Awarded by the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences are two outstanding Iranian cosmologists: Shant Baghram of Sharif University of Technology and Mohammad Hossein Namjoo of the Sharif University of Technology. It was jointly awarded to both for their pioneering research in developing robust theoretical, computational, and statistical frameworks for comparing predictions of cosmological and astrophysical phenomena with high-precision observations.
In light of several ongoing and near-future large-scale structure surveys, Baghram's work on the formation and detection of dark matter substructures, observational signatures of primordial non-Gaussianity, and gravity modifications are of particular relevance. During these extremely complicated times, Baghram has made an unending and unparalleled effort to help young physicists flourish and develop in Iran.
The topics covered by Namjoo's research range from the very early universe, including features of the cosmic microwave background radiation, to dark matter and large-scale structure formation. In addition to helping identify novel features of deep physical interest, his research on effective field theories for quantifying systematic corrections to the nonrelativistic limit of theories of massive fields has led to a computationally efficient method for comparing predictions to empirical data.
It was established in 1982 that the ICTP Prize would be awarded. This award recognizes young scientists from developing countries who have made outstanding and original contributions to physics in their countries. ICTP Prizes are awarded annually to scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the field in which they are given.