Choose maths only if you are passionate about it: Ramanujan Prize winner Neena Gupta

Prof Neena Gupta, a mathematician at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Kolkata, is the second Indian woman and fourth Indian mathematician to receive the Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians.

Prof Neena Gupta received the award for her work in affine algebraic geometry and commutative algebra at a virtual ceremony.

Prof Neena Gupta, a mathematician at the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata, has been awarded the Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians for the year 2021. She received the award for her work in affine algebraic geometry and commutative algebra at a virtual ceremony.

Prof Neena is the second Indian woman and fourth Indian mathematician to receive this honour. While talking to Shiksha.com, she said, “I never expected that I would get this award, but I am feeling very happy because it sends a message that whatever I have been doing, people are liking that and acknowledging my work, so it’s a happy situation that my hard work has paid off.”

Neena was born and brought up in Kolkata. She did her schooling from Khalsa Model Senior Secondary School, Dunlop, Kolkata, and studied BSc (Honours) in mathematics from Bethune College, Kolkata. She completed her masters in mathematics from the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in 2008 and later went on to pursue her PhD in commutative algebra from ISI in 2011.

Zariski cancellation problem

When asked about Zariski cancellation problem for which she has been awarded the prestigious award, she said, “It is a series of work in commutative algebra and affine algebraic geometry. Zariski was a very well-known Italian mathematician. He laid the foundation of modern algebraic geometry. He was thought of as a father figure. He had many illustrious students, including Mumford, Hironaka and Abhyankar. It was Abhyankar, an Indian, who had initiated the study of Zariski cancellation problem. After him, many people had worked on this problem till 70s, but after that it was sort of not studied.”

Wrong notion that boys are better at maths than girls 

On being asked if she believes in the notion that boys do better than girls in maths, she said, “This is completely false. In fact, education and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects do not follow any caste, creed or any restrictions. Girls can also do very good in mathematics.”

Neena had no plans to pursue mathematics in graduation 

Interestingly, Prof Neena had no plans to pursue mathematics in graduation. When Shiksha asked what made her choose a career in mathematics, she said, “When I was a student, there were no such plans. I just wanted to do a masters programme from ISI. I never knew that there was a career in mathematics. We always go for engineering and MBBS. There was a research career which I was not aware of. I got to know about it from my friends.”

‘Research should not be taken as a career’ 

In her message to those who are interested in undertaking research in mathematical sciences, she said, “It is a highly demanding subject. If you want to undertake research in this field, you should have a lot of passion and love for this subject because it may be quite depressing when you are not getting results. Choose this subject only if you are dedicated and think you can be with it for long hours. Research should not be taken as a career. It should be followed by your passion only.”

Prof Neena is currently teaching mathematics at ISI, Kolkata, and her research in affine algebraic geometry and commutative algebra is still on.

Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians

The award is given to mathematicians who are less than 45 years of age and have conducted outstanding research in a developing country. Supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the award is instituted in the memory of Srinivasa Ramanujan, who made huge contributions to elliptic functions, continued fractions, infinite series and analytical theory of numbers.

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