Amulya KN Reddy

The scientist for social development   One morning in the early 1940s, 12-year-old Amulya Reddy received a letter from his uncle and hero, CGK Reddy, a marine engineer and political activist. The letter, written on a rough piece of paper, had arrived from the Madras jail where CGK was imprisoned for his anti-British activities. In […]

‘Call me When Decroos is Here’

Mariadasan Anthony Decroos (known as MA Decroos) dedicated more than 40 years of service to the Institute from 1965. He worked with five Directors, handling sensitive, confidential, and strategic planning assignments that contributed significantly to the Institute’s growth. When CONNECT reached out for an interview, the 85-year-old promptly agreed to reflect on his life and […]

Design Dilemma

The ongoing debate on digital vs. physical prototyping   It was supposed to be a simple task. As part of our coursework project on Applied Ergonomics at IISc’s Department of Design and Manufacturing (DM; formerly known as the Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing, CPDM), my team wanted to design earphones with the perfect ergonomic […]

Driving Change

Elected bodies are giving voice to student issues   On a rainy October evening in 2024, Chiranjeevi Sadana, PhD student at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and newly elected Chairperson of the Students’ Council, is making arrangements for the first open mic of his term. The Students’ Council had finally been reinstated after six months. […]

‘With Gen AI, there are now a lot of opportunities, but also challenges’

Nihar B Shah is Associate Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, USA, where he leads a research group exploring how human-AI collaboration can lead to more trustworthy research publications and fairer evaluation systems. He completed his ME from the Department of Electrical Communication Engineering (ECE) at IISc in 2010, and also received the Young Alumnus Medal […]

Campus Canopies

Tracing the history of IISc’s green pathways   While casually strolling through IISc roads, one simply needs to look up – to be immediately immersed in the sight of the soaring avenue trees. Vibrant-hued seasonal flowers bloom on them as they merge into canopies, creating a breathtaking vista throughout the campus. The vibrant greenery of […]