Professor Mudumbai S. Narasimhan
King Faisal Prize in Science 2006 Laureate
Topic: "Mathematics"
Mathematics has two functions: it is a source of intellectual pleasure and beauty, but it is also useful for counting, measuring, and predicting, both in scientific research, and in everyday life
Mudumbai Narasimhan received his B.A. (honors) in Mathematics in Madras in 1953 and his Ph.D. Bombay in 1960. He served as Professor of Mathematics at India’s preeminent Tata Institute of Fundamental Research for more than 25 years, and was named Professor of Eminence at the Institute in 1990. Between 1993-1999, he was Director of Mathematics at the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. Under his leadership, the center became internationally recognized for its excellence in algebraic geometry, and for providing training and research opportunities for hundreds of researchers and students from various countries. From 2000-2003, Narasimhan was Visiting Professor at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA). in Trieste. He is currently Honorary Fellow of the Tata Institute.
Narasimhan’s work was primarily focused on algebraic geometry, particularly the theory of holomorphic vector bundles on compact Riemann surfaces. However, over the past 35 years, his work covered nearly all other aspects of mathematics, and linked with the works of the greatest mathematicians, while maintaining its high originality and impeccable taste.
Narasimhan’s brilliant career as a mathematician and educator took him to major universities and institutions worldwide, and won him the admiration of the community of mathematicians. He was recognized by other prestigious national and international honors. He was a member of the Royal Society of London, a Chevalier de l’ordre National du Mérite (France), and a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, awarded by the President of India. He was a President of the National Board for Higher Mathematics in India, a President of the International Mathematical Union’s Commission on Development and Exchange, a Vice-President of the International Center of Pure and Applied Mathematics in France, and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Mathematical Union. In 2002, a special symposium entitled “A Colloquium in Geometry” was held in honor of Narasimhan’s 70th birthday, in which his students and peers discussed his enormous contributions to mathematics.
This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.
Professor Mudumbai Narasimhan passed away in Bangalore, India on 15/5/2021.