Click to play videoOslo: Indian-born mathematician, Srinivasa S R Varadhan has been awarded the Norwegian Abel Prize or the Nobel Prize for mathematics.
According to the jury, Varadhan was cited for his "fundamental contributions to probability theory and in particular for a unified theory of large deviations".
Vardhan spoke to CNN-IBN in his first TV interview after winning the award saying that he did not even know that he was in the running for the award.
"You know they don't tell you in advance that you're even in the running or a candidate for it. So they call at 6 AM from Europe and wake you up and tell you that you've received this award," says he.
Varadhan currently teaches at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, and his theories have proved useful in a broad range of fields, including quantum field theory, statistical physics, population dynamics, econometrics and finance, and traffic engineering.
The prize money amounts to $8,50,000 and will be conferred on him at a ceremony in Oslo later this year.
The Abel Prize was created in 2002 to commemorate the 200th centenary of the birth of Niels Henrik Abel. The Norwegian is acknowledged as one of the great names in mathematics although he died only aged 26. |
Chennai born Varadan has been in the US for the last four decades and is an American citizen.
"I come from south India, and Ramanujan's name is extremely well known there. Even in high school our teachers talked about him, as somebody from a different generation of course, but who reached exalted heights. He was a role model for me," he said.
"Most of bright students are attracted towards IITs and technological institutions because that's the career path their parents want and that's the career path they think they want. And so a whole top level is lost already for pure math and basic sciences," he added.
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