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HT This Day: October 20, 1983 -- India-born physicist shares Nobel prize
Two American astronomical researchers, Professors Subramanyan Chandrasekhar of the University of Chicago and William Fowler of the California Institute of Technology, were jointly awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in physics today.
Two American astronomical researchers, Professors Subramanyan Chandrasekhar of the University of Chicago and William Fowler of the California Institute of Technology, were jointly awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in physics today.
Prof Chandrasekhar is the second Indian-born American to get the coveted Nobel Prize. Dr Hargobind Khurana, who won it for his study in the field of genetics, was the first.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said both laureates had done Nobel-caliber research in the evolution of the stars. It said Indian-born Prof Chandrasekhar was honoured for “his theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the stars.”
Prof Fowler’s citation noted: “His theoretical and experimental studies of the nuclear reactions of importance in the formation of the chemical elements in the universe.”
Prof Chandrasekhar’s award came on his 73rd birthday. “Prof Chandrasekhar’s work deals with a large number of features in stellar evolution,” the Academy said in a statement explaining his award. “A major contribution is the study of the stability problem in different phases of evolution.”
It said Prof Chandrasekhar’s best-known work was in the 1930 when he was in his 20’s. It dealt with the structures of so-called “white dwarfs”, the stellar body left after the collapse of a star having a mass about as large as the earth’s sun.
