Bala R. Iyer, theoretical physicist at Raman Research Institute and chairperson of the IndIGO consortium has been elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). Professor Iyer is one of the pioneers in modeling the dynamics and gravitational waves from the inspiral of compact-object binaries (black holes and neutron stars) employing post-Newtonian theory. Searches for gravitational wave from inspiralling compact binaries (which are among the most promising astrophysical sources for the first detection of gravitational waves) crucially depend on the theoretical ‘templates’ of the expected signals, as computed by post-Newtonian theory and numerical relativity. Professor Iyer also played a leading role in building an active community of gravitational-wave physicists in India and is a key organizer of the proposed LIGO-India initiative.