Dr Mahmood Kooria Wins Prestigious 2024 Infosys Prize

The Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) announced Dr Mahmood Kooria as the recipient of the prestigious 2024 Infosys Prize in Humanities and Social Sciences. Dr Kooria, Lecturer in the History of the Indian Ocean World at the University of Edinburgh’s School of History, Classics and Archaeology, has been recognised for his exemplary research on maritime Islam from a global perspective, with a focus on Kerala in the pre-modern and early modern eras. Dr Kooria’s work reveals the role of Islamic law in shaping economic, political, and cultural transformations on the Indian Ocean littorals.

The President of the Infosys Science Foundation, Kris Gopalakrishnan, emphasised the importance of recognising early-career researchers like Dr Kooria, whose groundbreaking findings bridge the past with today’s societal frameworks. The Infosys Prize is given annually to honour the achievements of contemporary researchers and scientists in six categories: Engineering and Computer Science, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences.

I am deeply honoured to receive this year’s Infosys Prize for Humanities and Social Sciences. It highlights the significance of Indian Ocean history, for which the University of Edinburgh has created one of the very few specialised positions in the UK and Europe. I am also delighted to be chosen in a year when the Prize Committee combined the humanities and social sciences categories. It is profoundly humbling to be part of such an esteemed list of previous laureates, and to bring this prize to Scotland for the first time and to the UK after several years.  - Dr Mahmood Kooria 

The School sends its warmest congratulations on this achievement.