In a historic milestone for Indian science, renowned theoretical physicist Professor Ashoke Sen has just been awarded the 2026 Oskar Klein Medal, becoming the first Indian physicist to receive this prestigious honor. Celebrated internationally for his foundational contributions to string theory. Professor Sen delivered the memorial lecture titled "Gravity from strings and strings from gravity" at Stockholm University. ​Those of you who don't know, the Oskar Klein Medal is one of theoretical physics' most prestigious honors, awarded annually in Stockholm to celebrate groundbreaking ideas about how our universe works. Instituted in 1988, it is conferred jointly by Stockholm University and the Nobel Committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The award invites leading thinkers from around the globe to deliver the Oskar Klein Memorial Lecture, recognizing monumental leaps in fields like quantum mechanics, cosmology, and string theory. ​The medal is named after Oskar Klein, an influential Swedish theoretical physicist who helped shape early quantum mechanics and modern field theory. Working closely with titans like Niels Bohr, Klein is best remembered for Kaluza–Klein theory, where he proposed the daring idea that extra dimensions of spacetime might exist curled up into microscopic, invisible loops. He also helped formulate the Klein–Gordon equation for relativistic particles and the Klein–Nishina formula for photon scattering, cementing his legacy as a true pioneer of 20th-century physics. ​Over the decades, the medal has gone to some of the greatest minds in science, many of whom are also Nobel laureates. Iconic recipients include Chen-Ning Yang, Steven Weinberg, and Hans Bethe in its earliest years, followed by visionary cosmologist Alan Guth and leading theorists like Edward Witten, Gerard 't Hooft, and Peter Higgs. More recently, luminaries such as gravitational physicist Kip Thorne, black hole theorist Roy Kerr, and cosmologist Renata Kallosh have joined this distinguished roster, keeping Klein’s imaginative scientific spirit alive.

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