K Nagarathna joined IISc in June 1977 at the age of 23. She was the only daughter of her parents, with five brothers who studied science and engineering. Nagarathna dreamed of joining the Institute ever since one of her brothers pointed out to her IISc’s ‘tower’ on the horizon from a temple in Basavanagudi. […]
Category: Interviews
Making Safety a Priority
The Office of Laboratory Safety and Environmental Health (OLSEH) at IISc, barely three years old, is on a mission to bring the 111-year-old Institute’s safety practices up to global standards. CONNECT caught up with the Chair of OLSEH, Sushobhan Avasthi, Associate Professor at the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering, who spoke about the setting […]
What IISc Needs to Become World-Class: Interview with Anurag Kumar
In July 2020, Anurag Kumar completed his tenure as the Director of IISc. He began his journey in engineering with a bachelor’s degree from IIT Kanpur and a PhD from Cornell University, and then worked at Bell Labs, New Jersey, USA, before joining IISc in 1988. After serving as the Chair, Department of Electrical Communication […]
‘The fact that my patients needed me kept me motivated’
Healthcare professionals across the world have been working relentlessly during the pandemic. With dozens of cases reported from IISc, Connect spoke to doctors at the Institute’s Health Centre about their experiences during these challenging times. What changes did the Health Centre have to make, in order to deal with the pandemic? Dr R Nirmala: […]
Homecoming: Biochemistry Alumni who Returned to the Institute
PB Seshagiri, Sandhya S Visweswariah and Varsha Singh talk about their academic journeys There is no doubt that IISc attracts some of the best students in the country. But a few of them have come full circle, returning to the Institute – some even to the same building – where they took their baby […]
Understanding COVID-19 Through the Lens of the Social Sciences
COVID-19 has brought upon us an extraordinary situation, throwing our lives into tumult. While the crisis is largely being reported and understood from the biological and epidemiological viewpoints, we tend to sideline the fact that it is essentially a watershed moment in human history. Connect spoke to scholars from the social sciences and humanities about […]
‘I had developed an emotional attachment with the Institute’
GD David worked in various departments as an administrative staff for close to four decades. During this period, he was secretary to former Director Satish Dhawan at IISc as well as at the Department of Space. In this interview, he recollects his association with the Institute.
‘People took pride in their work and in the Institute’
Jawaharlal Vaid, 88, was at the Institute from 1951 to 1957 at the Department of General and Applied Chemistry (eventually renamed Inorganic and Physical Chemistry), doing his Master’s and PhD. He went on to have a distinguished career in industry, working for the Indian Telephone Industry, and setting up India’s first capacitor plant for Jay […]
‘Working at the Institute Gave Us Recognition’
Polamada Lalantika worked at the Institute for 29 years. She joined on 21 June 1973, at the age of 27, working as a Stenographer, Supervisor and later Superintendent until her retirement in 2002. She worked through an era of advancements in technology, moving from typewriters to computers, Gestetner-cyclostyling machines to Xerox machines, and even sent […]
‘We only had four boxes of medicines to treat people with’
On 14 December 1973, G Ambiga joined IISc’s Health Centre as Staff Nurse, after serving in Tamil Nadu’s Chengalpat Medical College Hospital and the Government Thiruvateeswarar Tuberculosis Hospital. She spent 28 eventful years at IISc, and is known for her outspoken nature and wealth of stories about her experiences working at the Health Centre where […]