Indian‑origin professor wins Godel Prize for groundbreaking computer science work

A researcher of Indian origin, Eshan Chattopadhyay, who is an associate professor at Cornell University, has been awarded the 2025 Godel Prize, one of the most prestigious prizes in theoretical computer science. He is jointly honoured with David Zuckerman, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin.Their prize-winning paper, titled 'Explicit TwoSource Extractors and Resilient Functions', was first presented in 2016 and later published in the Annals of Mathematics in 2019. The work created a method—a twosource randomness extractor—that can convert two imperfect sources of random data into a strong random output, even if both sources are weak. This solved a key problem that had remained open for nearly 30 years.advertisementExtractors help generate reliable random data for computers, which is essential in fields like cryptography, secure communication, algorithms, and complex systems. Their contribution paves the way for better-designed systems and stronger cyber safety tools.AWARD DETAILS AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
The Gdel Prize is awarded annually by ACM SIGACT and EATCS, alternating between ICALP and STOC conferences. Chattopadhyay and Zuckerman will receive the award in Prague at STOC2025, held from June 23 to 27.Eshan Chattopadhyay earned his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin under David Zuckerman in 2016. He later joined Cornell in 2018 after postdoctoral work at IAS Princeton and Simons Institute, Berkeley. Zuckerman has been a leader in pseudorandomness research since the 1990s.RECOGNITION FOR INNOVATION IN THEORYTheir 2016 STOC paper was already honoured with a Best Paper Award at the conference . Apart from the Gdel Prize, Chattopadhyay has received other awards, including the 2024 NAS Held Prize, the 2023 Sloan Fellowship, and funding from NSF including a CAREER Award.This recognition highlights how deep, abstract research can yield practical tools—impacting algorithms, secure systems, and even the future of computing.Must Watch

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Time of India

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• Time of India

When Dr Radhakrishnan gave away degrees under tent at IIT-Kanpur

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Business Standard

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Time of India

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IIT Guwahati develops mechanism to treat 1,000 litre contaminated water for Rs 20

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