Q: Instituted in 1958, this prize is one of the highest multidisciplinary science awards in India. It is named after an Indian chemist who served as the first chairperson of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and first director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Name the prize.
A: Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology
Q: The Lasker Award, instituted in 1945, is awarded to living pioneers in medical science, and has earned a reputation for identifying future Nobel Prize winners. In 2007, it was awarded to an American scientist – whom we are today acquainted with in a different context – in the branch of ‘Public Service’ for his role as the principal architect of two programs, one in biodefence and the other in AIDS. Name the winner.
A: Dr. Anthony Fauci
Q: E. Janaki Ammal was a renowned botanist and plant cytologist who made key contributions in genetics, evolution, phytogeography and ethnobotany. A Padma awardee, she was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1935, and Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy in 1957. Which National Award in science is named after her?
A: E. Janaki Ammal National Award on Taxonomy
Q: This prize is a satirical award that recognises quirky and trivial contributions in the field of scientific research. The prize aims to “honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think.” Identify this award whose name is a pun on the Nobel Prize.
A: Ig Nobel Prize
Q: Awarded by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), this prize honours contributions “of lasting and major technical importance to the computer field”. Regarded as the ‘Nobel Prize of Computing’, it is recognised as the highest distinction in computer science. After which iconic English logician is it named?
A: Alan Turing
Q: This 2014 winner of the Fields Medal (considered the Nobel Prize of Mathematics) was an Iranian mathematician and professor of mathematics at Stanford University who passed away from breast cancer at age 40 in 2017. Name the winner.
A: Maryam Mirzakhani
Q: The Bidhan Chandra Roy Award is presented by the President every year on July 1, and is the highest honour that can be achieved by a doctor in India. Why is it presented on July 1?
A: July 1 is observed as National Doctors’ Day in India to commemorate Dr. Roy’s birth and death anniversary, which fall on the same day.
