Mr. Rajesh Gopakumar is an eminent theoretical physicist whose pioneering work is helping to decode the baffling laws of quantum physics. Currently, he serves as the director of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS-TIFR), Bangalore. His work on a simplified version of string theory led to the discovery of Cumrun Vafa the Gopakumar–Vafa duality and Gopakumar–Vafa invariants. He is a recipient of several prestigious awards and recognitions including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for Physical Sciences in 2009. Gopakumar obtained his B.Sc & M.Sc. degrees in physics from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and his Ph.D. from Princeton University.