ICM 2010: First Indian mathematician receives prize for history of mathematics

By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Aug 19: Radha Charan Gupta is the first Indian to be awarded the Kenneth O. May Prize for the History of Mathematics. The award was conferred upon Prof. Gupta at the International Congress of
Mathematicians (ICM)  in Hyderabad.

Prof. Kim Plofker, a mathematical historian and the author of 'Mathematics in India', will present the award to Prof. Gupta on behalf of the International Commission for the History of Mathematics. Prof. Plofker will also deliver a Plenary talk at the ICM 2010. Prof. Gupta is an invitee to the ICM.

Prof. Gupta was chosen for the 2009 prize jointly with Prof. Ivor Grattan-Guinness of UK by the International Commission for the History of Mathematics. The award was presented to Prof.
Grattan-Guinness at the 23rd International Congress of History of Science and Technology held in Budapest, Hungary. Prof. Gupta could not attend this Congress and will receive the award in his home country, India at the Closing Ceremony of the ICM on 27 August 2010.
The Prize is named after the mathematician and historian – Kenneth O. May – founder of the International Commission for the History of Mathematics and its journal Historia Mathematica.
The prize, instituted in 1989, consists of a bronze medal and is given once in four years in appreciation of a mathematician's scholarly work in the history of mathematics.
Prof. Gupta's major contributions in the field include work on the history of development of trigonometry in India. He authored the chapter 'Historiography of Mathematics in India' in the book Writing the History of Mathematics: Its Historical Development. He was the President of the Association of Mathematics Teachers of India since 1994 until recently. He also founded the journal Ganita Bharati (meaning “Indian Mathematics”) and has written several articles in the journal.