IISc professor Mahesh Kakde wins the 2026 Ramanujan Prize for Number Theory

Professor Mahesh Kakde of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has won the 2026 Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians from Developing Countries. The award recognises his research in algebraic number theory.

Who is Mahesh Kakde?

1. Kakde is a professor in the Department of Mathematics at IISc Bengaluru. 
2. He did his Bachelor of Mathematics at the Indian Statistical Institute, Bengaluru, and then moved to the University of Cambridge for his Master's. 
3. He earned his PhD in pure mathematics in 2008. 
4. After that, he worked at Princeton University, University College London and King's College London. He joined IISc as a professor in 2019.

Why did Mahesh Kakde win the Ramanujan Prize 2026?

The prize honours his work on noncommutative Iwasawa theory and on the Gross-Stark and Brumer-Stark conjectures. His research also connects to Hilbert's problem, one of the 23 problems David Hilbert listed in 1900. Put simply, Kakde studies the hidden links between numbers.

What is algebraic number theory?

Number theory is the study of numbers and their properties. Algebraic number theory uses algebra to find patterns that explain why numbers behave the way they do.

Kakde's work in Iwasawa theory looks at how these patterns change when numbers are extended into more complicated systems. His results help explain even those cases where the systems don't behave in a predictable way. The Gross-Stark and Brumer-Stark conjectures are long-standing ideas that link different areas of number theory.

What is the Ramanujan Prize?

1. The prize goes to researchers under 45 who have done outstanding work in mathematical sciences while working in a developing country like India. 
2. The winner receives US$10,000. It has been given every year since 2005 and is named after Srinivasa Ramanujan. 
3. The committee doesn't just look at research quality. It also considers the conditions in which the researcher worked.

About Ramanujan Prize 2026

1. Official name - DST-ICTP-IMU Ramanujan Prize
2. Given by - ICTP, IMU and India's Department of Science and Technology
3. Eligibility - Researchers under 45 from developing countries
4. Prize - US$10,000 and an invitation to lecture at ICTP
5. Awarded since - 2005
6. 2026 winner - Mahesh Kakde, IISc Bengaluru
7. Field - Algebraic number theory