Prof. Jainendra K. Jain Receives Wolf Prize in Physics
Why in the news
Prof. Jainendra K. Jain was presented with the Wolf Prize in Physics in Jerusalem, becoming the first person of Indian origin to win it in that field.
Key facts
- Award: Wolf Prize in Physics, for the concept of composite fermions (1989).
- Milestone: first Indian-origin recipient in Physics.
- Presentation: by Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the Knesset, Jerusalem.
- Agriculture: Prof. Venkatesan Sundaresan won for work on plant genetics and crop improvement.
About Prof. Jain and the Wolf Prize
- Jain was born in Sambhar, Rajasthan, and is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur.
- He is a professor at Pennsylvania State University and founding director of the Lodha Theoretical Physics Institute in Mumbai.
- Composite fermions are formed when electrons bind to quantum vortices; they explain the fractional quantum Hall effect.
- The Wolf Prize is regarded as one of the most prestigious science awards after the Nobel Prize.
Exam angle
- Remember the pairing: Jain, composite fermions, Wolf Prize in Physics.
- The award is presented in Israel; this year at the Knesset by President Herzog.
- Sundaresan’s Agriculture prize is a likely multi-part question.