Deepak Dhar wins 2026 Dirac Medal for statistical mechanics work

Indian physicist Deepak Dhar has won the 2026 Dirac Medal for contributions to statistical mechanics. The honour highlights how his work on complex systems has influenced fields from biology to artificial intelligence.Indian physicist Deepak Dhar has won the 2026 Dirac Medal, one of the world’s leading honours in theoretical physics, for his “important contributions to statistical mechanics”. The International Centre for Theoretical Physics, the Italy-based organisation that gives the award, announced the honour on Saturday.Dhar is one of four physicists to receive this year’s medal. He shares it with Bernard Derrida of France, Marc Mezard of Italy, and Haim Sompolinsky of Israel and the US. The four were recognised for work that has helped scientists understand complex systems, with applications ranging from biology and financial markets to computer science and artificial intelligence.The Dirac Medal, established in 1985, recognises major contributions to theoretical physics. Past recipients include several scientists who later went on to receive some of the world’s highest scientific honours, including the Nobel Prize and the Fields Medal. The ICTP said the four scientists were honoured for their contributions to statistical mechanics, a branch of physics that helps explain how the combined behaviour of large numbers of particles or other individual elements can produce complex patterns.Dhar, a professor at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bengaluru, is particularly known for his work on the “sandpile model”, which helps explain how a system can remain stable for a long time but suddenly undergo a major change. The approach has since been used to study seemingly unrelated phenomena such as earthquakes, traffic jams and fluctuations in financial markets. ICTP Director Atish Dabholkar, who chairs the medal selection committee, said the work of the four recipients had helped establish statistical mechanics as a powerful framework for addressing questions far beyond its traditional field, including biology, computer science and artificial intelligence. “I am particularly happy that this year’s Medal recognises a research field that has had a long tradition here at ICTP and I warmly congratulate the four winners,” Dabholkar said.Dhar received his PhD from the California Institute of Technology and spent several decades at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai before joining the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in 2016. He has been an INSA Distinguished Professor at the ICTS-TIFR since 2024. His research focuses on statistical physics and stochastic processes. He has also received the Padma Bhushan in 2023, the Boltzmann Medal in 2022 jointly with Nobel laureate John Hopfield, and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 1991. The award marks another major recognition for Dhar’s work in statistical mechanics and its wider applications. With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 12, 2026 13:56 IST