New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI) Senior theoretical physicist Deepak Dhar has been selected for the prestigious Boltzmann Medal by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP).

Dhar, professor emeritus in the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, shares the prize with John Hopfield, of the Princeton University.

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The announcement of the award, for achievements in statistical physics, was made by IUPAP on its website.

“We are so proud to tell that Prof Deepak Dhar (Emeritus Professor) from our Department has been chosen for the Boltzmann Medal! The Boltzmann Medal is awarded once every three years by the Commission on Statistical Physics of the @IUPAP_physics. Many congratulations Deepak," the IISER said.

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The Boltzmann Medal is awarded once every three years by the Commission on Statistical Physics of the IUPAP, the only global physics organization run by the physics community itself.

Dhar is the first Indian to receive it.

Congratulations poured in from the academic world.

“Professor Dhar is one of the brightest physicists around. He shares the prize with John Hopfield, of whom the same can be said. From Allahabad University, IIT Kanpur, California University, and then TIFR, he has left a great imprint in each place," Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, K Vijay Raghavan, said on Twitter.

"Prof Deepak becomes the first Indian to receive this exceptional honour," Prof Gautam Menon, Professor of Physics and Biology at the Ashoka University said.

The medal awarded for outstanding achievements in statistical physics will be conferred on Dhar and Hopefield during Statphys 28 conference in Tokyo from August 8 to 12.

Dhar earned his Bachelor's degree in science from the University of Allahabad in 1970 and did his master's in physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.

He moved to the US and enrolled for doctoral studies at California Institute of Technology, and after securing a PhD in 1978, returned to India to start his long career at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) as a research fellow the same year.

Over the years he became a full professor.

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