ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Jainendra Jain receives Penn State Honorary Alumni Award
Award recognizes individuals who, despite not earning a Penn State degree, have made significant contributions to the university's welfare, reputation or prestige
-
Malvika Choudhary - Fri, 26, Jun 2026
- 18:12 EDT
- 47
Jainendra Jain / Wikipedia
Indian-American physicist Jainendra K. Jain received the 2026 Honorary Alumni Award from the Penn State Alumni Association in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the university.
The Penn State Alumni Association presented the award to Jain and two other longtime university champions and benefactors during a ceremony held June 12 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center.
Jain is the Evan Pugh University professor, Eberly Family chair in Physics in Penn State's Eberly College of Science, and director of the Penn State Center for Theory of Emergent Quantum Matter.
Also Read: AAHOA's Kalpesh Joshi honored in Congressional record
A leading theoretical physicist, he is best known for predicting a new class of particles called composite fermions and for explaining the fractional quantum Hall effect as the integral quantum Hall effect of composite fermions.
His work has transformed scientists' understanding of strongly interacting electronic systems in low-dimensional materials and is regarded as one of the most significant advances in condensed matter physics.
The recognition adds to a series of prestigious honors for Jain. In 2025, he shared the Wolf Prize in Physics with James P. Eisenstein and Mordehai Heiblum, one of the world's highest scientific honors, for groundbreaking contributions to condensed matter physics. Earlier this year, he was selected as the founding director of the Lodha Theoretical Physics Institute, established by the Lodha Foundation, a leading philanthropic organization in India.
Reflecting on receiving the Wolf Prize, Jain said, "Looking back, it is hard to believe how incredibly fortunate I have been. Growing up in a poor village in India, traumatized by an accident that left me on crutches with a lifelong disability, I did not think I would ever walk again or attend college, let alone pursue my dream of becoming a physicist."
Jain was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2021 and was named a Foreign Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy in 2024.
He also received the American Physical Society's Oliver E. Buckley Prize in 2002 for outstanding contributions to condensed matter physics. In addition to his research, he authored the influential monograph Composite Fermions and co-edited Fractional Quantum Hall Effects: New Developments, both regarded as important references in the field.
Born in Sambhar, Rajasthan, Jain overcame significant personal challenges on his path to becoming one of the world's leading theoretical physicists. Because of injuries sustained in a childhood accident, he has walked with the aid of a prosthesis for much of his life and has credited the Jaipur Foot organization with helping him continue his education.
Jain received his bachelor's degree in physics from Maharaja College, Jaipur, in 1979, a master's degree in physics from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in 1981, and a Ph.D. in physics from Stony Brook University in 1985. Following postdoctoral appointments at the University of Maryland and Yale University, he joined the faculty at Stony Brook University before moving to Penn State in 1998 as the university's first Erwin W. Mueller Professor of Physics.
Established in 1973, the Honorary Alumni Award recognizes individuals who, despite not earning a Penn State degree, have made significant contributions to the university's welfare, reputation or prestige. More than 100 people have received honorary alumni status since the award's inception.
The Penn State Alumni Association, which has served the university community for more than 150 years, said the Honorary Alumni Award recognizes individuals whose contributions have strengthened the university's mission of teaching, research and public service while enhancing its reputation around the world. Jain was one of three recipients honored in 2026 for advancing Penn State's academic excellence and global standing.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
Leave A Comment
Related
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
E Paper
Video
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login