Thanu Padmanabhan
Encyclopedia
Thanu Padmanabhan is an India
n theoretical physicist. He is currently Distinguished Professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics
, (IUCAA) at Pune
, India. His principal fields of research are Cosmology
and the interface between Gravity and Quantum theory
. He is also the recipient of the inaugural Infosys Prize
in the category of Physical Sciences.
(Trivandrum) and did his B.Sc (1977) and his M.Sc (1979) in Physics
from University College, Kerala University
, securing Gold Medals for his academic achievements. He published his first research paper (on general relativity) when he was a B.Sc student, at the age of 20. He joined TIFR, Mumbai
for PhD and became a faculty member there in 1980 where he continued till 1992. He moved to IUCAA in 1992 and is currently the Dean of Core Academic Programmes.
He has served as visiting faculty at many institutes including the
California Institute of Technology
, Princeton University
, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune and the Pennsylvania State University
as well as the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge
.
He is married to Dr. Vasanthi Padmanabhan, who has a Ph.D in astrophysics from TIFR, Mumbai and has one daughter, Hamsa Padmanabhan.
quantum cosmology
, structure formation in the universe, statistical mechanics
of gravitating systems, black holes and quantum gravity
and has
published nearly 200 papers in leading international journals.
In the early part of his career he has made significant contributions to the study of statistical mechanics of gravitating systems and later on used this insight to understand the formation of structures in the universe. He has also provided an interpretation of the Planck length as the `zero-point length' of the spacetime based on very general considerations.(Review Articles [3],[4]).
His current research interest is in understanding the nature of dark energy in the universe and its implications for quantum gravity. He has developed a new, thermodynamic perspective on Gravity which has the potential of resolving some of the difficult problems in quantum gravity
.http://arxiv.org/abs/0911.5004, http://arxiv.org/abs/0910.0839 See Entropic gravity
Apart from his scientific research, Padmanabhan has given many popular science lectures and authored more than a hundred popular science articles published in various national and
international journals.
These include a recreational mathematics column,Playthemes http://www.iucaa.ernet.in/~paddy/playthemes/playthemes.htm and a twenty-four part series, Milestones in Science, covering the dawn of all branches of science, from pre-historical times to the 18th century, in the magazine Science Today.
Padmanabhan is an enthusiastic teacher and has given several lecture courses in India and abroad. A series of lectures on General Relativity given by him is available at the following site:http://gr-lectures-paddy.blogspot.com/2009_07_21_archive.html
including
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n theoretical physicist. He is currently Distinguished Professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics
Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics
The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics is an autonomous institution set up by the University Grants Commission to promote nucleation and growth of active groups in astronomy and astrophysics in Indian universities...
, (IUCAA) at Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, India. His principal fields of research are Cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
and the interface between Gravity and Quantum theory
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
. He is also the recipient of the inaugural Infosys Prize
Infosys Prize
The Infosys Prize is an annual award that recognizes outstanding contributions by scientists, researchers, engineers and social scientists in India. By recognizing and rewarding extraordinary accomplishments, the Infosys Prize aims to elevate the prestige of pure and applied sciences research in...
in the category of Physical Sciences.
Life and career
Padmanabhan did his schooling in ThiruvananthapuramThiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
(Trivandrum) and did his B.Sc (1977) and his M.Sc (1979) in Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from University College, Kerala University
Kerala University
The University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is an affiliating university located in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. It was established in 1937, long before the birth of the state of Kerala in India...
, securing Gold Medals for his academic achievements. He published his first research paper (on general relativity) when he was a B.Sc student, at the age of 20. He joined TIFR, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
for PhD and became a faculty member there in 1980 where he continued till 1992. He moved to IUCAA in 1992 and is currently the Dean of Core Academic Programmes.
He has served as visiting faculty at many institutes including the
California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune and the Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
as well as the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge
Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge
The Institute of Astronomy is the largest of the three astronomy departments in the University of Cambridge, and one of the largest astronomy sites in the UK...
.
He is married to Dr. Vasanthi Padmanabhan, who has a Ph.D in astrophysics from TIFR, Mumbai and has one daughter, Hamsa Padmanabhan.
Research contributions
Padmanabhan has worked in several contemporary areas of theoretical physics likequantum cosmology
Quantum cosmology
In theoretical physics, quantum cosmology is a field attempting to study the effect of quantum mechanics on the formation of the universe, or its early evolution, especially just after the Big Bang...
, structure formation in the universe, statistical mechanics
Statistical mechanics
Statistical mechanics or statistical thermodynamicsThe terms statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics are used interchangeably...
of gravitating systems, black holes and quantum gravity
Quantum gravity
Quantum gravity is the field of theoretical physics which attempts to develop scientific models that unify quantum mechanics with general relativity...
and has
published nearly 200 papers in leading international journals.
In the early part of his career he has made significant contributions to the study of statistical mechanics of gravitating systems and later on used this insight to understand the formation of structures in the universe. He has also provided an interpretation of the Planck length as the `zero-point length' of the spacetime based on very general considerations.(Review Articles [3],[4]).
His current research interest is in understanding the nature of dark energy in the universe and its implications for quantum gravity. He has developed a new, thermodynamic perspective on Gravity which has the potential of resolving some of the difficult problems in quantum gravity
Quantum gravity
Quantum gravity is the field of theoretical physics which attempts to develop scientific models that unify quantum mechanics with general relativity...
.http://arxiv.org/abs/0911.5004, http://arxiv.org/abs/0910.0839 See Entropic gravity
Apart from his scientific research, Padmanabhan has given many popular science lectures and authored more than a hundred popular science articles published in various national and
international journals.
These include a recreational mathematics column,Playthemes http://www.iucaa.ernet.in/~paddy/playthemes/playthemes.htm and a twenty-four part series, Milestones in Science, covering the dawn of all branches of science, from pre-historical times to the 18th century, in the magazine Science Today.
Padmanabhan is an enthusiastic teacher and has given several lecture courses in India and abroad. A series of lectures on General Relativity given by him is available at the following site:http://gr-lectures-paddy.blogspot.com/2009_07_21_archive.html
Awards and distinctions
Padmanabhan has received several national and international awardsincluding
- The Birla Science Prize (1991)
- Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar AwardShanti Swarup Bhatnagar AwardThe Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology is awarded annually by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research for notable and outstanding research, applied or fundamental, in biology, chemistry, environmental science, engineering, mathematics, medicine and Physics...
(1996) - The Millennium Medal (CSIRCSIR IndiaCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research established in 1942, is an autonomous body and India's largest Research and Development organization, with 39 laboratories and 50 field stations or extension centers spread across the nation, with a collective staff of over 17,000...
, 2000) - Al-Khwarizmi International Award (2002)
- Sackler Distinguished Astronomer (Institute of Astronomy, CambridgeInstitute of Astronomy, CambridgeThe Institute of Astronomy is the largest of the three astronomy departments in the University of Cambridge, and one of the largest astronomy sites in the UK...
) - Miegunah Fellowship Award (University of MelbourneUniversity of MelbourneThe University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 2004) - The G.D.Birla Award for Scientific Research (2003)
- The J.C.Bose National Fellowship (DST) (2008)
- His work has won awards from the Gravity Research Foundation, USA five times, in 1984, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2008 [First Prize].http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org/winners_year.html#08.
- He is an elected Fellow of the three National Academies of Science in India and
- The President of the Cosmology Commission of International Astronomical Union for the period 2009-2011 http://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/commissions/47/.
- Some of his research papers have been rated as the most influential paper of the year http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=124951,http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=116791.
- He has also been awarded the Padma Shri by the President of India in the year 2007
- The Infosys Science Foundation Prize for Physical Sciences in 2009. http://www.infosys-science-foundation.com/
Books
- Gravity, Gauge Theories and Quantum Cosmology, with J.V. Narlikar, Reidel. (1986)
- Structure Formation in the Universe, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, (1993) - Reviewed at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg13818765.200-review-on-the-origin-of-the-lumpy-bits.html
- Cosmology and Astrophysics through Problems, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, (1996) http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0264-9381/14/4/019
- After the First Three Minutes- The Story of Our Universe, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, (1998)
- Theoretical Astrophysics - Volume I Astrophysical Processes, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, (2000) http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2001Obs...121..197P
- Theoretical Astrophysics - Volume II Stars and Stellar Systems, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, (2001)
- Theoretical Astrophysics - Volume III Galaxies and Cosmology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, (2002)
- An Invitation to Astrophysics, World Scientific, Singapore, (2006) http://ptonline.aip.org/dbt/dbt.jsp?KEY=PHTOAD&Volume=60&Issue=3&usertype=indiv#MAJOR6,http://scitation.aip.org/dbt/dbt.jsp?KEY=AJPIAS&Volume=75&Issue=5#MAJOR3
- Quantum Themes: The Charms of the Microworld, World Scientific, Singapore, (2009)
- Gravitation: Foundations and Frontiers, Cambridge University Press, Cambride, (2010)
Review articles
- Statistical Mechanics of Gravitating Systems, Physics Reports, vol.188, pp. 285–362 (1990)
- Cosmological Constant - the Weight of the Vacuum, Physics Reports,vol. 380, pp. 235–320 (2003)
- Limitations on the operational definition of spacetime events and quantum gravity, Class. Quan. Grav.,4,L107, (1987)
- Physical significance of Planck length, Ann. Phys.,165,38,(1985)
- Gravity and the Thermodynamics of Horizons, Physics Reports, vol.406, p. 49 (2005)
- Understanding Our Universe: Current Status and Open Issues, in, `100 Years of Relativity - Space-time Structure: Einstein and Beyond', A.Ashtekar (Editor), World Scientific (Singapore) pp 175–204 (2005)