Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 04:37pm on 10 Aug 2026,Monday Science
Indian physicist Professor Deepak Dhar has won the 2026 Dirac Medal for contributions to statistical mechanics and complex systems. The International Centre for Theoretical Physics honour is shared with Bernard Derrida, Marc Mezard and Haim Sompolinsky for advancing equilibrium statistical mechanics and extending it to non-equilibrium systems, optimisation, theoretical neuroscience and AI. Dhar’s sandpile-model research showed how simple interactions can trigger complex, unpredictable behaviour, with applications to earthquakes, traffic jams and financial-market fluctuations. Born in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Dhar studied at Allahabad University and IIT Kanpur before joining Caltech on a Richard Feynman fellowship. He worked as Feynman’s teaching assistant, earned his PhD in 1978, then returned to India joining TIFR. (PC: The Economic Times)
