Archive · 13 Aug 2026
UoH Professor Wins Top Ewald Prize for Crystallography Work
A scientist named Gautam R. Desiraju loves figuring out how molecules join together to build crystals.
He just won a very big science prize called the Ewald Prize.
This prize is given only once every three years for the very best work in crystallography, the science of crystals.
Desiraju won because he showed that even tiny, weak forces between molecules can change how crystals form.
His ideas help scientists make better medicines and understand chemistry better.
He got the prize at a big science meeting in Calgary on August 11.
He taught at the University of Hyderabad for 30 years and now works at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru.
He has written more than 475 science papers that other scientists have read more than 80,000 times.
That makes him one of the most celebrated crystal scientists in the world.
Prof. Gautam R. Desiraju, a structural chemist, won the 14th Ewald Prize, one of the highest honours in crystallography.
The International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) recognised him for pioneering crystal engineering and the supramolecular synthon concept.
He was also honoured for establishing the importance of weak hydrogen and halogen bonding in molecular crystals and biology.
The prize, awarded once every three years, was presented at the opening ceremony of the 27th IUCr Congress in Calgary on August 11.
Desiraju, a Professor Emeritus at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, has published over 475 papers with more than 80,000 citations and an h-index of about 105.
- Who
- Prof. Gautam R. Desiraju, Professor Emeritus at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and former president of the IUCr.
- What
- Won the 14th Ewald Prize, one of the highest honours in crystallography, for pioneering crystal engineering and the supramolecular synthon concept.
- When
- August 11, during the opening ceremony of the 27th IUCr Congress.
- Where
- Calgary, host city of the 27th IUCr Congress.
- Why
- For establishing the importance of weak hydrogen and halogen bonding in molecular crystals and biology, which has implications for structural chemistry, supramolecular chemistry and pharmaceutical research.
- Prize
- 14th Ewald Prize
- Awarding body
- International Union of Crystallography (IUCr)
- Frequency
- Once every three years
- Presentation
- Opening ceremony of the 27th IUCr Congress, Calgary, August 11
- Recipient role
- Professor Emeritus, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
- IUCr presidency
- 2011 to 2014
- University of Hyderabad tenure
- 1979 to 2009
- Research record
- 475+ papers, 80,000+ citations, h-index of about 105