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Science & TechPhysics

Ashoke Sen becomes first Indian to win the Oskar Klein Medal

The Bengaluru string theorist joins Stephen Hawking, Peter Higgs and Steven Weinberg on the roll of a prize given by Stockholm University and the Nobel Committee for Physics.

From the editorial desk · BengaluruPublished
Theoretical physicist Ashoke Sen (file photo)
Theoretical physicist Ashoke Sen (file photo)Photo: Souravdas1998 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Key points

  1. Ashoke Sen has been awarded the Oskar Klein Medal for 2026, the first Indian to receive it.
  2. The medal recognises his work on string theory, black hole entropy and string field theory.
  3. It is given by Stockholm University and the Nobel Committee for Physics of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Ashoke Sen, one of the world’s leading string theorists, has been awarded the Oskar Klein Medal for 2026, becoming the first Indian physicist to receive one of theoretical physics’ most distinguished honours.

The medal is awarded every year by Stockholm University and the Nobel Committee for Physics of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It was set up in 1988 and is named after the Swedish theoretical physicist Oskar Klein. Its past winners include Stephen Hawking, Peter Higgs, Chen-Ning Yang, Steven Weinberg and Hans Bethe.

Sen is being honoured for his work on string theory, black hole entropy and string field theory. The International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) in Bengaluru, where he holds the Infosys-Madhava Chair, announced the award on Thursday.

A long list of honours

Sen studied at Presidency College, Kolkata, and the University of Calcutta. His work has drawn a string of major prizes, including the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2012, the Dirac Medal in 2014, the Infosys Prize in Mathematical Sciences in 2009 and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 1994.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013. In April this year he was elected an international honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The Klein Medal now adds a Swedish honour, tied to the Nobel Committee for Physics, to that list, and puts a Bengaluru institute’s name alongside some of the most famous in physics.

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