Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, the Director of the Indian Statistical Institute, has been awarded the 2017 Infosys Science Foundation prize and the 2017 TWAS prize in engineering sciences for the impact of her work in the field of computer and engineering sciences.

The Infosys award is given annually to recognize the best scientists and scholars to honor their current work. She was specifically recognized for her work on algorithmic optimization with applications in marker identification in genetics, Alzheimer’s, HIV, and cancer research. The award carries $100,000, a gold medal, and a citation. Nobel Laureate Kip Thorne presided over the award giving ceremony in Bangalore in January, 2018.

Prof Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay receiving the 2017 Infosys Prize from Nobel Laureate Prof Kip Thorne, with Chanc Khosla and Mr Batni

The TWAS Prize (from The World Academy of Sciences) is given in recognition of excellence in research in the global south. The prize carries a plaque and a $15,000 cash award. Dr. Bandyopadhyay is the first scientist from the Indian Statistical Institute to have been elected a TWAS Fellow, since the inception of the award in 1985. She will be presented with the award in the 2018 annual general conference of the academy.