TIFR India

25/08/2026

Precision counts when you're upgrading for 5× the collision rate of the High-Luminosity LHC as part of the Compact Muon Solenoid at CERN at CERN.

The CMS endcap calorimeters are being replaced by the High Granularity Calorimeter (HGCAL): ~27,000 silicon modules that must run for a decade with no chance of repair. Each sensor connects to its readout board through hundreds of hair-thin wire bonds. So how do you verify ~200 channels per board without touching a single fragile bond pad?

A team at TIFR, working with Matt Noy (CERN) and the CMS HGCAL Collaboration, designed and developed a system that injects charge capacitively, mimicking the very signal each electronic channel is built to detect — no contact, no damage.

It was prototyped at TIFR on single channels first, then scaled up to cover a full hexaboard. That full system was commissioned at CERN in March 2025 and used to test ~600 hexaboards, successfully identifying missing and faulty connections that no other available test could have caught. It's now part of HGCAL quality control at centres across the collaboration.

And a significant share of these boards is being assembled by Indian industry, Merritronix Ltd, one of only two companies selected worldwide, with support from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and IIT Hyderabad_Official.

Swipe through to meet the team and the tech behind it.

20/08/2026

A warm welcome to the newest members of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research!

This August, 67 students joined the PhD and Integrated MSc-PhD programmes across the Colaba campus and HBCSE, beginning an exciting new chapter in their research journey.

From accelerator walkthroughs and laboratory visits to art and archive tours, the GS2026 Orientation offered our newest scholars a glimpse into the diverse intellectual and cultural landscape of TIFR, where curiosity, creativity, and collaboration come together.

Welcome to TIFR, GS2026! Here’s to a rewarding journey of learning, discovery, and research ahead.

11/08/2026

Prof. Deepak Dhar (INSA Distinguished Professor, ICTS) has been awarded the 2026 Dirac Medal by ICTP.

A pioneer in statistical physics, Prof. Dhar’s work on self-organised criticality and the famous sandpile model has transformed how we understand abrupt events in complex systems—from earthquakes to traffic jams and financial crashes.

He shares this year’s honour with Bernard Derrida, Marc Mézard, and Haim Sompolinsky for foundational contributions linking statistical physics to AI, neuroscience, and non-equilibrium systems.

The Dirac Medal is one of the most prestigious international awards in theoretical physics. Prof. Dhar spent four decades at the Department of Theoretical Physics, TIFR, Mumbai, and is only the second India-based scientist to receive this prestigious global award in theoretical physics—the first being Ashoke Sen. We are proud to count both in the TIFR community.

29/07/2026

Sabyasachi Mukherjee (Faculty, School of Mathematics, TIFR) delivered an invited lecture at the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), held this year in Philadelphia, USA.

The ICM is widely regarded as the most prestigious event in the global mathematics community, held once every four years. Being invited to speak at the ICM is a significant recognition of mathematical excellence and impact.

Dr. Mukherjee’s talk, titled “Algebraic Correspondences and Schwarz Reflections: Where Rational Dynamics Meets Kleinian Groups”, introduced new perspectives connecting two distinct branches of dynamical systems: one dealing with how complex shapes evolve under repeated transformation (often resulting in complex and chaotic patterns), and another exploring how symmetries act on surfaces (especially those that are curved or distorted in intricate ways). Dr. Mukherjee's work brings these areas together into a common mathematical framework, revealing deep patterns that bridge geometry, complex analysis, and statistical physics.

23/07/2026

At in Shanghai, Team India bagged 2 Golds and 4 Silvers, placing them at (unofficial) Global Rank 7. Mentored by Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education,TIFR, supported by Department of Atomic Energy, India, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, Ministry of Education.

Flying high in Shanghai: India bags 2 Golds and 4 Silvers at IMO 2026; finishes 7th among 117 countries!

HBCSE is thrilled to celebrate the outstanding performance of the Indian contingent at the 67th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) 2026! In the largest IMO ever organized since 1959—competing against nearly 666 brilliant minds from 117 nations—our six-member team secured 2 Gold and 4 Silver medals, placing India at an impressive (unofficial) global Country Rank of 7th!

Here are our medalists:
🥇 Mr. Aarav Gupta (Delhi) – Gold
🥇 Mr. Abel George Mathew (Karnataka) – Gold
🥈 Mr. Bairav Murugan (Karnataka) – Silver
🥈 Mr. Kanav Talwar (Delhi) – Silver
🥈 Ms. Sanjana Philo Chacko (Kerala) – Silver
🥈 Ms. Shreya Shantanu Mundhada (Mumbai) – Silver

The contingent was led by Leader Mr. Anant Mudgal (Mathelots Pvt. Ltd.) and Deputy Leader Dr. Mainak Ghosh (HBCSE), while Mr. Siddharth Choppara (Chennai Mathematical Institute) and Mr. Adhitya Mangudy (MIT, USA) served as Observers. Inspiringly, three of our mentors are illustrious past IMO medalists themselves, returning to mentor the next generation!

This victory marks India's fourth consecutive finish in the global Top 10. A success of this scale relies on an entire Mathematical Olympiad ecosystem in India. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM), the HBCSE Administration & Support staff, the Mathematical Olympiad Cell, and the Chennai Mathematical Institute for their invaluable support, efforts, and guidance. Kudos to the exceptional dedication of our students, mentors, and the entire training community! 👏✨

📊 Check the full results here: https://www.imo2026.com/Results/Team_Results.htm

23/07/2026

At in Vilnius, the Indian team brought home 1 gold and 3 silvers. Mentored by Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education,TIFR, supported by Department of Atomic Energy, India, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, Ministry of Education.

At the 37th International Biology Olympiad ( ) in Vilnius, Lithuania, all four Indian team members secured medals. 🇮🇳

🥇 Bhavyaa Gunwal (Mahendragarh, Haryana) - GOLD
🥈 Soumil Maity (Howrah, West Bengal) - SILVER
🥈 Nish*t Kalani (Pali, Rajasthan) - SILVER
🥈 Anmol Kumar (Mansa, Punjab) - SILVER

Competing among 307 students from 78 countries, the competition tested students on 6-hour practical labs—covering Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, Animal Physiology, Animal Morphology & Systematics, and Plant Computational Biology—alongside 6-hour research-centric theoretical tasks. In total, 31 gold, 61 silver, and 91 bronze medals were awarded at IBO 2026.

Congratulations to the students, delegation leaders Dr. Anupama Ronad (HBCSE-TIFR) and Dr. Rekha Vartak (formerly HBCSE-TIFR), and observers Dr. Ranjitsingh Devkar (MS University, Baroda) and Dr. Siddhesh Ghag (UM DAE CEBS). Thanks to members of the HBCSE Biology Cell, the ATBS and IAPT teacher organizations, and the nationwide pool of resource persons involved in selecting and training the team. The Olympiad program is generously supported by DAE, DST, and MoE, Govt. of India.

23/07/2026

Team India bags 4/4 GOLD at , finishing at Rank 1 globally, alongside 3 other teams. Mentored by Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education,TIFR, supported by Department of Atomic Energy, India, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, Ministry of Education.

Another Golden Sweep by India as our Chemistry team bags 4 Gold medals securing Rank #1 (jointly with China, Vietnam, and Individual Participant (Russia)) at the 58th International Chemistry Olympiad (.official).

There were 363 participants from 93 countries competing in IChO 2026 held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from July 10-19, 2026. This was India’s 27th participation in the IChO and best performance till date.

Heartiest Congratulations to the entire team!!

1. Debadatta Priyadarshi 🥇Bhubaneswar, Odisha
2. Harsh*t Singla 🥇, Mandi Gobindgarh, Punjab
3. Kabeer Chhillar 🥇 Delhi
4. Sandeep Kuchi 🥇 Hyderabad, Telangana

The team was accompanied by Head Mentor Prof. Subhajit Bandyopadhyay (IISER Kolkata), Mentor Dr. Indrani Das Sen (HBCSE), and Scientific Observers Dr. Anubendu Adhikary (IIT Kharagpur) and Dr. Jayasree Gopalakrishnan (NES Ratnam College, Mumbai).

We thank the National Steering Committee on Science Olympiads, teacher organisations, and the extended family of resource persons with the Chemistry Olympiad Cell for their strong unwavering support through all stages of the National program. We acknowledge the generous funding from DAE, DST, and MoE, GoI.

23/07/2026

GOLD across the board! Outstanding performance by the Indian team at , placing India at Rank 1, alongside five other teams. Mentored by Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education,TIFR, supported by Department of Atomic Energy, India, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, Ministry of Education.

🏆 GOLDEN SWEEP FOR INDIA! 🏆🇮🇳

All 5 Indian students win GOLD at the 56th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2026 in Bucaramanga, Colombia — placing India at Rank #1 in the world (jointly with China, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea & Taiwan) among 381 students from 87 countries! 🌍✨

🥇 Kanishk Jain — Pune, Maharashtra
🥇 Riddhesh Anant Bendale — Indore, Madhya Pradesh
🥇 Rish*t Garg — Dwarka, New Delhi
🥇 Shresth Suraiya — Mumbai, Maharashtra
🥇 Svarit Joshi — Ahmedabad, Gujarat

This is India's 27th appearance at IPhO — and the legacy keeps growing. In the last 10 years, EVERY Indian student has come home with Gold or Silver. 🙌

Massive congratulations to our young physicists and to team leaders Prof. Anwesh Mazumdar (HBCSE-TIFR) & Dr. Leena Joshi (St. Xavier's College, Mumbai), scientific observers Prof. Ananda Dasgupta (IISER Kolkata) & Ms. Nisha Kelkar (Gogate-Joglekar College), and the entire Physics Olympiad Cell and mentor pool at HBCSE for their dedication through the orientation and pre-departure camps. 👏

Deep gratitude to .connect, DST and Ministry of Education, Govt. of India for their continued support in helping India shine on the world stage. 🙏

07/07/2026

Three faculty members from , Dr. Prayush Kumar (), Dr. Prasad Perlekar (), and Dr. Bahadur Singh (TIFR, Mumbai), have been recognised with the 2026 Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam HPC & AI Award for their contributions to high-performance computing across gravitational physics, fluid dynamics, and quantum materials, respectively.

Their work exemplifies how high-performance computing drives discovery across disciplines.

This recognition by and the .foundation underscores the importance of HPC and AI in advancing fundamental and applied science.

ComputationalScience QuantumMaterials FluidDynamics GravitationalPhysics

06/07/2026

Research led by Animesh Sah and Dr. Mohamed Rameez from the Department of High Energy Physics, TIFR India, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, questions the widely accepted argument that the expansion rate of the universe is accelerating and that this is driven by ‘dark energy’ arising from the quantum vacuum.

The study, published as a Letter in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, finds that Type Ia supernovae do not provide evidence for cosmic acceleration. The TIFR team, together with visiting VAIBHAV Fellow Prof. Subir Sarkar of Oxford’s Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, reanalysed the Pantheon+ dataset, which contains observations of over 1,700 Type Ia supernovae.

Read more: https://tifr.link/cxq0px

The link between Type Ia supernovae brightness and progenitor star age remains a topic of active research, and these findings will have to be reconciled with complementary data from the Cosmic Microwave Background and Large Scale Structure. Looking ahead, the researchers emphasize that future data will provide more stringent tests of these ideas; specifically, the upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) at the Rubin Observatory—in which many Indian astronomers are active participants—is expected to measure hundreds of thousands of supernovae, enabling far more precise evaluations of competing cosmological models.