Category: podcasts

Conversation with Krishnendu Sengupta

Prof. Krishnendu Sengupta is a Senior Professor of Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Kolkata. His pioneering research explores strong correlations in ultracold atoms, quantum phase transitions, topological phases like insulators and Weyl semimetals, quantum scars, Hilbert space fragmentation, and non-equilibrium dynamics in driven systems. In this episode, we explore his intellectual journey.

References:

‘Bird, Jonathan, Jinguang Cheng, Chun-Gang Duan, et al. ‘Future of Condensed Matter Physics for the next 10 Years*’. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 37, no. 42 (2025): 421502. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-648X/ae0be1.

Jul 26, 10 videos Last updated on and 2021. ‘Physics Online Course: Some Aspects of Topological and Cold-Atom Systems’. YouTube. Accessed 19 January 2026. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRfu94TCePTt8hNb7JUg649o_SRe_o9wV.

‘Krishnendu Sengupta’. Accessed 19 January 2026. https://iacs.res.in/athusers/index.php?navid=0&userid=IACS0038.

‘Krishnendu Sengupta | LinkedIn’. Accessed 19 January 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/krishnendu-sengupta-95998489/?originalSubdomain=in.

‘‪Krishnendu Sengupta‬ – ‪Google Scholar‬’. Accessed 19 January 2026. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=R348C-oAAAAJ&hl=en.

Sengupta, Krishnendu, and Palash B. Pal. Introduction to Quantum Mechanics. Cambridge University Press, 2023.

Wikipedia. ‘Krishnendu Sengupta’. 12 October 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Krishnendu_Sengupta&oldid=1250855796.

Conversation with Srubabati Goswami

Srubabati Goswami is a pioneering Indian physicist specializing in high-energy physics, particularly neutrino physics. She is probably the first Indian woman to earn a PhD in neutrino oscillations from the University of Calcutta. She advanced research at Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad (PRL), Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, and Harish-Chandra Research Institute before becoming Senior Professor at PRL. A fellow of India’s three science academies, she unravels neutrino mysteries and champions women in science.

In this episode, we explored her intellectual history and her remarkable journey as a physicist.

References:

  1. Srubabati Goswami | LinkedIn’. Accessed 16 January 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/srubabati-goswami-9b5ab520/?originalSubdomain=in.
  2. Dogra, Aashima. A Trailblazer Looks for the Keys to the Next Generation of Physics Research – The Wire Science. 7 September 2017. https://science.thewire.in/science/srubabati-goswami-neutrino-ino-dino-kamiokande-prl/.
  3. Godbole, Edited Rohini, and Ram Ramaswamy. LILAVATI’S DAUGHTERS. n.d.
  4. ‘Indian Academy of Sciences’. Accessed 16 January 2026. https://fellows.ias.ac.in/profile/v/FL2017008.
  5. Sciences (TWAS), The World Academy of. ‘Goswami, Srubabati | TWAS’. Accessed 16 January 2026. https://twas.org/directory/goswami-srubabati.
  6. ‘Srubabati Detangles Weird Phenomena’. The Life of Science, 6 September 2017. https://thelifeofscience.com/2017/09/06/srubabati-detangles-weird-phenomena/.
  7. ‘‪Srubabati Goswami – ‪Google Scholar’. Accessed 16 January 2026. https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=YbhShAcAAAAJ&hl=en.
  8. ‘The Neutrino Story: From Impossible Dreams to Unreachable Stars (ONLINE) by Srubabati Goswami – YouTube’. Accessed 16 January 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZKadiBqhrA.
  9. ‘Women Shaping Scientific Frontiers: From Lab Coats to Leadership (27 Stories of Women Leaders in Physics and Engineering) | Exotic India Art’. Accessed 16 January 2026. https://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/women-shaping-scientific-frontiers-from-lab-coats-to-leadership-27-stories-of-women-leaders-in-physics-and-engineering-hba517/.
  10. X (Formerly Twitter). ‘(1) Srubabati Goswami (@srubabati) / X’. 29 December 2025. https://x.com/srubabati.

Conversation with Chaitanya Athale

Chaitanya is a professor of biology at IISER Pune and works on quantifying biology at the cellular scale. His lab focuses on cytoskeleton and cell shape research and explores synthetic biological roots to address a variety of questions at the cellular scale.

In this freewheeling conversation, we talked about quantitative biology in his lab, reading, the German language, his recent comic-themed book, and a bit on philosophy of biology as we explored his intellectual journey. Also, don’t miss the 3D model he shows to explain his research.

References with links:

‘Chaitanya Athale – IISER Pune’. Accessed 3 January 2026. https://www.iiserpune.ac.in/research/department/biology/people/faculty/regular-faculty/chaitanya-athale/6.

‘Dr. Chaitanya Athale – Lab – Cytoskeleton and Cell Shape Research – Synthetic Biology’. Accessed 3 January 2026. https://sites.iiserpune.ac.in/~cathale/.

‘‪Chaitanya Athale – ‪Google Scholar’. Accessed 3 January 2026. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Volq2gEAAAAJ&hl=en.

Chaitanya Athale | LinkedIn’. Accessed 3 January 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaitanyaa/?originalSubdomain=in.

Arias, Alfonso Martinez. The Master Builder: How the New Science of the Cell Is Rewriting the Story of Life. Basic Books, 2023.

 ‘Athale Lab: CyCelS 💉💉💉💉🚲🤿⛵ (@AthaleLab) / X’. 9 January 2025. https://x.com/athalelab.

Conversation with Satish Patil

Welcome to the podcast, Pratidhavani – Humanizing Science
Satish Patil serves as Professor at the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit (SSCU), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.​ His research centers on organic electronics, pioneering air-stable n-channel conjugated polymers and band-like transport in these materials. The Organic Electronics Research Group, under his leadership, advances semiconducting polymers for organic solar cells, field-effect transistors, TADF, singlet fission, and energy storage devices through molecular design and synthesis.

In this conversation, we explore his intellectual journey so far.

References:

Patil, Satish. Satish Patil | The Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit. n.d. Accessed 27 November 2025. https://sscu.iisc.ac.in/patil/.

Organic Electronics Research Group | SSCU. n.d. Accessed 27 November 2025. https://oe-sscu.iisc.ac.in/.

‘‪Satish Patil‬ – ‪Google Scholar‬’. Accessed 27 November 2025. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Tyfe7LcAAAAJ&hl=en.

‘(4) Satish Patil | LinkedIn’. Accessed 27 November 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/satish-patil-a665733a/?originalSubdomain=in.

X (Formerly Twitter). ‘Satish Patil (@SatishIISc) / X’. 31 October 2025. https://x.com/satishiisc.

Conversation with A.R.Venkatachalapathy

Welcome to the podcast, Pratidhavani – Humanizing Science

A. R. Venkatachalapathy is a prolific historian, writer and Professor whose work explores the social and cultural history of colonial Tamil Nadu. In 2024, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award. 

His notable books include “In Those Days There Was No Coffee,” “The Province of the Book,” “Tamil Characters,” and “Swadeshi Steam,” which examines V.O. Chidambaram Pillai’s role in anti-colonial maritime resistance. His scholarship spans Tamil literature, publishing history, and intellectual culture, blending rigorous archival research with literary analysis.

In this episode, we explore his intellectual journey as a historian and bilingual author.

Conversation with Jyotishman Dasgupta

Welcome to the podcast, Pratidhavani – Humanizing Science

Jyotishman Dasgupta is a professor at TIFR, Mumbai, in the Department of Chemical Sciences. His research focuses on probing dynamical structural events leading to charge generation in molecular materials, particularly for bio-inspired photocatalysis and solar electricity generation. He uses ultrafast spectroscopy, including Stimulated Raman spectroscopy, to study reaction mechanisms in these systems.

Jyotishman effectively combines his love and passion for research and teaching with compassion and mentoring researchers. In this free-wheeling conversation, we discuss his intellectual journey so far.

References:

TIFR – Department of Chemical Sciences. ‘TIFR – Department of Chemical Sciences’. Accessed 3 November 2025. https://www.tifr.res.in/dcs/faculty-detail/91.

‘‪Jyotishman Dasgupta‬ – ‪Google Scholar‬’. Accessed 3 November 2025. https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=DS8RvTcAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate.

‘Jyotishman Dasgupta | LinkedIn’. Accessed 3 November 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jyotishman-dasgupta-312578a/.

X (Formerly Twitter). ‘Jyotishman Dasgupta (@jd1278) / X’. 27 October 2025. https://x.com/jd1278.

Conversation with Vijay Chikkadi

Welcome to the podcast, Pratidhavani – Humanizing Science
Vijay is an Associate Professor of Physics at IISER Pune, and works on various aspects of Soft Matter Physics, including deformation and flow of soft matter, and active matter.

In this episode, we discuss various facets of soft matter physics and Vijay’s research on these fascinating materials.

‘Vijayakumar Chikkadi – IISER Pune’. Accessed 1 November 2025. https://www.iiserpune.ac.in/research/department/physics/people/faculty/regular-faculty/vijayakumar-chikkadi/252.

‘Soft & Active Matter Lab’. Accessed 1 November 2025. https://sites.google.com/site/vchikkadi/home.

‘Soft & Active Matter Lab – PEOPLE’. Accessed 1 November 2025. https://sites.google.com/site/vchikkadi/people.

‘‪Vijayakumar Chikkadi‬ – ‪Google Scholar‬’. Accessed 1 November 2025. https://scholar.google.co.il/citations?hl=en&user=Xex6qvIAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate.

Sahu, Ratimanasee, Mohit Sharma, Peter Schall, Sarika Maitra Bhattacharyya, and Vijayakumar Chikkadi. ‘Structural Origin of Relaxation in Dense Colloidal Suspensions’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121, no. 42 (2024): e2405515121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2405515121.

Conversation with Amit Agarwal

Welcome to the podcast, Pratidhavani – Humanizing Science

Amit Agarwal is a professor of physics at IIT Kanpur specializing in theoretical condensed matter physics, quantum transport, and new physical phenomena in low-dimensional systems. His research explores topological materials, collective excitations, nanoscale device modeling, and the quantum many-body effects central to emerging quantum technologies.

Amit is also the recent recipient of the Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Physics – 2025

In this episode, we explore his intellectual journey in physics.

References:

‘QTT-IITK’. Accessed 26 October 2025. https://sites.google.com/site/amitkag1/.

‘Amit Kumar Agarwal’. Accessed 26 October 2025. https://iitk.ac.in/new/dr-amit-kumar-agarwal.

‘‪Amit Agarwal‬ – ‪Google Scholar‬’. Accessed 26 October 2025. https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=WcVpbRwAAAAJ&hl=en.

‘(6) Amit Agarwal | LinkedIn’. Accessed 26 October 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/amitagarwal2/.

X (Formerly Twitter). ‘Amit Agarwal (@amit_phy) / X’. 12 October 2024. https://x.com/amit_phy.

Conversation with Aparna Deshpande

Welcome to the podcast, Pratidhavani – Humanizing Science

Aparna Deshpande is an Associate Professor of Physics at IISER Pune, specializing in atomic-scale exploration of two-dimensional materials and their interfaces using scanning tunneling microscopy. She is deeply engaged in research on nanomaterials and is active in physics education (as part of the department of science education at IISER Pune), communication, and outreach at IISER Pune.

Aparna is also the faculty in charge of the Smt. Indrani Balan Science Activity Centre at IISER Pune, where she leads diverse science outreach and STEM education initiatives, promoting hands-on multi-lingual learning and innovative workshops for students and teachers across India.

In this conversation, we explore her research in physics and science education.

You can also watch or listen on spotify

References:

[1] “Dr. Aparna Deshpande.” Accessed: Sept. 25, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://draparnadeshpande.github.io/portfolio/

[2] “Dr. Aparna Deshpande (@DrAparnaIISERP) / X.” X (formerly Twitter). Accessed: Sept. 25, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://x.com/draparnaiiserp

[3] “Aparna Deshpande | LinkedIn.” Accessed: Sept. 25, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aparna-deshpande-01927015/?originalSubdomain=in

[4] “Aparna Ramchandra Deshpande – Google Scholar.” Accessed: Sept. 25, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=f5FnqMIAAAAJ&hl=en

[5] “Aparna Deshpande – IISER Pune.” Accessed: Sept. 25, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.iiserpune.ac.in/research/department/physics/people/faculty/regular-faculty/aparna-deshpande/259

[6] J. Poskett, Horizons. London, UK: Penguin Books, 2023. Accessed: Sept. 25, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/313423/horizons-by-poskett-james/9780241986264

[7] P. Lockhart and K. Devlin, A Mathematician’s Lament. Illustrated ed. New York, NY: Bellevue Literary Press, 2009. https://www.blpress.org/books/a-mathematicians-lament/