Thiruvananthapuram: World-renowned theoretical physicist from Kerala E C George Sudarshan has passed away. The 86-year-old breathed his last in Texas, the US, on Monday.
Credited with numerous contributions to theoretical physics, Sudarshan was nominated for the coveted Nobel Prize nine times. He was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 2007. He also bagged the Dirac Medal in 2010.
The outstanding scientist made path-breaking discoveries in a career spanning five decades. His achievements were mostly in the realm of quantum optics. By proving that tachyons, a class of particles, move faster than light, Sudarshan disproved Albert Einstein’s theory that 'nothing can move faster than light'.
Sudarshan was born to Iype Chandy and Achamma Varghese on September 16, 1931, at Pallam near Kottayam town. An alumni of the CMS College in Kottayam, Sudarshan graduated from the Madras Christian College with honours in 1951. After completing his master's from the University of Madras, he worked at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, before moving to the University of Rochester in New York.
Sudarshan is survived by his wife Bhamathi, a Tamil Nadu native, and three children.
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