SASTRA Ramanujan Prize

Context: The SASTRA Ramanujan Prize for 2022 will be awarded to Yunqing Tang, Assistant Professor with the University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A. The prize will be awarded at the International Conference on Number Theory in December, 2022 at SASTRA University.

• Yunqing’s works “display a remarkable combination of sophisticated techniques, in which the arithmetic and geometry of modular curves and of Shimura varieties play a central role, and her results and methods are bound to have major impact on future research in this area.”

About SASTRA Ramanujan Prize:

• The award, instituted by the Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy (SASTRA) in 2005 with a cash prize of $10,000, is presented annually to individuals aged 32 and below, who made outstanding contributions in the field of mathematics, influenced by Srinivasa Ramanjuan in a broad sense.

Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920)

• Born on 22nd December, 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu and died on 26th April 1920 in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India.
• In 1911 Ramanujan published the first of his papers in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society.
• In 1913 he began a correspondence with the British mathematician Godfrey H. Hardy which led to a special scholarship from the University of Madras and a grant from Trinity College, Cambridge.
• In 1918 he was elected to the Royal Society of London.
• Ramanujan was one of the youngest members of Britain’s Royal Society and the first Indian to be elected a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge University.

Contributions to Mathematics:

Formulas and Equations:

• Ramanujan compiled around 3,900 results consisting of equations and identities. One of his most treasured findings was his infinite series for Pi.
• He gave several formulas to calculate the digits of Pi in many unconventional ways.

Game Theory:

• He discovered a long list of new ideas to solve many challenging mathematical problems, which gave a significant impetus to the development of game theory.
• His contribution to game theory is purely based on intuition and natural talent and remains unrivalled to this day.

Ramanujan’s Book:

• One of Ramanujan’s notebooks was discovered by George Andrews in 1976 in the library at Trinity College. Later the contents of this notebook were published as a book.

Other Contributions:

• Ramanujan’s other notable contributions include hypergeometric series, the Riemann series, the elliptic integrals, mock theta function, the theory of divergent series, and the functional equations of the zeta function.

Source:  The Hindu

Previous Year Question

Q.1) Consider the following statements in respect of Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards:

1. Bharat Ratna and Padma awards are titles under the Article 18 (1) of the Constitution of India.
2. Padma Awards, which were instituted in the year 1954, were suspended only once.
3. The number of Bharat Ratna Awards is restricted to a maximum of five in a particular year.

Which of the above statements are not correct?  (2022)

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3