Shrinivas Kulkarni Age, Wiki and Bio

Quick Info

Profession	Astronomer
Nationality	American
Date of Birth	04/10/1956
Age	69 years
Birthplace	Kurundwad, Maharashtra, India

Bio/Wiki

Full Name	Prof. Shrinivas Ramchandra Kulkarni
Known For	Winning the Royal Astronomical Society’s Gold Medal (2026), one of the world’s most prestigious science honours

Physical Stats & More

Eye Color	Light Brown
Hair Color	Salt and Pepper

Educational Qualification(s)

Degrees	Master's of Science in Applied Physics (1978) Doctor of Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley (1983)
Institutes	Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi University of California, Berkeley

Personal Life

Religion	Hinduism
Hometown	Kurundwad, Maharashtra

Relationships & More

Marital Status	Married
Wife	Hiromi Komiya (Astronomer)

Family

Father

Dr. R. H. Kulkarni (surgeon)

Mother

Vimala Kulkarni

Siblings

Brother	None
Sisters	Sunanda Kulkarni (gynecologist) Sudha Murthy (educator, author, philanthropist) Jaishree Deshpande (engineer)

Spouse

Hiromi Komiya

Children

Son	None
Daughters	Anju Maya

Other Relative

Brother-in-law - N R Narayana Murthy (Infosys Founder)

Career

Overview	Shrinivas Kulkarni embarked on his academic career at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1987 as a radio astronomer after earning his PhD in astrophysics.
Positions Held	Assistant Professor of Astronomy Associate Professor Full Professor MacArthur Professor George Ellery Hale Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science Director of the Caltech Optical Observatories
Significant Contributions	1954 - Joined Caltech after completing his PhD. 1994 - Identified the first irrefutable brown dwarf, expanding knowledge of celestial objects. 1997 - Demonstrated that gamma-ray bursts originate from outside our galaxy, reshaping astrophysics. Developed numerous astronomical instruments aiding in the observation of transient phenomena. Led the Palomar Transient Factory and Zwicky Transient Facility, capturing thousands of astronomical events. Served as Jury Chair for the Infosys Prize in Physical Sciences since 2009. Co-developed STARE2 instrument for identifying fast radio bursts from a magnetar.
Awards and Honors	Helen B. Warner Prize in Astronomy (1991) Alan T. Waterman Award (1992) Fellow of the Royal Society (2001) Karl G. Jansky Lectureship (2002) Member of the US National Academy of Sciences (2003) Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (2012) Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (2016) Dan David Prize (2017) Shaw Prize in Astronomy (2024) Royal Astronomical Society Gold Medal recipient (2026)

Some Lesser Known Facts

Kulkarni hails from Kurundwad and was raised in an educated family.
He is the youngest among his siblings and attended local schools in Hubballi, Karnataka.
While pursuing his PhD, he co-discovered the first millisecond pulsar, altering the understanding of neutron stars.
He quickly learned Japanese in two weeks to connect with his future wife, Hiromi Komiya.
Kulkarni has contributed significantly to building around ten astronomical instruments during his career.