Category: podcasts

Conversation with Vinita Gowda

Vinita is a botanist and an Associate Professor at IISER-Bhopal : https://treelab.wixsite.com/tree

She and her research group work on tropical ecology and evolution of plants. Her lab specializes in plant ecology and evolution, with a focus on Zingiberaceae and Gesneriaceae. Their research interests include floral evolution, community ecology, plant-pollinator interactions, and reproductive ecology.

In the episode, we explore her intellectual journey and find how she got interested in botany via explorations in fauna and flora.

Watch/listen as we humanize science.

References:

[1]“People,” tree. Accessed: Feb. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://treelab.wixsite.com/tree/people

[2]“Home,” tree. Accessed: Feb. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://treelab.wixsite.com/tree

[3]“Iiser Bhopal.” Accessed: Feb. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://bio.iiserb.ac.in/Home/faculty_details/1383

[4]“‪Vinita Gowda – ‪Google Scholar.” Accessed: Feb. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=Rd6dYeIAAAAJ&hl=en

[5]“(5) Vinita Gowda | LinkedIn.” Accessed: Feb. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinita-gowda-5040b6153/?originalSubdomain=in

[6]“Vinita Gowda: Success has never been my weakness (@vinita_gowda) / X,” X (formerly Twitter). Accessed: Feb. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://x.com/vinita_gowda

[7]“Episode 03: An Accidental Journey into the Sciences (Ft. Dr Vinita Gowda) by Scientifically Speaking,” Spotify for Creators. Accessed: Feb. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/science-media-centre-iiser-mohali/episodes/Episode-03-An-Accidental-Journey-into-the-Sciences-Ft–Dr-Vinita-Gowda-e1l8v88

[8]Science Media Centre IISER Mohali, Science culture in India || Scientifically Speaking || Episode 03 (ft Dr Vinita Gowda), (Jul. 27, 2022). Accessed: Feb. 21, 2025. [Online Video]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXGHD3AH1pY

[9]Science and Technology Council IISER TVM, Dr.Vinita Gowda|Why study plants? Understanding our ecosystem through plants|Green Talkies|WW’23 ESI, (Apr. 04, 2023). Accessed: Feb. 21, 2025. [Online Video]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XCcNI-d1CE

[10]“Biodiversity,” tree. Accessed: Feb. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://treelab.wixsite.com/tree/biodiversity

Conversation with Sangeeta Kale

Sangeeta is a materials physicist, Professor and Dean at Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) Pune

(DIAT is a University supported by the Ministry of Defence, India)

She is also the Co-Director and Founder of Navyukti Innovations Private Limited, a start-up company working on Sensor Development and Healthcare Solutions.

In this episode, we explore her intellectual journey so far.

Youtube

Relevant links:

1. Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=BMoKpTQAAAAJ&hl=en

2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sangeeta-kale-69046720b/

3. Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5842-0310?lang=en

4. Company Website: https://www.navyuktiinnovations.com/

5. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sangeeta.kale.3

6. Blog: https://sangeetakale.wordpress.com/

7. Research Lab Website: https://snkalelab.wixsite.com/snkalelab

Conversation with Ayan Banerjee

Ayan is an experimental optical physicist and a Professor at IISER Kolkata: https://www.iiserkol.ac.in/~ayan/group_leader.html.

He is also a playwriter, theatre actor and a mentor to many science and arts enthusiasts.

What drives him to do all these things? We discuss this and many other things in this episode.

References:

  1. “Group Leader | Light-Matter Lab.” Accessed December 2, 2024. https://www.iiserkol.ac.in/~ayan/group_leader.html.
  2. “IISER Kolkata – Ayan.” Accessed December 2, 2024. https://www.iiserkol.ac.in/web/en/people/faculty/dps/ayan/.
  3. “Ayan Banerjee – Professor – Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER), Kolkata | LinkedIn.” Accessed December 2, 2024. https://in.linkedin.com/in/ayan-banerjee-3034208.
  4. Department of Physical Sciences (DPS), IISER Kolkata, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgv7iODxYTY.
  5. “Department of Physical Sciences : Home.” Accessed December 2, 2024. https://physics.iiserkol.ac.in/.
  6. Ayan Banerjee. Accessed December 2, 2024. https://www.facebook.com/ayan.banerjee.5895.
  7. “‪Ayan Banerjee – ‪Google Scholar.” Accessed December 2, 2024. https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=GQo7yG4AAAAJ&hl=en.
  8. Gupta, Subhasish Dutta, Nirmalya Ghosh, and Ayan Banerjee. Wave Optics: Basic Concepts and Contemporary Trends. CRC Press, 2015.
  9. Haldar, Arijit, Sambit Bikas Pal, Basudev Roy, S. Dutta Gupta, and Ayan Banerjee. “Self-Assembly of Microparticles in Stable Ring Structures in an Optical Trap.” Physical Review A 85, no. 3 (March 27, 2012): 033832. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.85.033832.
  10. “Indian Institute of Science.” Accessed December 2, 2024. https://iisc.ac.in/events/remembering-prof-vasant-natarajan-1965-2021/.
  11. “LML.” Accessed December 2, 2024. https://sites.google.com/iiserkol.ac.in/light-matter-lab-iiserk/.
  12. “LML – Physics of Micro-Bubbles.” Accessed December 2, 2024. https://sites.google.com/iiserkol.ac.in/light-matter-lab-iiserk/research/physics-of-micro-bubbles.
  13. Network, N. F. N. “Theatre At IISER-K Against Misinterpretation of Science And Superstition,” January 17, 2019. https://newsfromnadia.in/theatre-at-iiser-k-against-misinterpretation-of-science-and-superstition/.
  14. “Self-Assembly of Mesoscopic Materials To Form Controlled and Continuous Patterns by Thermo-Optically Manipulated Laser Induced Microbubbles | Langmuir.” Accessed December 2, 2024. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/la402777e.
  15. X (formerly Twitter). “Ayan Banerjee (@ayanban7) / X,” November 26, 2024. https://x.com/ayanban7.

Conversation with Bhaskaran Muralidharan

Bhaskaran is an Electrical Engineer & a Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay: https://cnqt-group.org/?page_id=25

He is a quantum transport theorist, musician and long-distance runner.

We explore his intellectual, musical and running journey.

Also, don’t miss a segment on Bhaskaran playing the piano.

References:

  1. “Bhaskaran Muralidharan [Department of Electrical Engineering IIT Bombay].” Accessed November 26, 2024. https://www.ee.iitb.ac.in/wiki/faculty/bm.
  2. “‪Bhaskaran Muralidharan – ‪Google Scholar.” Accessed November 26, 2024. https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=PWFVEKIAAAAJ&hl=en.
  3. “Group Members – CNQT @ IIT Bombay.” Accessed November 26, 2024. https://cnqt-group.org/?page_id=25.
  4. Muralidharan, B., A. W. Ghosh, and S. Datta. “Probing Electronic Excitations in Molecular Conduction.” Physical Review B 73, no. 15 (April 10, 2006): 155410. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.73.155410.
  5. Prof. Bhaskaran Muralidharan || Electrical Engineering || EESA IIT Bombay, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8fFdb3-NRQ.

Conversation with Aninda Sinha

Aninda Sinha is a theoretical physicist and a professor at Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru: https://chep.iisc.ac.in/Personnel/asinha.html

He works at the interface of quantum field theory, superstrings and mathematical physics. In this episode, we explore his intellectual journey and discuss his recent work that led to a new series on pi, generalizing Madava’s series.

References:

  1. “Aninda Sinha.” In Wikipedia, June 8, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aninda_Sinha&oldid=1227837004.
  2. “‪Aninda Sinha – ‪Google Scholar.” Accessed November 15, 2024. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-aNKuhIAAAAJ&hl=en.
  3. “Asinha » Page 1 of 3.” Accessed November 15, 2024. https://chep.iisc.ac.in/Personnel/asinha.html.
  4. Saha, Arnab Priya, and Sinha, Aninda. “Field Theory Expansions of String Theory Amplitudes.” Physical Review Letters 132, no. 22 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.221601.
  5. Ananthanarayan, B, and Aninda Sinha. “Bootstrapping Quantum Field Theory: Past, Present and Future.” CURRENT SCIENCE 126, no. 8 (2024).
  6. Bischoff, Manon. “String Theorists Accidentally Find a New Formula for Pi.” Scientific American. Accessed November 19, 2024. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/string-theorists-accidentally-find-a-new-formula-for-pi/.
  7. From Euler to Veneziano and Back by Aninda Sinha. Accessed November 15, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtKmoXW8Jmg.
  8. “Michael Green.” Accessed November 19, 2024. https://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/mbg15/.
  9. “Michael Green (Physicist).” In Wikipedia, November 12, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Green_(physicist)&oldid=1256888698.
  10. Stringing Madhava’s Pi: Aquantum Field Theory Perspective | Talk by Aninda Sinha. Accessed November 15, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn_XUxmWlX8.
  11. “Thursday Colloquium | Raman Research Institute.” Accessed November 19, 2024. https://www.rri.res.in/events/stringing-madhavas-pi-quantum-field-theory-perspective.