Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

An outstanding performance by our youngsters! Congratulations to the Indian contingent of Kanishk Jain, Riddhesh Anant Bendale, Rishit Garg, Shresth Suraiya and Svarit Joshi for winning Gold Medals at the 56th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2026 held in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Their feat reflects yet another example of the limitless potential of our Yuva Shakti and their passion towards science and research. Equally commendable is the fact that in the last decade, our students have performed exceptionally well in the various editions of this platform.

🇮🇳GOLDEN SWEEP FOR INDIA 🏆 All 5 Indian students win GOLD at the 56 International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2026 in Bucaramanga, Colombia -placing India at Rank #1 in the world (jointly with China, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea & Taiwan) among 381 students from 87 countries 1/5

🇮🇳 India Tops the World at the 56th International Physics Olympiad 2026! 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇India's young physicists deliver an extraordinary performance at #IPhO2026 in Colombia. All five members of the Indian team win Gold Medals. 1/3 @PMOIndia @DrJitendraSingh @HBCSE_TIFR @TIFRScience

A wonderful Sumitra Maharana Memorial Lecture at DBS, @TIFRScience. Prof. Jnan Maharana shared the vision behind the lecture series, followed by a captivating talk by @RangarajuVidhya on how brain cells power learning and memory, and why this matters for diseases. 🧠

#AwardAlert Three faculty members from @tifrscience, Dr. Prayush Kumar (@ictstifr), Dr. Prasad Perlekar (@TIFRH_buzz), and Dr. Bahadur Singh (TIFR, Mumbai), have been recognised with the 2026 Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam HPC & AI Award for their contributions to high-performance computing across gravitational physics, fluid dynamics, and quantum materials, respectively. Their work exemplifies how high-performance computing drives discovery across disciplines. This recognition by @HPE and the Kalam Foundation underscores the importance of HPC and AI in advancing fundamental and applied science. #TIFRScience #HPC #AI #ScienceAndEngineering #ComputationalScience #QuantumMaterials #FluidDynamics #GravitationalPhysics

The link between Type Ia supernovae brightness & progenitor star age is a topic of active research & these findings need to be aligned with complementary data from CMB & Large Scale Structure. The authors emphasize that upcoming LSST data from the Rubin Observatory will enable stringent tests of competing cosmological models. Read the full paper: doi.org/10.1093/mnras/…

Research led by Animesh Sah and Dr. Mohamed Rameez from the Department of High Energy Physics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, questions the widely accepted argument that the expansion rate of the universe is accelerating and that this is driven by ‘dark energy’ arising from the quantum vacuum. The study, published as a Letter in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, finds that Type Ia supernovae do not provide evidence for cosmic acceleration. The TIFR team, together with visiting VAIBHAV Fellow Prof. Subir Sarkar of Oxford's Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, reanalysed the Pantheon+ dataset, which contains observations of over 1,700 Type Ia supernovae. Read more: tifr.link/cxq0px #TIFRScience #supernova #pantheon

With a quantum trick called “singlet fission”, solar cells can be made more efficient. The singlet fission is also showing promise to improved treatment of cancer. To know what this is and how it works, join this session! 📅11 AM, Sun 5 Jul 📍Prithvi Theatre, Juhu #MAisworika

What does it take to build a career in physics in the age of AI? In this episode of Prof. Mahesh Podcast, watch Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula of IIT Madras sit down with Prof. G. Ravindra Kumar, Distinguished Professor at TIFR Mumbai and Infosys Prize Laureate, to explore the exciting future of physics and scientific discovery. From quantum mechanics and lasers to AI-driven research, medical physics, and deep-tech careers, the conversation explores how curiosity, experimentation, and interdisciplinary thinking are shaping the future of science. Prof. Kumar also shares why hands-on learning matters, how students can overcome myths about physics, and what India must do to become a global innovation leader by 2047. Watch the full episode: youtube.com/watch?v=_g8crO…. @iitmadras @TIFRScience #ProfMaheshPodcast #IITMadras #Physics #STEM #AI #FutureOfScience #Innovation #DeepTech

ICTS faculty member Pallavi Bhat, along with seven international collaborators, has received a Simons Foundation grant for a Targeted Simons Research Group on Cosmic Magnetism. Congratulations Prof. Bhat! Read more: icts.res.in/news/pallavi-b…

Twist in light enhances chiral discrimination Researchers from IIT Bombay led by Prof. Gopal Dixit, Department of Physics; Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and IIT Hyderabad have developed a novel optical technique to distinguish between mirror-image molecules, known as enantiomers, using specially structured “twisted” laser light. Published in Science Advances, the study demonstrates that laser beams carrying orbital angular momentum interact differently with chiral molecules depending on their handedness. The researchers directed ultrashort twisted laser pulses onto gaseous samples of R- and S-camphor. The interaction ionized the molecules, causing them to fragment into charged particles that were analyzed using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. They observed that the number of fragments produced varied according to the combination of the molecule’s handedness and the light’s twist, enabling direct discrimination between enantiomers. Unlike conventional chirality-detection methods that require complex measurements, this approach relies on simple ion-counting signals, offering enhanced sensitivity and experimental simplicity. The technique could provide a powerful new tool for chemical, biological, and pharmaceutical analysis. The full paper can be accessed here: science.org/doi/10.1126/sc… #IITHyderabad #Chirality #Optics #Laser #MassSpectrometry #ScienceCommunication #PopularScience @IITHyderabad @paniitindia @TIFRScience

Thank you, JD @jd1278 🙏for visiting our Department today. Your lecture on “A Temporal Framework for Photoactivating C-H bonds in Water” was Illuminating & informative👏. Please do visit us again! @TIFRScience; @iiscbangalore

What if your immune defense becomes your vulnerability! Read our latest work on microbial exploitation of host factors to enhance their survival. @TIFRScience @TIFR_Bio Supported by @DBTIndia @DAEIndia pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.10…

The Ooty observatory's 22-year journey to map the upper atmosphere with muons For 22 years, the #GRAPES-3 muon telescope in Ooty, India, tracked billions of subatomic particles. An international team analysed this data to simultaneously measure variations in Earth’s upper-atmosphere temperature and the Sun’s interplanetary magnetic field, creating a powerful real-time monitoring tool. For a deep dive, check out: researchmatters.in/news/ooty-obse… @TIFRScience | @CUSATU1971 #ooty #astrophysics #monitor #science #sciencecommunication #IndianScience #ScienceinIndia

AROHAN: a multi-site, ICMR-supported initiative Establish rigorous normative data on growth, body composition, & metabolic health among Indian children & adolescents across diverse regions & socio-economic contexts @ICMRDELHI @TIFRScience @DAEIndia @PMOIndia @TIFRH_buzz

#AwardAlert Dr. Girish Kulkarni (faculty, DTP, @tifrscience) has been awarded the Laxminarayana & Nagalaxmi Modali Award (2025) by the Astronomical Society of India. The award recognises outstanding research contributions carried out primarily in India over the past decade. Dr. Kulkarni’s work has significantly advanced our understanding of the first billion years of the Universe, covering landmark epochs such as cosmic dawn, reionisation, and the emergence of early supermassive black holes. More about what his group works on: tifr.link/dtp-gk #TIFRScience #ASI #blackholes #cosmology

@amol_dighe @HBCSE_TIFR Catch the livestream at 11:30 AM: tinyurl.com/bcml2026

Bibha Chowdhury Memorial Lecture by Dr. Aradhana Shrivastava, as a part of Vigyan Vidushi (Physics) 2026. @HBCSE_TIFR @TIFRScience

95% of the universe is invisible. We know dark matter exists, but we still don't know what it is. What if the clue is hidden in the oldest light in the universe? In this conversation, TIFR researchers Harsh Mehta and Prof. Suvodip Mukherjee explain how tiny distortions in the Cosmic Microwave Background—the afterglow of the Big Bang—could reveal the presence of elusive axion-like particles, one of the leading dark matter candidates. Their work, which proposes a new way to search for these particles using a diffuse signal spread across the microwave sky, was awarded Third Prize at the Buchalter Cosmology Prize 2025. 🎥 Watch to discover how scientists are using the universe itself as a laboratory to search for the invisible. 💬 If you could ask one question about dark matter, what would it be? #TIFRScience #DarkMatter #Cosmology #ALP #CMB