New York: Professor Srinivasa Varadhan of New York University (NYU) found out that he was the winner of Abel Prize 2007, considered the Nobel Prize equivalent for Mathematicians, through an early morning call last week.
"You know, they don't tell you in advance that you're even in the running or a candidate for it. So, they called at 6 o'clock in the morning from Europe and woke me up and told me that I've received this award," says Professor Varadhan.
The mathematician, who was recognised for his work in probability theory, came to NYU four decades ago, with degrees from Madras University and a Ph.D from the Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta.
It's perhaps inevitable that the Chennai-born professor would be inspired by another mathematical genius of an earlier generation from Tamil Nadu — Srinivasa Ramanujan.
"I think for all of us who grew up in India, especially coming from the South, the name of Ramanujan was known. Even in high school, our teachers talked about him as somebody from a different generation of course but who reached heights that was very exalted. He was a role model," says Professor Varadhan.
Professor Varadhan, who lives just blocks away from where he works, has maintained strong ties to India — visiting frequently, following cricket, including India's dismal campaign at this year's World Cup, and avidly watching Tamil films starring his favorite actors Kamalahaasan and Rajnikanth.
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