Indian Institute of Science professor Mahesh Kakde won the Ramanujan Prize 2026 for his work in algebraic number theory. The award recognises young mathematicians from developing countries for outstanding research. Kakde, who joined IISc in 2019, has made many important contributions to the field and received a $10,000 cash prize.
Indian mathematician and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) professor Mahesh Kakde has won the Ramanujan Prize 2026 for his work in algebraic number theory. The award recognises young mathematicians from developing countries for outstanding research in mathematical sciences.
Kakde was recognised for his work in Iwasawa theory, including non-commutative Iwasawa theory, and his research on the Gross-Stark and Brumer-Stark conjectures.
The prize is jointly awarded by the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and the International Mathematical Union (IMU). It is given to mathematicians under the age of 45 who have carried out outstanding research while working in developing countries. The award carries a cash prize of $10,000.
Who is Mahesh Kakde?
Mahesh Kakde is a professor in the Department of Mathematics at IISc Bengaluru. His main area of research is algebraic number theory.
He completed his Bachelor of Mathematics at the Indian Statistical Institute in Bengaluru. He later moved to the University of Cambridge in the UK. There, he completed his Master's degree and then his PhD in pure Mathematics in 2008. His doctoral supervisor was renowned mathematician John Coates.
After completing his PhD, Kakde worked at some of the world's leading universities. These included Princeton University, University College London and King's College London. He joined the Indian Institute of Science as a professor in 2019 and has continued his research in number theory.
He has made important contributions to noncommutative Iwasawa theory. His work has also contributed to research connected with Hilbert's 12th problem, one of the 23 famous mathematical problems proposed by German mathematician David Hilbert in 1900.
Kakde's research is motivated by conjectures involving special values of L-functions, particularly the Bloch-Kato conjectures.
He received the Infosys Prize in Mathematical Sciences in 2022, Whitehead Prize of the London Mathematical Society in 2023 and the Frontiers of Science Award in 2023. In the same year, Kakde was named among the Asian Scientist 100 and was elected a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences. He received the National Science Award in 2024.