Six young minds honoured for their research capabilities

Bengaluru: Bengaluru once again stood at the crossroads of ideas and innovation as six exceptional researchers were honoured with the Infosys Prize 2025, one of India’s most prestigious recognitions for early-career scholarship.

Now in its 17th year, the prize celebrates researchers under the age of 40 whose work is shaping the frontiers of knowledge across disciplines.

The Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) conferred the awards at a ceremonial event in the city, recognising excellence in Economics; Engineering and Computer Science; Humanities and Social Sciences; Life Sciences; Mathematical Sciences; and Physical Sciences.

Each laureate received a pure gold medal, a citation and a prize purse of USD 100,000, underscoring the foundation’s commitment to nurturing world-class research from India and beyond.

The 2025 Laureates

The Infosys Prize 2025 was awarded to Nikhil Agarwal, Sushant Sachdeva, Andrew Ollett, Anjana Badrinarayanan, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Karthish Manthiram, whose work spans cutting-edge theoretical inquiry and impactful applied research. Together, their achievements reflect the diversity and depth of contemporary science and scholarship.

Nobel Laureate Felicitates Winners

The awards were presented by Prof. Randy Schekman, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine (2013), Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Congratulating the awardees, Schekman said their work represented significant scholarly achievements across both natural and social sciences, adding that India has emerged as a major centre of scholarly activity, domestically and internationally.

Advancing Research for Global Challenges

1. Dinesh, President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Infosys Science Foundation, lauded the laureates for highlighting the crucial role of research and discovery in addressing complex global challenges. He reiterated the foundation’s commitment to strengthening scientific collaboration through initiatives such as the Infosys Prize Sabbatical Programme, under which laureates based overseas will spend 30 days at an Indian institution of their choice in the year following the award.

A Rigorous Selection Process

The winners were selected by eminent jury panels chaired by Kaushik Basu, Jayathi Y. Murthy, Akeel Bilgrami, Mriganka Sur, Chandrashekhar Khare and Shrinivas Kulkarni, ensuring a rigorous and globally benchmarked evaluation process.

As the Infosys Prize enters its 17th year, the 2025 edition stands as a powerful reminder that investing in young researchers is investing in the future — a future where Indian and global science converge to generate ideas, solutions and hope for a rapidly changing world.