Today’s physics news: Ashoke Sen: India’s first million-dollar scientist, and more…

Today’s physics news: Ashoke Sen: India’s first million-dollar scientist, and more

Ashoke Sen: India’s million-dollar scientist

Indian scientist Ashoke Sen became a millionaire overnight when he won the $3m (£1.9m) Fundamental Physics Prize, the world’s most lucrative academic award, recently. Science writer Pallava Bagla speaks to the physicist. Ashoke Sen is an Indian particle physicist working from a laboratory in the Harish-Chandra Research Institute in the town of Allahabad in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

BBC

University tuition fees ‘affecting applications’ says panel

The rise in university tuition fees in England is having an impact on applications, an expert panel has said. The Independent Commission on Fees says there has been “a clear drop” in English students applying, compared with those from the rest of the UK. The panel, headed by writer and academic Will Hutton, adds there has been no relative fall in applications from poorer areas.

BBC

Dearth of skills and lack of will

Many students struggle with the mathematical content of their university courses, a study has found. The research, carried out by academics from the universities of Manchester and Nottingham and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, found that the pressure on schools to improve exam results meant that they neglected to teach students how to apply maths in practice.

Times Higher Education