Kolkata: “International recognition does not require going abroad,” Ashoke Sen, the first Indian physicist to win the Oskar Klein Medal for his research in string theory, said on Wednesday on his visit to Calcutta University to deliver the S K Memorial Lecture on “Gravity from Strings and Strings from Gravity”.Sen, a theoretical physicist from Kolkata who worked on string theory and inspired scientists to think about black holes, fundamental forces and the deep logic of nature in a new way, came straight to Kolkata after winning the award. This was his first visit to Calcutta University (CU) — the institution Presidency College was affiliated with when he graduated in 1975 — to deliver the lecture.This is part of a two-session lecture, the second of which will be delivered on Friday at Indian Association for Cultivation of Science (IACS) on the occasion of the 193rd birth anniversary of Mahendra Lal Sircar and as part of the celebration of IACS’s 150th foundation anniversary.Dressed in a T-shirt, cargo pants and simple sandals, Sen entered Centenary Hall around 4 pm. The College Street campus auditorium was filled to capacity with people eager to listen to his 45-minute speech. There was pin-drop silence throughout the lecture as Sen each formula in a simple manner.Later, in response to a question from TOI about returning to his alma mater, he said: “It feels wonderful. I am deeply overwhelmed to receive such a warm welcome here. It means a lot to me.”Even after spending many years abroad for his studies and career, Sen said he preferred working in his home country. At present, he is a distinguished professor and the Infosys-Madhava chair professor at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS), Bengaluru.He expressed the view that he does not feel international recognition requires going abroad, as it is possible to achieve it while working in one’s homeland as well. However, he admitted that, in terms of the total number of researchers, foreign countries are ahead of India.A huge crowd — comprising students from various departments — gathered to see Sen, request his autograph or take a picture with him. Some asked questions, and he answered every one before leaving the campus around 5.45 pm.CU awarded an honorary DSc degree to Sen in 2004.Vice-Chancellor Asutosh Ghosh said, “It is a great honour for us to have him deliver his lecture at our university. We are overwhelmed by the feedback from the students. We want more such programmes to be organised, and our professors will keep in touch with him in this regard.”
