Conversation with Kaneenika Sinha

Kaneenika Sinha is a mathematician and is as associate professor in department of mathematics at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune. She is a number theorist, and her research interest is in analytic number theory and arithmetic statistics of modular forms. Kaneenika did her PhD from Queen’s University in Canada, and spent a few more years as post doc in Univ of Toronto, Univ of Alberta and  Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, Berkeley. She started her independent career at IISER Kolkata before moving to IISER Pune.

“Kaneenika Sinha’s webpage.” Accessed August 26, 2023. http://sites.iiserpune.ac.in/~kaneenika/.

Twitter. “Kaneenika Sinha (@kaneenikasinha) / X,” June 15, 2023. https://twitter.com/kaneenikasinha.

Youtube (audio) :

Spotify :

google podcast :

apple podcast :

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-18-conversation-with-kaneenika-sinha-mathematician/id1687861465?i=1000626139139

In this episode we discussed

  • her biography
  • on how she developed interest in mathematics
  • her influences during college days in Delhi
  • her exposure to a summer programme in TIFR, Mumbai
  • where she found her spark and origins for mathematics research
  • She also tells us about her experience on learning and doing research in mathematics including number theory
  • We discussed various aspects of her research including her recent book and the process of writing, and why it is so important to research, teaching and learning
  • We discussed importance of mathematics and its role in society and how academics, scientists and of course mathematicians can contribute towards betterment of society
  • There is also an excellent segment in pristine hindi, in which Kaneenika describes her research with eloquence, which is fascinating to hear.
  • We also discussed about her interest in literature and reading and she wonderfully elaborates on some of her influences and likings including Harivansh Rai Bachchan
  • Kaneenika is one the most articulate colleagues i have interacted with, and discussing research and its motivations with her is always a pleasure. I learnt a lot from this conversation, and I am sure you will too…Listen, as we humanize science..

References :

1. Link to her article on Prime numbers in the Bhavana Magazine: https://bhavana.org.in/primes-of-our-lives/

2. Link to a biographical article she wrote on Sarvadaman Chowla: https://bhavana.org.in/sarvadaman-chowla-the-perpetual-ambassador-for-number-theory/

3. Her TedX talk on Prime numbers: 

4. Link to a blog post on Harivansh Rai Bachchan: https://academic-garden.blogspot.com/2022/12/harivansh-rai-bachchan-inspiring-phd.html

5. Link to two articles on C R Rao in Bhavana Magazine :

6. Link to Resonance: https://www.ias.ac.in/Journals/Resonance_%E2%80%93_Journal_of_Science_Education

7. Link to her book on the AMS webpage: https://bookstore.ams.org/STML/104

8. Link to preface of the book : https://www.ams.org/bookstore/pspdf/stml-104-pref.pdf

Chandra quoting Milne..

One of my all time fav. quotes. Chandra got it from Milne. Chandra had great temperament for scholarly work, & one can learn a lot from his style of working. His biographer, KC Wali, was a particle physicist, & his article linked is worth reading: https://jstor.org/stable/24100199

If interested, you can listen to a podcast I did on Chandra (one of the two of the similar name)…

Conversation with E Arunan

E Arunan is a physical chemist and Professor at Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru

webpage : https://ipc.iisc.ac.in/~ea/arunan_cv_December2020.html

twitter : https://twitter.com/earunan?lang=en

In this episode (2 hour+) we discussed his biography, learning science in Tamil, his transition from Madurai to Madras to Delhi to Kansas and finally to IISc Bangalore. We discuss about his work including microwave spectroscopy, hydrogen bonding, Indian academia, and Tamil poetry and its contemporary relevance…

Listen as we humanize science.

our youtube channel : https://www.youtube.com/@g.v.pavankumarlab2908/playlists

episode on youtube (audio) :

spotify :

apple podcast : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-17-conversation-with-e-arunan-the-physical-chemist/id1687861465?i=1000625320693

google podcast https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9lMTcyMGUwYy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/YWFhNGNiYTgtMjgxOS00OTUwLThkNjctNDUxYWIzNmY2NmYz?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjozbyVyfGAAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ

References :

Arunan, E. “Arunan’s Lab Webpage.” Accessed August 19, 2023. https://ipc.iisc.ac.in/~ea/.

earunan. “Arunan’s Blogpage,” January 2, 2022. https://earunan.org/.

“Indian Institute of Science.” Accessed August 19, 2023. https://iisc.ac.in/events/remembering-prof-vasant-natarajan-1965-2021/.

“Inorganic and Physical Chemistry.” Accessed August 19, 2023. https://ipc.iisc.ac.in/.

“The American College | Madurai.” Accessed August 19, 2023. https://americancollege.edu.in/.

Arunan, Elangannan, Gautam R. Desiraju, Roger A. Klein, Joanna Sadlej, Steve Scheiner, Ibon Alkorta, David C. Clary, et al. “Definition of the hydrogen bond (IUPAC Recommendations 2011).” Pure and Applied Chemistry 83, no. 8 (July 8, 2011): 1637–41. https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-10-01-02.

“Current Science.” Accessed August 19, 2023. https://www.currentscience.ac.in/show.author.php?id=3002.

driftonblog. “Ode to My Mozart in Physics.” Driving and Drifting… (blog), December 29, 2021. https://driftonblog.wordpress.com/2021/12/29/ode-to-my-mozart-in-physics/.

“EA>Research.” Accessed August 19, 2023. https://ipc.iisc.ac.in/~ea/research.html.

Episode 08 : Gripping History of Laser Invention, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atjcoM8UANs.

“Gautam Radhakrishna Desiraju.” In Wikipedia, July 12, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gautam_Radhakrishna_Desiraju&oldid=1164957848.

Kural.” In Wikipedia, August 12, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kural&oldid=1169933209.

“Pankaj Mandal’s Webpage – Pankaj Was One of the PhD Students of Arunan.” Accessed August 19, 2023. https://sites.google.com/view/iiser-pankaj-mandal/team.

New episode – audio-visual podcast – An Indian Prof’s 15 lessons

I share 15 lessons that I have learnt as an Indian Professor, academic scientist, teacher and a citizen…

This is an audio-visual episode. The video is available on below

audio here :

google podcast : https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9lMTcyMGUwYy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/MjVmN2NkMmYtNzQ0ZC00ZmYzLWExMmUtZDdkMmI1OTkxYTI4?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjwiabayOGAAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ

apple podcast : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1687861465

References :


Kumar, G. V. Pavan. “12 Years as a Faculty Member in India – 12 Lessons.” Scatterings (blog), May 25, 2022. https://backscattering.wordpress.com/2022/05/25/12-years-as-a-faculty-in-india-12-lessons/.

“A Case for Compassionate Rationality.” Scatterings (blog), July 1, 2023. https://backscattering.wordpress.com/2023/07/01/a-case-for-compassionate-rationality/.

“New Episode : Science, Rationality and Compassion.” Scatterings (blog), May 27, 2023. https://backscattering.wordpress.com/2023/05/27/new-episode-science-rationality-and-compassion/.Pinker, Steven. “Rationality.” Accessed May 26, 2023. https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Rationality/HT0NEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover.

Weinberg, Steven. “Four Golden Lessons.” Nature 426, no. 6965 (November 2003): 389–389. https://doi.org/10.1038/426389a.

Conversation with Ranjini Bandyopadhyay

Ranjini is a experimental soft condensed matter physicist. She is a Professor at Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru.

Ranjini’s lab webpage : https://ranjinibandyopadhy.wixsite.com/complexfluids

She and her lab have been working on fascinating experiments on soft squishy matter including : Structure-dynamics correlations in colloidal suspensions; Mixed clay dispersions; Active colloids (synthesis and the study of active glasses); Interfacial instabilities and many other things.

In this episode we explore her biography, her ability to design and develop experiments, the difference between impact of research and impact factor of research, the process of articulation, importance of soft matter science and its relevance to India.

Listen…as we humanize science…

youtube (audio) :

spotify :

apple podcast :

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-15-conversation-with-ranjini-bandyopadhyay-the/id1687861465?i=1000623858813

google podcast :

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9lMTcyMGUwYy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

References :

Twitter. “Ranjini Bandyopadhyay (@RanjiniRRI) / Twitter,” July 20, 2023. https://twitter.com/RanjiniRRI.

“Ajay K. Sood.” In Wikipedia, July 19, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ajay_K._Sood&oldid=1166154434.

“Ajay Sood’s Home Page.” Accessed July 23, 2023. http://www.physics.iisc.ernet.in/~asood/.

Basak, Rajib, and Ranjini Bandyopadhyay. “Encapsulation of Hydrophobic Drugs in Pluronic F127 Micelles: Effects of Drug Hydrophobicity, Solution Temperature, and PH.” Langmuir 29, no. 13 (April 2, 2013): 4350–56. https://doi.org/10.1021/la304836e.

complexfluids. “Group Members and Recent Lab News.” Accessed July 23, 2023. https://ranjinibandyopadhy.wixsite.com/complexfluids/page3.

complexfluids. “Ranjini Bandyopadhyay.” Accessed July 23, 2023. https://ranjinibandyopadhy.wixsite.com/complexfluids.

“Durian Group – Home.” Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.physics.upenn.edu/duriangroup/.

Mukherjee, Siddhartha. The Emperor of All Maladies. HarperCollins UK, 2011.

Nagel, Sidney R. “Experimental Soft-Matter Science.” Reviews of Modern Physics 89, no. 2 (April 12, 2017): 025002. https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.89.025002.

Phillips, Rob, and Stephen R. Quake. “The Biological Frontier of Physics.” Physics Today 59, no. 5 (May 2006): 38–43. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2216960.

Conversation with Amitabh Joshi

Amitabh Joshi is a Professor in EVOLUTIONARY AND ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY UNIT at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Adv Sci Research, Bengaluru. He is also a poet in Urdu and English (and occasionally, Persian).

his lab webpage : https://sites.google.com/view/ebl-jncasr/home

his twitter link : https://twitter.com/joshiamitabhevo?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

In this episode, we discussed him becoming a biologist; his journey in to the  realm of genetics and evolutionary biology; science and its interface with society; on how to do research; and how to think of problems; we also discussed interface of art and science and; in a way, we broke the myth of CP Snow’s essay on “Two cultures”. Also, don’t miss the fabulous recitation of poems in Persian and Urdu – including lines from Iqbal and Rumi, and delightful insights on his thoughts in eloquent Hindustani. There is so much to listen, learn and think about…as always on a conversation with Amitabh

Listen…as we humanize science…

on youtube (audio) :

on spotify :

on google podcast :

on apple podcast :

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-14-conversation-with-amitabh-joshi-the-beautiful-mind/id1687861465?i=1000623112998

References : “The Two Cultures.” In Wikipedia, June 28, 2023. ⁠⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Two_Cultures&oldid=1162392930⁠⁠.

“Amitabh Joshi.” In Wikipedia, January 21, 2023. ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amitabh_Joshi&oldid=1134862112⁠.

“Amitabh Joshi | Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.” Accessed July 13, 2023. ⁠https://www.jncasr.ac.in/faculty/ajoshi⁠.

Amitabh Joshi at Navisht 2019, 2019. ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuZI0Lu1r9E⁠.

“EBL, JNCASR.” Accessed July 29, 2023. ⁠https://sites.google.com/view/ebl-jncasr/home⁠.

“EBL, JNCASR – Amitabh Miscellaneous Interests.” Accessed July 29, 2023. ⁠https://sites.google.com/view/ebl-jncasr/amitabh-miscellaneous-interests⁠.

“Joshi, Amitabh.” Accessed July 13, 2023. ⁠https://press.princeton.edu/our-authors/joshi-amitabh⁠.

Joshi, Amitabh. “Poems Recited by Amitabh in This Podcast.” Google Docs. Accessed July 31, 2023. ⁠https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BzJFUuunbWctVd_yCKARKtdEczlUXEfI/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=108686585365385026951&rtpof=true&usp=embed_facebook⁠.

Conversation with Saptarshi Basu

Our youtube channel : https://www.youtube.com/@g.v.pavankumarlab2908/playlists

Please subscribe and share…

Saptarshi Basu is a ‘Pratt and Whitney Chair Professor’ at Mechanical Engineering department of Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru . Saptarshi lab webpage : https://www.saptarshibasulab.com/

His research interests include Multiphase transport processes. Atomization and sprays, Micro-nanoscale transport in droplets, Combustion.  In this episode we discuss his dreams, transition from Engineer to a Scientist, his philosophy on research, teaching and academia; Segments on covid related work, Rabindra sangeet & many other things

Listen as we humanize science…

spotify :

google podcast : https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9lMTcyMGUwYy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

apple podcast :

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-13-conversation-with-saptarshi-basu-dreams-droplets/id1687861465?i=1000622340022

References :

  1. “Saptarshi Basu | webpage : https://mecheng.iisc.ac.in/people/saptarshi-basu/.
  2. “Amazon.In.” Accessed July 15, 2023. https://www.amazon.in/Books-G-Venkataraman/s?rh=n%3A976389031%2Cp_27%3AG.+Venkataraman.
  3. Borderless. “Abhisar by Rabindranath Tagore,” September 14, 2021. https://borderlessjournal.com/2021/09/14/abhisar-by-rabindranath-tagore/.
  4. “College Street (Kolkata).” In Wikipedia, April 4, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=College_Street_(Kolkata)&oldid=1148195301.
  5. “Manik Bandopadhyay.” In Wikipedia, March 5, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manik_Bandopadhyay&oldid=1142950285.
  6. “Park Street, Kolkata.” In Wikipedia, March 12, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Park_Street,_Kolkata&oldid=1144224604.
  7. “Poem: Can Death Be Sleep, When Life Is But a Dream by John Keats.” Accessed July 15, 2023. https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/can-death-be-sleep-when-life-dream.
  8. Popova, Maria. “When Einstein Met Tagore: A Remarkable Meeting of Minds on the Edge of Science and Spirituality.” The Marginalian (blog), April 27, 2012. https://www.themarginalian.org/2012/04/27/when-einstein-met-tagore/.
  9. “Rabindranath Tagore.” In Wikipedia, July 5, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rabindranath_Tagore&oldid=1163532295
  10. “Rabindranath Tagore – Verses – কথা – অভিসার (Abhisar).” Accessed July 15, 2023. https://www.tagoreweb.in/Verses/kotha-39/abhisar-1211.
  11. “Satyajit Ray.” In Wikipedia, July 14, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Satyajit_Ray&oldid=1165363344.
  12. “South Point School.” In Wikipedia, June 1, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=South_Point_School&oldid=1158045282.
  13. “Srinivasa Ramanujan.” In Wikipedia, June 2, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Srinivasa_Ramanujan&oldid=1158140678
  14. “The Last Leaf.” In Wikipedia, March 22, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Last_Leaf&oldid=1145991454.

Conversation with Nagaraj Balasubramanian

Nagaraj is a cell biologist and an Associate Professor of Biology at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune.

He is a scientist who interfaces with society and has a keen sense aesthetics and love for music.

We discussed research/education/music+Spic-Macay/a fascinating story of a concert+small segment in Tamil+ a Hindi poem & many other things

Listen…as we humanize science

You can also listen at :

Youtube : https://youtu.be/IfAebdM6yIo

Google podcast : https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9lMTcyMGUwYy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/NDY1MTQyMmUtNzQyMS00NTlhLTkyZjQtMGNhZWFmOGE3NTg0?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjA1JqdzJmAAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ

Apple podcast : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-12-conversation-with-nagaraj-balasubramanian-cell/id1687861465?i=1000621582402

New Episode : Conversation with Seema Sharma

Seema Sharma is an experimental particle physicist who was also part of the experimental discovery of Higgs Boson at CERN. She is an Associate Professor, in the department of physics at the Indian institute of Science education research, Pune – India.

    In this episode we discuss about her journey from Rajsamand Rajasthan, to TIFR Bombay, then to FermiLab US and then to IISER Pune. We did a deep dive on what it takes to be an experimental physicist. We discuss about the role of conceptual understanding of various topics in physics, including quantum physics, to do cutting edge experiments. She further revealed her understanding of doing mega science projects in large collaborative networks and how it has influenced her thinking. There is a small and nice segment in Hindi in which Seema explains about her research and motivations.

Listen…as we humanize science

google podcast link : https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9lMTcyMGUwYy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/MzMzZjI5NDctZDQyMi00MWQ2LTg0YjQtN2Y0YjE2MGI2M2E2?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwioitCEjIiAAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ

youtube audio link : https://youtu.be/GPXzn5FxV4M

Seema Sharma’s Webpage: http://sites.iiserpune.ac.in/~seema/.

References:

  1. “Rajsamand.” In Wikipedia, January 19, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rajsamand&oldid=1134565017
  2. “The Higgs Boson | CERN.” Accessed July 10, 2023. https://home.cern/science/physics/higgs-boson.
  3. “Tata Institute of Fundamental Research | TIFR.” Accessed July 10, 2023. https://www.tifr.res.in/.
  4. “Sunanda Banerjee.” Accessed July 10, 2023. http://iacs.res.in/athusers/index.php?navid=0&userid=IACS090.
  5. “Fermilab | Home.” Accessed July 10, 2023. https://www.fnal.gov/.
  6. “Home | CERN.” Accessed July 10, 2023. https://home.cern/.
  7. “Inquiring Minds.” Accessed July 10, 2023. https://www.fnal.gov/pub/inquiring/physics/index.html.
  8. “The Large Hadron Collider | CERN.” Accessed July 10, 2023. https://home.cern/science/accelerators/large-hadron-collider.
  9. Weinberg, Steven. “Four Golden Lessons.” Nature 426, no. 6965 (November 2003): 389–389. https://doi.org/10.1038/426389a.
  10. “William Dalrymple (Historian).” In Wikipedia, July 1, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Dalrymple_(historian)&oldid=1162930456.

New episode on podcast : Conversation with Sutirth Dey

Sutirth Dey is an evolutionary biologist. He is a Professor of Biology at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune. In this conversation we discussed about his own evolution as a biologist, his career trajectory from Patna, Delhi, Bangalore to Pune, and how his knowledge, research and teaching has been influenced by the interactions he had over the years. There is a nice segment in Bengali and Hindi where he explains his research on evolutionary biology and ecology. We also discussed his deep interest in reading and Qawwali music, and many more things…

Listen, as we humanize science.

Spotify

Youtube

Google Podcast

Sutirth is on Twitter : https://twitter.com/SutirthDey.

References :

  1. “PBL@IISERPune.” Accessed June 30, 2023. https://sites.google.com/a/acads.iiserpune.ac.in/sdlab/.
  2. “PBL@IISERPune – Sutirth.” Accessed June 30, 2023. https://pbl.acads.iiserpune.ac.in/sutirth.
  3. “MolBioForAll.” Accessed June 30, 2023. https://sites.google.com/acads.iiserpune.ac.in/molbioforall/home.
  4. “Amitabh Joshi | Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.” Accessed June 30, 2023. https://www.jncasr.ac.in/faculty/ajoshi.
  5. Anderson, P. W. “More Is Different.” Science 177, no. 4047 (August 4, 1972): 393–96. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.177.4047.393.
  6. “Biostatistics: A User’s Perspective.” Accessed June 30, 2023. https://sites.google.com/acads.iiserpune.ac.in/biostatscourse/home.
  7. Dey, Sutirth, and Amitabh Joshi. “Stability via Asynchrony in Drosophila Metapopulations with Low Migration Rates.” Science 312, no. 5772 (April 21, 2006): 434–36. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1125317.
  8. IndiaBioscience. “Standing Conventional Wisdom on Its Head,” July 14, 2017. https://indiabioscience.org/columns/conversations/standing-conventional-wisdom-on-its-head.
  9. “Mewa Singh.” In Wikipedia, May 24, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mewa_Singh&oldid=1156769563.