Ashoke Sen becomes first Indian physicist to receive Oskar Klein Medal
Mr. Sen is internationally recognised for his pioneering work on S-duality, the precise counting of black hole entropy and string field theory, which have helped shape modern string theory
Bengaluru Professor Ashoke Sen has been awarded the prestigious Oskar Klein Medal for 2026, making him the first Indian physicist to receive the honor, the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) announced on Saturday (October 24, 2026). The ICTS described Ashoke Sen as internationally recognized for his pioneering work on S-duality, precise black hole entropy calculations, and string field theory, all of which have significantly shaped modern string theory.
Ashoke Sen, an ICTS-Infosys Madhava Chair Professor, delivered the 2026 Oskar Klein Memorial Lecture, titled 'Gravity from Strings and Strings from Gravity', at Stockholm University's AlbaNova Centre on October 22. He previously received the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2012, the Dirac Medal in 2014, and a host of other accolades including the Infosys Prize in Mathematical Sciences (2009), Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (1994), ICTP Prize (1989), Padma Shri (2001), and Padma Bhushan (2013).
Ashoke Sen was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1998. The Oskar Klein Medal, named after Swedish theoretical physicist Oskar Klein, recognizes distinguished contributions to physics. Established in 1988, the medal has been awarded to Nobel laureates such as Chen-Ning Yang, Steven Weinberg, and Hans Bethe, reflecting its esteemed reputation.
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