Bombay and Harvard
Abhyankar completed his BSc at the Royal Institute of Science in 1951. He then moved to Harvard University, earning an AM in 1952 and a PhD in 1955 under Oscar Zariski.
A career in algebraic geometry
After appointments at Cornell and Johns Hopkins, Abhyankar joined Purdue University in 1963. He became Marshall Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and also worked across computer science and industrial engineering.
Research contributions
His work addressed resolution of singularities, ramification, algebraic surfaces, affine geometry and computational methods. Several conjectures, theorems and techniques now carry his name.
Teaching and legacy
Abhyankar wrote influential monographs, mentored generations of researchers and maintained deep ties with Indian mathematics. His work joined classical algebraic geometry with methods that anticipated modern computational algebra.