A conference to honour the contributions of Prof. A.P. Balachandran to science on the occasion of his 85th birthday. Prof. Balachandran, or Bal, as he prefers to be called, is an Indian theoretical physicist well known for his extensive contributions to the role of classical topology in quantum physics.

Bal received his Ph.D degree under Professor Alladi Ramakrishnan (the founder of IMSc), at the University of Madras. He then worked at the University at Wien and also at the Enrico Fermi Institute, Chicago, as a postdoc. In 1964, he joined as faculty at Syracuse University, where he is now Joel Dorman Steele Emeritus Professor. He has been a friend and regular visitor to IMSc for many decades. Given that Bal is the first student to graduate from IMSc, it is fitting that we have this conference to honour his work at the Institute where he begain his career in theoretical physics.

Bal has guided nearly forty doctoral students and written six books.

Honors for A.P. Balachandran:

• Joel Dorman Steele Professorship, 2000
• Award of the American Chapter of the Indian Physics Association for Contributions to Physics, 1992
• The William Wasserstrom Award for Graduate Teaching, 1991
• Chancellor's Citation for Exceptional Academic Achievement, 1990
• Fellow of the American Physical Society since 1988