Indian-origin astronomer Professor Shrinivas Kulkarni has been awarded the prestigious Gold Medal by the London-based Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) for his significant discoveries in astronomy. Born in Maharashtra, Kulkarni is a Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he has discovered a wide range of celestial objects, including brown dwarfs and distant gamma-ray bursts. The RAS Gold Medal citation, presented to him last week, recognises his “sustained, innovative and groundbreaking contributions to astrophysics”.
By receiving this highest honor, given annually since 1824, he joins the ranks of great scientific minds like Stephen Hawking, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Albert Einstein, and Edwin Hubble. “I was very surprised to receive this, especially considering the illustrious list of previous winners,” Kulkarni said. “I would like to thank my long-term collaborators and the engineering team and members of the Palomar Transient Factory and the Zwicky Transient Establishment for their invaluable contributions to the projects,” he added. Kulkarni, who recently received the 2024 Shaw Prize in Astronomy, joined Caltech in 1985 and has since made several important discoveries.