Indian-origin astronomer Shrinivas Kulkarni wins Royal Astronomical Society Gold Medal
Shrinivas Kulkarni, an astronomer from Maharashtra now at Caltech, was just awarded the Royal Astronomical Society's top honor—the Gold Medal—on January 9, 2026.
This puts him alongside legends like Einstein and Hawking, thanks to his big contributions to studying cosmic events across different wavelengths.
Why does this matter?
Kulkarni isn't just another name in science—he helped discover the first millisecond pulsar and the first brown dwarf orbiting another star.
He also showed that gamma-ray bursts come from far beyond our galaxy.
Plus, he led game-changing sky surveys like the Zwicky Transient Facility, which spots thousands of cosmic events—including many new supernovae—every year.
For young science fans or anyone curious about space, it's inspiring to see someone from India making such a global impact.