Sudarshan was honoured with several awards like ICTP Dirac Medal, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Majorana Prize, TWAS Prize and C V Raman Award among other awards. (Source: Wikipedia) Sudarshan was honoured with several awards like ICTP Dirac Medal, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Majorana Prize, TWAS Prize and C V Raman Award among other awards. (Source: Wikipedia)

Acclaimed scientist Ennackal Chandy George Sudarshan, popularly known as E C G Sudarshan, passed away in Texas on Monday. The 86-year-old physicist was nominated for the Nobel prize in Physics nine times.

Sudarshan was a professor at the University of Texas for the past 40 years and had made numerous contributions including optical coherence, Quantum zero effect, Sudarshan-Glauber representation, V-A theory among others. He was honoured with several awards like ICTP Dirac Medal, Padma Vibhushan (2007), Padma Bhushan, Majorana Prize, TWAS Prize, Bose Award (1977) and C V Raman Award (1970) among other awards.

The world-renowned scientist made path-breaking discoveries in the realm of quantum optics in a career spanning five decades. Sudarshan was also the first to prove wrong Albert Einstein’s theory that ‘Nothing moves faster than light’ and proposed the existence of Tachyons, the particles that move faster than light.

Born in Kerala’s Kottayam, Sudarshan was born to E I Chandy and Achamma on September 16, 1931. He graduated from the Madras Christian College and then did his post-graduation from the University of Madras. After completing his masters, he also worked briefly with the Father of the Indian Nuclear Programme, Homi J. Bhabha, at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.

Subsequently, he moved to the University of Rochwester in New York and received his Ph.D degree in 1958. After which he started working under American physicist Robert Marshak and together they founded the V-A Theory of the weak force, which eventually paved the way to the electroweak theory.

Sudarshan is survived by his wife and three children.

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