About the Lecture — What does it take to do great science? In this lecture, Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar explores how excellence in scientific research begins with the individual with curiosity, rigour, and imagination and grows outward into the institutions and cultures that sustain it. Drawing on his own vantage point, he asks how India can nurture and nourish scientific excellence at every level.

About the Speaker — Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar is an eminent theoretical physicist whose work helps decode the nature of quantum gravity. He serves as Director of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS-TIFR), Bengaluru, where he is a Distinguished Professor. 

He obtained his integrated M.Sc. in physics from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in 1992 and his PhD from Princeton University in 1997, under the supervision of Nobel laureate David Gross. After a research stint at Harvard University, he joined the Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad, in 2001 before moving to ICTS. 

His research lies at the intersection of string theory and quantum field theory. His work led to the Gopakumar – Vafa duality and the Gopakumar – Vafa invariants. Among many honours, he has received the ICTP Prize and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award.