Predhiman Krishan Kaw was an acclaimed plasma physicist and considered the father of the fusion program in India. His academic brilliance reflects since the beginning of his research career as the first Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi at the age of 18 and later as an assistant professor rank scientist at Princeton University in the next three years. He became the director of India's plasma physics program at the young age of 34, eventually becoming the founder-director of the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR). He served India as the director, IPR from 1986 to 2012, and then as the DST Year of Science professor till his demise on 18th June 2017. For his extraordinary contributions to the plasma physics community, he was bestowed with India's highest award for scientific excellence at young ages, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 1986, TWAS prize winner in 2008, and recipient of the Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Prize of Plasma Physics in 2016. For his service to the nation, he was conferred with India's third-highest civilian honor "Padma Shri" in 1985.

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It is an International award to be given annually to an accomplished Plasma Physicist between the ages of 45-55 years who has made a substantial contribution to Plasma Physics & Fusion Studies. The award consists of a trophy and sum of 5K USD. This international award began in 2018 and is supported by the family trust of late Predhiman Kaw, the father of India’s nuclear fusion program. 

Announcement for the Kaw Legacy Award 2024:

The Kaw family trust invites nomination for the 2021 Kaw legacy award. The nominee should be an accomplished plasma Physicist between the age group of 45 to 55 years. (S)he should have made a substantial contribution to the field of Plasma and Fusion Science and technology. The CV of the candidate along with two recommendation letter will be required for the nomination. 

The nomination should be sent by email to "saroj_kaw[at]yahoo[dot]com". The nomination would remain valid for three consecutive years or till the age limit reached by the nominee, whichever happens first. The last date for receiving nomination letters are 31st December 2024. 

Year 2024 awards: Prof. Gianluca Sarri, Queen's University, Belfast, UK

Professor Gianluca Sarri Receives the prestigious KAW Legacy Award for 2024. He has conferred this award for contributions to plasma and nuclear fusion research. The Kaw Legacy Award seminar was delivered online by Prof Sarri on 25th June 2024. 

For details, please follow the link:

https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofMathematicsandPhysics/News/ProfessorGianlucaSarriReceivesPrestigiousKAWLegacyAward.html

Year 2023 awards: Prof. M Krishnamurthy, UPHILL, TIFR

Prof. Dr. M. Krishnamurthy has been awarded the Kaw Legacy Award 2023 for his pioneering work in intense laser-plasma experiments with nanoclusters and microdroplets. He discovered a method to accelerate neutral atoms in laser-produced plasmas and demonstrated that Rydberg excited clusters can convert accelerated ions to high-energy neutral atoms with nearly 100% efficiency. His research established that this neutral atom acceleration occurs universally across various plasma generation methods and conditions. Recently, his studies revealed a new way to generate relativistic temperature plasma using significantly lower laser intensities, facilitating the production of high-energy electron beams with high-repetition-rate lasers. These advancements enable efficient generation of high-energy electrons, ions, and x-rays for applications in radiography, imaging, and tomography across biological and material sciences.

Reach out to Prof M Krishnamurthy: https://www.tifr.res.in/~dnap/ultrashort-pulse-high-intensity-laser-laboratory.html

Year 2021 awards: Prof. Yasuhiko Sentoku, Institute of Laser Engineering Osaka University, Japan

Prof. Sentoku got this honor for his seminal contribution on the Physics of radiation and matter at the extremes.

The Kaw Legacy Award Seminar will be delivered on 22nd June (Wednesday) at 11 Hrs, IST.

Reach out to Prof Yasuhiko Sentoku: https://www.ile.osaka-u.ac.jp/eng/overview/members/yasuhiko_sentoku/index.html

Year 2020 awards: Dr. Andrea MACCHI, CNR/INO (National Research Council, National Institute of Optics), Adriano Gozzini laboratory, Pisa, Italy & Enrico Fermi Department of Physics, University of Pisa, Italy

Dr. MACCHI got this honor for his seminal contribution on super intense laser matter interactions. 

Reach out to Dr. Andrea MACCHI: http://osiris.df.unipi.it/~macchi/

Year 2019 awards: Dr. Yi-Min Huang, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, USA

Dr. Huang got this honor "for his seminal work on plasmoid reconnection and instability of line-tied magnetic fields." Steve Cowley, PPPL Director (and one of Kaw’s former collaborators), formally awarded the Kaw Award plaque to Yi-Min Huang on the occasion of the PPPL/Theory Department holiday celebration.

Reach out Dr. Yi-Min Huang: https://theory.pppl.gov/people/profile.php?pid=61&n=Yi-Min-Huang黃一民

Year 2018 awards: Prof. Amita Das, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India 

Prof. Das got this honor “for her significant contribution in areas such as plasma turbulence and laser-plasma interaction”. M. K. Kaw, Prof Kaw’s elder brother, formally awarded her with the Kaw award plaque during the 84th Indian National Science Academy anniversary general meeting at Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad. 

Reach out Prof. Amita Das: 

http://iitd.irins.org/profile/90527