He is interested in strongly correlated quantum physics, including fractional quantum Hall effects and some spin systems.
Interestingly, he started as a mechanical engineer and then moved to study the general theory of relativity and eventually became a condensed matter physicist. How did his interest evolve, and how did he become a physicist?
We address this and other interesting aspects of his career in this ’emergence series’.
Neeraja is an organic chemist who is deeply interested in education. She has been researching and exploring ways to make chemical education appealing and thought-provoking. How & Why does she do this?
Listen to this conversation under the ‘emergence’ series as we humanize science.
He has been involved in various conservation projects and has written extensively on the history of architecture, numismatics, and material culture. Sohoni has also been a consultant for the Sahapedia project on culturally mapping the city of Pune and has contributed to several documentaries on the history of Ahmednagar.
In this episode, we explore his intellectual history with a lively conversation on various topics, including his research interests.
“Pushkar Sohoni – Associate Professor and Chair, Humanities and Social Sciences – Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune | LinkedIn.” n.d. Accessed June 17, 2024. https://in.linkedin.com/in/pushkar-sohoni-11754a13.
“The Kingdom of Ahmednagar (Lecture 3) : Architectural History Presented by Pushkar Sohoni. – YouTube.” n.d. Accessed June 17, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhJ_m7vyxXE.
In this episode, we explore his intellectual journey from Chembur, IIT Bombay, Caltech, NCL Pune and back to IIT Bombay. Guru explains how and why he is interested in soft matter and sustainability-related problems. He explains how one can evolve research questions that are attractive to academia and industries.
Listen as we humanize science.
Guru and his team are dedicated to optimizing material utilization, designing materials that are more functional and easier to recycle and reuse. They explore the fascinating world of soft matter, which surrounds us in everyday life, from plastic bags to biological materials.
Guru’s research focuses on three key areas: sustainable materials and processes, designer functional materials, and circularity through recycling and reuse. His group is working on innovative solutions like flame retardant nanocomposites, high-functionality membranes, and value-added materials from waste plastics.
Gopal is an experimental physicist, a Professor at TIFR Mumbai and currently heads the National Physics Laboratory, Delhi. https://www.tifr.res.in/achanta/
He and his research group have made important contributions in plasmonics, metamaterials and metrology. His work on magneto-plasmonics, plasmonic quasicrystals, exciton dynamics and quantum nanophotonics has opened some avenues in the field.
In this episode, we discuss his intellectual journey from Guntur, Mumbai, Japan and back to Mumbai, and on the way we explore how he got 2 PhDs and plenty of knowledge in semiconductor optics and plasmonics. We also discuss the importance of metrology in science and engineering and how it can impact the society.
A small segment in Telugu and some wonder memories of his student and postdoc days in India and Japan.
Belotelov, V. I., I. A. Akimov, M. Pohl, V. A. Kotov, S. Kasture, A. S. Vengurlekar, Achanta Venu Gopal, D. R. Yakovlev, A. K. Zvezdin, and M. Bayer. 2011. “Enhanced Magneto-Optical Effects in Magnetoplasmonic Crystals.” Nature Nanotechnology 6 (6): 370–76. https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2011.54.
Rab, Shanay, V. K. Jaiswal, D. D. Shivagan, Goutam Mandal, Ashutosh Agarwal, Sanjay Yadav, D. K. Aswal, and Venu Gopal Achanta. 2024. “An Update on the State of the Art of Metric System in India.” https://www.services.bis.gov.in/tmp/WCPGD16325508_01052024_1.pdf.
Devapriya Chattopadhyay is a paleobiologist and marine ecologist who studies how marine organisms respond to their environment over ecological and evolutionary timescales. We explore her intellectual journey from Bengal, Mumbai, Michigan, Kolkata and Pune.
Her research focuses on shelled molluscs, using a combination of fieldwork, laboratory experiments, and statistical modelling to investigate predator-prey dynamics, fossil records, and modern distributions along the Indian coast.
Arnab Mukherjee is a professor of chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Pune, India. He is also associated with the Data Science Department at IISER Pune.
In this episode, we go into granular details about his educational experiences and how he got interested in science. He highlights how chasing marks turned from a boon to a curse with a stunning narrative of his student career. There are some profound lessons to learn from his experiences.
His research interests include computational chemistry and biophysics. Specifically, he and his group work on “various topics ranging from drug-DNA intercalation, DNA structural change, single water entropy, protein folding and protein-DNA binding, dynamical recrossing and internal friction in proteins and machine learning. He also collaborates with experimental colleagues in projects such as synthetic ion channels, spectroscopic investigation of molecular recognition, etc.”
With a rich background in research, including stints at prestigious institutions like Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Australian National University, Dr. Roy Chowdhury has significantly contributed to our understanding of light-matter interaction at the micro-nano scale. Listen to this ‘Emergence’ series, where we explore his groundbreaking research in metamaterials, plasmonics, and more through his academic journey until now. Specifically, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of doing experimental research at a private university in India.
As a professor and visiting faculty at various institutions, he has made significant contributions to the field. Sarukkai is the author of numerous books, including “Philosophy for Children,” “Translating the World,” “Philosophy of Symmetry,” and “What is Science?” He has also co-authored works exploring Indian philosophy, caste, and democracy. Sarukkai is the founder of Barefoot Philosophers, an initiative to bring philosophy to children and the public. With his diverse expertise and passion for accessible philosophy, Sarukkai is a captivating thinker in the intellectual landscape.
Listen, as we humanize science.
Note: The audio in the first 10 min is of lower quality
In this episode, we discuss her intellectual journey, how she became interested in molecular and cancer biology, her initiatives related to breast cancer research, and her role in the Genome India project.
We had a wonderful conversation about various aspects of science in India and tried to understand it through the lens of gender equity. Mayurika speaks about women’s representation in science and how and why it should improve.
There are many interesting strands in this conversation, and each branch enriches the discussion.
VISMAYA - History & Philosophy of Physics 