Renowned Indian American physicist George Sudarshan, who was recommended for the Nobel Prize nine times, died on Sunday (13). He was 86.
The funeral will be held in Austin, Texas on Thursday.
Sudarshan, who is survived by his wife and two children, died of natural causes, his family told the media.
The physicist was born in the Indian state of Kerala in 1931. He studied at CMS College in Kottayam, Madras Christian College and the University of Madras. He completed his master's in 1952 and moved to the United States to enroll at the University of Rochester, where he worked with renowned physician Robert Marshak. He completed the doctoral degree in 1958.
Sudarshan has made remarkable discoveries in many fields of physics, including quantum optics, tachyons, quantum Zeno effect, non-invariance groups, positive maps of density matrices, quantum computation, etc, reported news agency PTI. He has also explored the relations between east and west science and philosophy and religion.
The Indian government in 2007 recognised Sudarshan's contribution to science by awarding him the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award. He was also awarded the Dirac Medal in 2010. The honour is awarded to scientists who have made substantial contributions in theoretical physics, computational chemistry and mathematics.
Sudarshan was recommended for the Nobel Prize nine times, but he was never awarded one. Speaking to the Hindustan Times in 2007, Sudarshan expressed his disappointed at repeatedly being passed over for the honour, saying: “The 2005 Nobel prize for Physics was awarded for my work, but I wasn’t the one to get it. Each one of the discoveries that this Nobel was given for work based on my research.”
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, in Scunthorpe, northern England, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. (Representational image: iStock)
FBU chief raises concern over rise in racist online posts by union members
THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions are increasingly concerned about a rise in racist and bigoted online comments by their own members and officials, according to Steve Wright, the FBU’s new general secretary, speaking to the Guardian.
Wright said internal inquiries have revealed dozens of cases involving members using racist slurs or stereotypes, often aimed at asylum seekers.
He said similar issues were reported in other unions, prompting a joint campaign to counter false narratives around immigration and race promoted by far-right groups online.
“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said to the newspaper.
He added, “Some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up.”
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. A formal statement addressing far-right narratives will be launched at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool next month.
Wright cited the influence of social media and figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as factors contributing to these incidents. “It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said.
The FBU barred a former official last year for allegedly endorsing racist content on X, including posts from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.
Wright also warned that the union could strike if the government moves to cut frontline fire services.