He was recommended for the Nobel Prize nine times, but never awarded

Ennackal Chandy George Sudarshan, popularly known as E.C.G. Sudarshan, who made path-breaking discoveries in the realm of quantum optics, died aged 86 in Texas on Monday morning.

Professor Sudarshan was a faculty at the University of Texas for the past 40 years. A globally-recognised theoretical physicist, Professor Sudarshan had often pointed out that Physics meant everything to him. He was recommended for the Nobel Prize for Physics nine times, but never awarded.

Professor Sudarshan made significant contributions to the field of theoretical physics — optical coherence, tachyons, quantum zeno effect, open quantum system, spin-statistics theorem, non-invariance groups, positive maps of density matrices and quantum computation, to name a few.

Born to E. I. Chandy and Achamma in Kottayam on September 16, 1931, Professor Sudarshan graduated from the Madras Christian College in 1951 and did his postgraduation from the University of Madras. He later moved to Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, where he worked for a brief period with Homi Bhabha, father of Indian nuclear programme before moving to University of Rochester in New York to work under American physicist Robert Marshak. They founded the V-A theory of of the weak force, which eventually paved the way for electroweak theory.

Contributions ignored

Professor Sudarshan also developed a quantum representation of coherent light later known as Sudarshan-Glauber representation. Glauber was awarded 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics for the contribution to the quantum theory of optical coherence. Renowned scientists in India and abroad had then observed that the Nobel Committee had ignored the contribution of Professor Sudarshan, who justly deserved to share the coveted award.

An eminent scientist who drew parallels between science and Indian philosophy, Professor Sudarshan was honoured with several awards, including Padma Vibhushan (2007), Dirac Medal (2010), Bose Medal (1977) and C. V. Raman award (1970).