Tag: podcast

Conversation with Sanjit Mitra

Sanjit Mitra is a Senior Professor at IUCAA, Pune, and explores gravitational wave astronomy. Serving as the science spokesperson, Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)-India and project coordinator, his research focuses on stochastic backgrounds, detector noise, and CMB analysis.

In this episode, we discuss the science and technology behind LIGO and its Indian expansion.

References:

‘Sanjit Mitra – IUCAA’ Accessed 26 March 2026. https://www.iucaa.in/en/faculty-research/sanjit.

‘Sanjit Mitra’. n.d. Accessed 26 March 2026. https://web.iucaa.in/~sanjit/home/About_Me.html.

GW @ IUCAA. Accessed 26 March 2026. https://www.gw.iucaa.in/.

LIGO-India. Accessed 26 March 2026. https://www.ligo-india.in/.

‘‪Sanjit Mitra‬ – ‪Google Scholar‬’. n.d. Accessed 26 March 2026. https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=1LVFYJ0AAAAJ&view_op=list_works.

‘LISA: Laser Interferometer Space Antenna’. n.d. Accessed 26 March 2026. https://lisa.nasa.gov/.

Conversation with Sudipta Sarkar

Sudipta Sarkar is a Professor of Physics at IIT Gandhinagar, specializing in gravitation, black hole thermodynamics, gravitational waves, and quantum field theory in curved spacetime. He is also interested in the history of science, particular history of relativity and connected ideas.

In this conversation, we discussed his intellectual journey and the research questions that he has been interested in.

References:

‘IIT Gandhinagar | Sudipta Sarkar’. n.d. Accessed 9 March 2026. https://iitgn.ac.in/faculty/phy/fac-sudipta.

GEORGE GAMOV. n.d. ONE TWO THREE INFINITY. Accessed 13 March 2026. http://archive.org/details/OneTwoThreeInfinity_158.

IIT Gandhinagar. 2022a. Classical Black Hole | Prof Sudipta Sarkar | Lecture 01. 01:18:58. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nKVYasNFh0.

IIT Gandhinagar. 2022b. Towards Relativity: Einstein and His Compass | Sudipta Sarkar | History of Ideas 2.0. 01:05:09. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4gv-S7sLZ0.

Lightman, Alan. n.d. A Sense of the Mysterious: Science and the Human Spirit. Vintage Books.

Miller, Arthur I. 1981. Albert Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity: Discovery. Addison Wesley Longman Publishing Co.

Pais, Abraham. 2005. Subtle Is the Lord: The Science And the Life of Albert Einstein. Oxford Univ Pr.

‘‪Sudipta Sarkar‬ – ‪Google Scholar‬’. n.d. Accessed 9 March 2026. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zXU9ZN4AAAAJ&hl=en.

‘Sudipta Sarkar – INSPIRE’. n.d. Accessed 9 March 2026. https://inspirehep.net/authors/1039819.

TIFR Quantum Space-Time Seminars. 2026. Sudipta Sarkar (IITGandhinagar): Rotating Black Holes Beyond General Relativity. 02:07:12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRJw9MXVgdc.

Conversation with Renny Thomas

Renny Thomas is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Anthropology at IISER Bhopal. An anthropologist of science, his research explores the intersection of science, religion, and culture in India. He is the author of Science and Religion in India: Beyond Disenchantment (2021) and co-editor of books: Mapping Scientific Method: Disciplinary Narrations (2022) and Decolonial Keywords: South Asian Thoughts and Attitudes (2026). Thomas, recently, was also the Taki Visiting Global Professor at New York University.

In this episode, we explore the sociology of science from an Indian perspective.

References:

  1. ‘HSS/IISER Bhopal’. Accessed 20 February 2026. https://hss.iiserb.ac.in/faculty_details?renny.
  2. Thomas, Renny. Science and Religion in India: Beyond Disenchantment. Taylor & Francis Books India Pvt. Ltd., (2021)
  3. Thomas, Renny, and Gita Chadda. Mapping Scientific Method: Disciplinary Narrations. Routledge, (2022).
  4. Thomas, Renny, and Sasanka Perera, eds. Decolonial Keywords: South Asian Thoughts and Attitudes. Tulika Books, 2026.
  5. Anderson, Robert S. Nucleus and Nation – Scientists, International Networks and Power in India. University of Chicago Press, 2010.
  6. Gray, John. SEVEN TYPES OF ATHEISM. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018.
  7. Latour, Bruno, and Steve Woolgar. Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts. Edited by Jonas Salk. Princeton University Press, 2013.
  8. PHYSICS TODAY. ‘Why Should Physicists Study History?’ 1 July 2016. https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.3235.
  9. Roy, Arpita. Unfinished Nature: Particle Physics at CERN. Columbia University Press, 2024.
  10. Subramaniam, Banu. Botany of Empire: Plant Worlds and the Scientific Legacies of Colonialism. Univ of Washington Pr, 2024.
  11. Thomas, Renny. ‘“Science Goes Ahead”: Nehru, Modern Science and the Possible Conversations’. India Review 24, no. 5 (2025): 537–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/14736489.2025.2597542.
  12. Anderson, Robert S. ‘Science and Religion in India: Beyond Disenchantment: By Renny Thomas, New York, Routledge, 2022, 203 Pp., $128CAD (Hardback), ISBN 9781032073194’. Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society 5, no. 1 (2022): 2141013. https://doi.org/10.1080/25729861.2022.2141013.
  13. Mukunth, Vasudevan. ‘Decolonising and De-Nobelising Science’. Comment. The Hindu, 25 February 2026. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/decolonising-and-de-nobelising-science/article70675790.ece.

Conversation with Debarati Chatterjee

Debarati Chatterjee is a Professor of theoretical astrophysicist at IUCAA and the Chair of Education and Public Outreach for the LIGO-India project. An avid science communicator, she founded the Indian branch of the Pint of Science festival and regularly holds outreach events in multiple languages to make science accessible to all.

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

References:

1.‘‪Debarati Chatterjee‬ – ‪Google Scholar‬’. Accessed 18 February 2026. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wL7lJoUAAAAJ&hl=en.

2.‘Debarati Chatterjee – IUCAA’. Accessed 18 February 2026. https://www.iucaa.in/en/faculty-research/debarati.

3.‘Facebook’. Accessed 18 February 2026. https://www.facebook.com/AstroRoamer.

4.India. ‘Pint of Science India’. Accessed 18 February 2026. https://www.pintofscience.in.

5.India. ‘The Team’. Accessed 18 February 2026. https://www.pintofscience.in/team.

6.‘iPortfolio Bootstrap Template – Index’. Accessed 18 February 2026. https://web.iucaa.in/~debarati/.

7.‘LIGO India (@ligoindia) • Instagram Photos and Videos’. Accessed 18 February 2026. https://www.instagram.com/ligoindia/.

8.Linktree. ‘Ligoindia | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook’. Accessed 18 February 2026. https://linktr.ee/ligoindia.

9.‘Pint of Science India (@pintofsciencein) • Instagram Photos and Videos’. Accessed 18 February 2026. https://www.instagram.com/pintofsciencein/.

10.‘Prof. Debarati Chatterjee | LinkedIn’. Accessed 18 February 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/prof-debarati-chatterjee-a6072a/.

11.‘Prof. Debi (@debi.Physix) • Instagram Photos and Videos’. Accessed 18 February 2026. https://www.instagram.com/debi.physix/.

12.Sharma, Kanika. ‘I Encourage Women to Claim Their Space in Astrophysics and Beyond’. Nature, ahead of print, 21 November 2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03400-1.

13.X (Formerly Twitter). ‘Prof. Debarati Chatterjee (@astro_roamer) / X’. 9 February 2019. https://x.com/astro_roamer.

Conversation with Siddhesh Kamat

Siddhesh Kamat is Professor of Biology at IISER Pune. His research explores lipid signaling, chemical biology, metabolomics, and serine hydrolases in neurodegeneration and immunity. In 2024, he was awarded the Infosys Prize (Life Sciences). He has also played under-14 cricket for Mumbai.

In this episode, we explore his intellectual journey and how sports played a vital role in his thinking.

References:

‘Infosys Prize – Laureates 2024 – Siddhesh Kamat’. Accessed 12 February 2026. https://www.infosysprize.org/laureates/2024/siddhesh-kamat.html.

‘‪Siddhesh Kamat‬ – ‪Google Scholar‬’. Accessed 12 February 2026. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DOMpKfQAAAAJ&hl=en.

The Kamat Lab @ IISE. ‘Home | The Kamat Lab @ IISER Pune’. Accessed 12 February 2026. https://www.kamatlabiiser.com.

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.