Sunil Mukhi is an Indian theoretical physicist working in the areas of

string theory In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and intera ...

quantum field theory In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines Field theory (physics), field theory and the principle of relativity with ideas behind quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct phy ...

and

particle physics Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...

. Currently he is adjunct professor at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences of the

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a leading research Institute under the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. It is a public deemed university located at Navy Nagar, Colaba in Mumbai. It also has a centres in ...

and honorary professor emeritus at the

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER Pune) is an autonomous public university established in 2006. It is one of the seven Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, and was one of the first IISERs to be ...

Career

He obtained a B.Sc. degree at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics in 1981 from

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

(also called the

State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

). After spending two years as a post-doctoral fellow at the

International Centre for Theoretical Physics The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) is a research center for physical and mathematical sciences, located in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The center operates under a tripartite agreement between the Gov ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, he returned to India, where he worked at the

in Mumbai, India, from 1984 to 2012. In 2012 he left the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research to join the

as the head of the Physics Department, a position he held until 2018. In 2019 he became dean of faculty at the same institute. He retired from IISER Pune in August 2022.

Research

His major publications deal with fundamental properties of string theories, and include the conformal invariance of supersymmetric two-dimensional field theories which describe the world-sheet dynamics of strings, the study of supersymmetric solitons using index theorems, the discovery of a new duality between string theory and M-theory, the identification of string networks as supersymmetric states and the discovery of a novel Higgs mechanism in the worldvolume theory of M-theory membranes.

Other activities

In 2002, he played a role in exposing a series of instances of

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

by the Vice-Chancellor of Kumaon University in India. The Vice-Chancellor was eventually found guilty by a national committee and subsequently resigned. Mukhi has a number of interests in addition to physics, notably

Indian Classical Music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...

on which he maintains a webpag

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

popularisation which he carries out through seminars at schools and colleges as well as newspaper articles, and cinema,

cooking Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or Food safety, safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from ...

and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

. Within the field of Indian Classical Music he has spent considerable effort archiving classic recordings, particularly those of notable vocal artist Pandit Kumar Gandharva on whom he also maintains a webpag

He has previously written a blog, named "Tantu-jaa

During 2018-2020 he was lead vocalist of the progressive heavy metal band Let's Keep Thinking, based on the IISER Pune campus.

Honors

Mukhi is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences,

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three b ...

and

The World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS) is a North–south research partnerships, merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting more than 1,400 scientists in some 1 ...

, and a recipient of the S.S. Bhatnagar Award for Physical Sciences, 1999 and the J.C. Bose Fellowship, 2008. He has been an Editor of the Journal of High Energy Physics since its inception in 1997. He is Chair of the Panel on Scientific Values of the Indian Academy of Sciences. Mukhi was an invited speaker at the international conference
Strings 2000
in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Strings 2002
in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

an
Strings 2008
in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. He was one of the organisers o
Strings 2001
in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

— a conference that attracted much publicity because of the participation of

David Gross David Jonathan Gross (; born February 19, 1941) is an American theoretical physicist and string theorist. Along with Frank Wilczek and David Politzer, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of asymptotic freedom. ...

Stephen Hawking Stephen William Hawking (8January 194214March 2018) was an English theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between ...

and

Edward Witten Edward Witten (born August 26, 1951) is an American theoretical physics, theoretical physicist known for his contributions to string theory, topological quantum field theory, and various areas of mathematics. He is a professor emeritus in the sc ...

. He has also lectured at advanced schools in theoretical physics, notably at Cargèse and Les Houches in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, at th
SERC school
series in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and at the first PITP School at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

in Princeton during his sabbatical year there. He was a Visiting Fellow Commoner at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

during the Lent Term, 2012.

References

External links

Sunil Mukhi's Home PageSunil Mukhi's scientific publications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukhi, Sunil Academic staff of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune 20th-century Indian physicists Indian string theorists Living people 1956 births Stony Brook University alumni Scientists from Mumbai