This Indian was denied the Nobel Prize several times, in fact another scientist got the prize for something similar to his work. But he did not stop and made groundbreaking discoveries, including challenging one of Einstein’s famous theories. Meet ECG Sudarshan, who was a Professor at University of Texas for the past 40 years and also worked as the Director of Institute of Mathematical Sciences at Chennai for five years.
Born in Kerala, Sudarshan was inspired to become a physicist when he found his brother’s high school book at home. After reading it, he wanted to learn more and found his passion.
He graduated from the Madras Christian College in 1951 and worked with Homi Bhabha at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Bombay. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in 1958 and did further studies at Harvard University.
ECG Sudarshan is known for challenging one of Albert Einstein’s ideas, which said that nothing could move faster than light. Sudarshan proposed the idea of Tachyon, a particle that could move faster than light.
While Einstein showed that it’s impossible for things to go as fast as or faster than light because it would need infinite energy, Sudarshan and his team proposed that if these particles were created initially with the help of faster-than-light speed during particle collisions, there would be no need for infinite energy.
Sudarshan also developed the V-A theory of electroweak interactions, explaining how particles interact through electromagnetic and weak nuclear forces in nature.
Dr. Sudarshan didn’t get the Nobel Prize, even though he was considered for it many times. At least two of his scientific contributions deserved a Nobel Prize. In fact, one of them did get a Nobel, but he was not the recipient.
In 2005, when another scientist got the prize for something similar to his work, he felt even worse. He believed that his own contributions were being ignored, and he wasn’t happy about it.
He wrote a passionate letter, expressing his sadness and anger, insisting that the Academy recognize the truth and give him the credit he deserved. He pleaded for fairness, urging them to make things right and acknowledge his lifelong dedication to science.
He was honoured with several other prestigious awards like ICTP Dirac Medal, Padma Vibhushan (2007), Padma Bhushan, Majorana Prize, TWAS Prize, Bose Award (1977) and C V Raman Award (1970).
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