CHENNAI: It was a function to present three winners the Srinivasa Ramanujan Award 2010, but the hour-long event made sure participants wore their thinking caps and left the hall with some food for thought.
The awards, presented at the function by the Srinivasa Ramanujan Academy of Maths Talent on Saturday, are meant to nurture mathematics talent. It started with a mini-quiz on mathematics and logic and ended with a presentation on the upcoming International Congress of Mathematicians in Hyderabad. Chief guest and Madras High Court judge R. Sudhakar said the country needs more geniuses such as Srinivasa Ramanujan and India is capable of it. He said there is a requirement for more people to enter the legal profession, and mathematics and law would go together.
B.S. Raghavan, former policy advisor, United Nations, asked students to take a pledge that they would aim to become number one in whatever field they choose. Citing examples of Srinivasa Ramanujan and Swami Vivekananda who made it big in their fields, he said if each of us tries, we can achieve that mark. K. Srinivasa Rao, Director of the Academy, took the audience on a trip down memory lane to explain the journey of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) and the Fields Medal winners in mathematics, the equivalent of the Noble prize. While the first ICM attracted 208 mathematicians from 16 countries, the Congress to be held in August would be attended by nearly 4,000 mathematicians, he said.
The winners K. Ramprakash and V. Karthik of P.S.B.B., KK Nagar and Guatam Gopal of P.S. Senior School, Mylapore, received certificates and cash awards. According to C.P Jagadeesan, secretary and treasurer of the Academy, students from 60 schools competed for the award. He said the process to select the ‘Best Teacher Award' would start soon. |
