A workshop on Hindustānī music inspired by the monsoon by a vocalist who also wears a biologist’s hat I define myself as a musician with an academic approach. I have been a student of Hindustānī music since my childhood. Besides what I learned from my gurus, the well-known vocalist Geetha Hegde and Ojesh Pratap Singh, […]
An undergraduate (UG) instructor reflects on her experience teaching IISc’s students My students often complain that I answer their questions with more questions. I am convinced that they know why I do it, and aren’t serious in their protests. Here are some examples: Scene 1: First year UG lab, Subject: Microbiology M was comparing growth […]
Two IISc faculty members reflect on their journeys as teachers after winning the Dr Priti Shankar Teaching Award for 2018, which they received on 15 March this year during the meeting of the Court of IISc Maria Thaker (Centre for Ecological Sciences) It was 11:30 at night and it was clear that several of the […]
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 […]
A scientist and his small team of volunteers have steered the cause of plants by creating a unique database, an important first step in the battle for species conservation and habitat restoration On the third floor of IISc’s Biological Sciences building is a room which, at first glance, may seem like a computer science lab. […]
B Chagun Basha is a Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Fellow at IISc’s Centre for Policy Research established by the Department of Science and Technology (DST-CPR). While organising an event at IISc, he and his colleagues realised that they hadn’t paid much thought to gender inclusivity until it was explicitly pointed out to them that […]
A faculty member reflects on an unusual course offered to undergraduate students This year, I am teaching the sixth edition of the undergraduate humanities course “Mapping India with the Folk Arts”. In this course, we delve into indigenous knowledge, or common people’s knowledge, focusing on a different form of Indian folk art every year. By […]
‘We wish to suggest that the Ladies’ Hostel may be permanently located’ Kamala Sohonie (née Bhagvat) studied biochemistry at IISc in the 1930s. She was said to have struggled to gain admission as CV Raman, who was IISc’s Director from 1933-1937, was resistant to allowing women to study at the Institute. In the first of […]
The Institute has many unsung heroes, whose contributions often go unnoticed. One among them is KA Ponnanna, a former security guard. He is often called upon when people in IISc encounter a mongoose in their lab or a snake in their homes. Ponnanna recounts his childhood in Kodagu in Karnataka, and his journey from being […]
A unique pilot project helmed by a team of scientists from India and Scotland Berambadi (Photo: Rohini Krishnamurthy) About 200 km southwest of Bengaluru is Berambadi, a village nestled between mountains, swathes of agricultural fields, the Hirikere lake, and the Bandipur National Park. This verdant countryside with tidy roads that borders Karnataka’s neighbours Kerala and […]
