# Indian physicist Deepak Dhar wins 2026 Dirac Medal

2026-08-09T17:49:31+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 1 independent outlet

Deepak Dhar, an INSA Distinguished Professor of theoretical physics, has been awarded the 2026 Dirac Medal by the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP). The honour places him alongside Stephen Hawking and other giants for his contributions to statistical mechanics, including the influential Dhar's burning algorithm. Born in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Dhar studied at Caltech under Richard Feynman but returned to India after his PhD. He previously won the Boltzmann Medal (first Indian to do so) and the Padma Bhushan. The Dirac Medal is not given to Nobel, Fields, or Wolf winners, though several past medallists later won those prizes.

## Coverage

- indiatvnews.com <https://www.indiatvnews.com/education/news/indian-professor-receives-prestigious-dirac-medal-joins-elite-list-of-physics-giants-including-stephen-hawking-2026-08-09-1050868>
- indiatoday.in <https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/deepak-dhar-wins-2026-dirac-medal-for-statistical-mechanics-work-2967236-2026-08-09?utm_source=rss>

Tags: Deepak Dhar, Dirac Medal, ICTP, Indian physicist, Stephen Hawking, theoretical physics
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