Why in News?
Indian theoretical physicist Deepak Dhar has been awarded the 2026 Dirac Medal by the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) for his pioneering contributions to statistical mechanics and complex systems.
Key Points
- Dhar is the second Indian to receive the Dirac Medal after Ashoke Sen (2012).
- He is known for developing the Abelian Sandpile Model, used to study complex phenomena such as earthquakes and neural activity.
- The other 2026 recipients are Bernard Derrida, Marc Mézard and Haim Sompolinsky.
- Dhar previously received the Boltzmann Medal (2022) and Padma Bhushan (2023).
