Professor Mahesh Ramesh Kakde, a mathematician at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has won the most prestigious Ramanujan Prize 2026 for Young Mathematicians from Developing Countries. The award is run by the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and the International Mathematical Union (IMU) and has recognised his major contributions to algebraic number theory.
But who is Professor Mahesh Kakde?
Mahesh Kakde is a professor in the Mathematics Department of IISc Bengaluru. He joined the institute back in 2019, after spending several years doing research and teaching in the United Kingdom.
- Kakde started his education by pursuing the degree of Bachelor's in Mathematics from the Indian Statistical Institute in Bengaluru.
- Then he went to the University of Cambridge for his Master's degree and PhD in pure mathematics.
- By 2008, he had completed his PhD (doctorate), and after that, he started teaching at Princeton.
- Later, he moved into research and faculty roles at University College London and King’s College London.
Professor Kakde's research on various mathematical theories
At IISc Bengaluru, Kakde’s main focus remains on algebraic number theory, but his research has further stretched to Arithmetic Geometry and noncommutative Iwasawa Theory.
Talking about algebraic number theory, it explores numbers, equations, and their deeper connections by using tools from algebra.
The professor tackled various problems that sat at the intersection of number theory and algebra.
As per the reports, his work was said to be exceptional in noncommutative Iwasawa theory, and he further made important progress on the Gross-Stark and Brumer-Stark conjectures (core problems in algebraic number theory). Both of them tried to solve long-standing puzzles in mathematics.
Kakde’s research was in connection with Hilbert’s 12th Problem
One of the reasons for Kakde’s research that caught international attention is its connection with Hilbert’s 12th Problem, which is said to be one of the famous 23 problems which is posed by David Hilbert in 1900.
Hilbert’s 12th Problem is an extension of the Kronecker-Weber theorem on abelian extensions of the rational numbers to any base number field.
That problem reportedly deals with the construction of certain number fields and, further, understanding of key arithmetic quantities.
Professor Kakde’s research on the Brumer-Stark and Gross-Stark conjectures matters a lot here, as ICTP and IMU have pointed out.
Professor Mahesh Kakde’s overall achievements so far
Before winning the Ramanujan Prize, Mahesh Kakde had been awarded multiple recognitions, such as:
- He was awarded the Infosys Prize for Mathematical Sciences in 2022.
- He spoke at the International Congress of Mathematicians in the same year (2022).
- In 2023, the London Mathematical Society honoured him with the Whitehead Prize.
- He became a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences.
- He further held the Homi Bhabha Chair at IISc
Kakde has been awarded major research fellowships, including the SwarnaJayanti Fellowship, which is an initiative launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in association with the Government of India.
About the Ramanujan Prize
The Ramanujan Prize is purely dedicated to the best mathematician from a developing country who is under the age bracket of 45. It is given to those who have made standout research contributions while working in challenging circumstances. It further includes a cash prize of around USD 10,000 (around 9.6 lakh) and has been co-administered by ICTP and IMU since 2005.
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