Harish Chandra obtained his PhD (1947) from Cambridge University. His areas of specialization were theory of group representations, discrete series and lie groups. He was a Professor of Mathematics, Columbia University, New York (1950-63); Visiting Professor, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai and Professor of Mathematics, Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, USA.

Academic and Research Achievements: Harish Chandra’s monumental contributions relate to the character theory of semi-simple Lie groups. His name has become synonymous with the theory of group representations. “Harish Chandra was one of the outstanding mathematicians of his generation, an algebraist and analyst, and one of those responsible for transforming infinite-dimensional group representation theory from a modest topic on the periphery of mathematics and physics into a major field central to contemporary mathematics.” This is how RP Langlands, FRS, introduces Harish Chandra in the Royal Society’s memoirs.

Awards and Honours:Dr Chandra received Cole Prize of the American Mathematical Society (1954) and Srinivasa Ramanujan Medal of INSA (1974). He was a Fellow of Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore and Royal Society of London and a Member of National Academy of Sciences (USA).