Theoretical physicist ECG Sudarshan passes away

Bengaluru, May 14: Renowned theoretical physicist Ennackal Chandy George Sudarshan, popularly known as ECG Sudarshan, passed away in Texas on Monday. 

He was recommended for Nobel Prize in Physics for a record nine times. 

He was a professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.

Born in Kottayam district of Kerala, he studied at the CMS College Kottayam, Madras Christian College and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Later, he moved to the US for his PhD and continued his research there while teaching at the University of Texas for a period.

In 2007, Sudarshan told Hindustan Times that he was 'wrongfully denied the Nobel Prize at least twice — in 1979 and 2005.'

“The 2005 Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded for my work, but I wasn’t the one to get it. Each one of the discoveries that the Nobel was given for was based on my research,” he told HT.

“Glauber (Prof Roy Glauber of Harvard University) had built his work upon my work in the quantum theory of optical coherence. It is professional thievery.” 

Sudarshan had published his theory in a 1963 issue of Physical Review Letters, a prestigious science journal. Glauber’s work was in the same issue, but the work for which he was awarded the Nobel came a bit later, reported DNA in 2005.

However, according to ToI, even in 2013, he was willing to accept justice though it was delayed.

In 1979, according to Sudarshan, Steven Weinberg, Sheldon Glashow and Abdus Salam received the award for the study which he developed the basics.

Sudarshan is known for his contributions in Sudarshan-Glauber representation, the hypothetical particle Tachyons which can travel faster than light, Quantum Zeno effect, quantum optics, quantum computation among others besides his thoughts on philosophy and religion.

He was awarded Padma Vibhushan, the second largest civilian award of India, in 2007. He also bagged the prestigious Physics awards including Dirac Award, CV Raman Award and the Majorana Prize.