Theoretical physicist and teacher AP Balachandran is known for his work on understanding basic particle physics and died on April 18 in Coimbatore.
He is a professor emeritus of Joel Dorman Steele of Syracuse University and an internationally recognized theoretical physicist.
After earning his bachelor’s degree from Madras Christian College, he received his PhD from the University of Madras under the guidance of Alladi Ramakrishnan. He was the first graduate student at Matscience and is now known as the Chennai Institute of Mathematical Sciences. He conducted postdoctoral work at the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Vienna and the Enrico Fermi Institute in Chicago.
He joined the faculty and staff at Syracuse University in 1964 and stayed there until retirement. He has made a key role in making the university a prosperous research centre and an attractive destination for physicists from all over the world, including India.
Professor Balacandran also received the Postgraduate Teaching Award in 1991, which is awarded to students by the University for outstanding student mentoring. He also graduated nearly 40 students.
As a researcher, Professor Balakandland’s main contribution is to restore the Skyrme model. This is one way to describe particles (such as protons and neutrons) as entities called topological solitons. He uses topology and differential geometry to understand the structure of the theory underlying the Standard Model, the best framework for scientists to understand how subatomic particles interact. His work focuses on quantum chromosome dynamics, part of a model involving the internal forces of the atomic nucleus. Until the end, he was active in the researchers.
Among other honors, Professor Balachandran was influenced by the American chapter of Indian physics’ contribution to physics in 1992. He has been a member of the American Physics Society since 1988. He also wrote at least seven books and monographs on quantum field theory, group theory and Hopf algebra, and applied quantum in quantum physics and contributed 200 books to 200 publications. His wife and son survived.
publishing – April 20, 2025 11:57 pm ist
