Bengaluru-based physicist Ashoke Sen became the first Indian to receive the Oskar Klein Medal, Deccan Herald reported on Oct. 22. Sen works at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research’s International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS).
The medal and the Oskar Klein Memorial Lecture are distinct parts of the recognition. Sen delivered the 2026 lecture, “Gravity from Strings and Strings from Gravity,” at Stockholm University’s AlbaNova Centre on Oct. 22. Deccan Herald reports that Stockholm University and the Nobel Committee for Physics of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences jointly award the medal for work in theoretical physics and cosmology.
National Herald, citing ICTS, identifies S-duality, the precise counting of black hole entropy and string field theory as areas of Sen’s research. The center calls his contributions pioneering and says they have helped shape modern string theory. Jharkhand Mirror explains that string theory seeks to reconcile quantum mechanics with gravity but remains difficult to test experimentally.
ICTS director Rajesh Gopakumar told Deccan Herald that the medal “accurately reflects Sen’s status among physicists worldwide.” He said Sen’s award and fellow ICTS scientist Deepak Dhar’s Dirac Medal showed a strong foundation for physics in India, and urged more support for theoretical physics.
