013, Sen has made several influential theoretical contributions that have helped shape the field of string theory.His work was recognised with the breakthrough prize in fundamental physics in 2012. The research helped establish the idea that different string theories could be understood as distinct limits of a single underlying theory.
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Congratulating Sen on the achievement, ICTS director Rajesh Gopakumar said, “On behalf of all of us, very warm congratulations to Ashoke. It has been no less than wonderful having Ashoke with us and setting the tone for excellence here at ICTS.”In a statement, ICTS highlighted Sen’s internationally recognised contributions to S-duality, the precise counting of black-hole entropy and string field theory, describing them as key areas of work that have helped shape modern string theory.
Previous recipients of the Oskar Klein Medal
The medal has previously been awarded to several prominent scientists, including Kip Thorne in 2016, Peter Higgs in 2009 and Stephen Hawking in 2003.Other recipients include nobel laureates Hans E. Bethe, who received the medal in 1990; Steven Weinberg, honoured in 1989; and Chen Ning Yang, who was the recipient in 1988.
