Ashoke Sen, a renowned physicist, became the first Indian to win the prestigious Oskar Klein Medal in 2026 for his groundbreaking contributions to string theory, black-hole entropy, and S-duality, shaping modern theoretical physics.
THE RENOWNED PHYSICIST and professor Ashoke Sen (1956) has become the first Indian to receive the International Oskar Klein Medal in 2026. The award is one of the highest honors in theoretical physics and is presented annually to physicists for their contributions to the field. The award recognized his pioneering work in black-hole entropy, S-duality and string field theory, all of which helped shape modern theoretical physics.
The announcement of Sen being awarded the medal was made by the Bengaluru-based International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) on facebook on October 23, 2026, where he is a professor. He is globally recognized for his research on the fundamental nature of the universe, unresolved questions involving black holes, and the relationship between quantum mechanics and gravity. He has received multiple awards for his contributions.
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Sen is one of India's most prominent physicists, currently working as an ICTS-Infosys Madhava Chair Professor at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS), which is part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). He completed his bachelor's degree in science at Presidency College, Kolkata, West Bengal and his master's degree at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. After that he received his PhD in Physics in 1982 from Stony Brook University in the United States.
He did the research on string theory which helped advance scientific understanding of the underlying structure of matter. Through his work he became a well-known name among physicists. He has previously received the Dirac Medal (2014) and the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2012). He has also received the Padma Shri (2001) and Padma Bhushan (2013) for his contributions to science.
Following the announcement, ICTS Director Rajesh Gopakumar also congratulated Ashoke Sen. In an ICTS post, Gopakumar said, “On behalf of all of us, very warm congratulations to Ashoke. It has been no less than wonderful having Ashoke with us and setting the tone for excellence here at ICTS.”
To honour the scientific legacy of Swedish physicist Oskar Klein, the award was established in 1988 and named after him. It is awarded annually by Stockholm University and the Nobel Committee for Physics of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Sweden. The medal recognizes individuals who have made distinguished contributions to theoretical physics. Previous recipients of the award include Stephen Hawking, Hans Bethe, Peter Higgs, Chen-Ning Yang and Steven Weinberg.
On October 22, 2026, Sen delivered a lecture titled Gravity from Strings and Strings from Gravity at Stockholm University's AlbaNova Centre. In the lecture he explained how string theory helps a scientist to understand gravity at a quantum level. He further explained to them how gravity may arise from vibrations of the strings and how the theory could become a major breakthrough in understanding many unanswered questions about black holes and what the connection between quantum mechanics and gravity is.
(Edited by Harsh Pandey)
[OG/VP/HP]
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