Ranjan Laha, an Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, is one of two winners of the 2024 ICTP Prize from the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy.  This prize, which is highly competitive, “recognizes young scientists from developing countries who work and live in those countries and who have made outstanding and original contributions to physics.”

Laha completed his Ph.D. in Physics in 2014 under the supervision of Professor John Beacom, focusing on topics in neutrinos and dark matter.  He also collaborated with Professor Eric Braaten.

Laha is the third ICTP Prize winner with close connections to Ohio State.  CCAPP Postdoctoral Fellow Basudeb Dasgupta won in 2019, and Professor Mohit Randeria won in 2002.

Ranjan Laha, an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India, has received the prize for his outstanding and wide-ranging work in theoretical particle astrophysics and cosmology. In particular, Laha has invented creative methods to search for various dark matter candidates and signatures of physics beyond the standard model of particle physics. By applying his methods to astrophysical data, such as IceCube neutrinos, Tibet As Experiment gamma rays, Event Horizon telescope images of Sagittarius A*, or the James Webb Space Telescope's high redshift galaxies, he has made a major impact on this important and developing topic.