On research, failure and learning to work with the mess The experiment, at least on paper, was simple: watch what happens to the physical forces between cells as a healthy tissue starts becoming cancerous. Push, pull, tension mapped onto something as messy as a living tissue. I remember feeling all tingly when I came […]
How citizens are helping collect research data On the rare occasion that you break away from the tedium of overflowing inboxes to listlessly stare into space, something extraordinarily fascinating could catch your attention. It could be a stray dragonfly perched on the window ledge, or perhaps a tree with a huge canopy farther away. […]
Why some enjoy the subject for what it is Let us begin with an unusual counting puzzle. Imagine two blocks labelled 1 and 2, next to each other on the ground beside a wall. Assume that the ground is frictionless, and that the blocks will not lose energy when they hit each other or […]
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 […]
What does ‘summer’ mean to you? (Compiled by Divyanshu Bhatt, Anjaney Jaishankar Prasad Pandey, Aarav Ghate, Creetika Dahal, Shruti Sharma)
Learning from traditional architecture Walking through the lanes of Majuli, the largest river island in the world, one cannot miss the characteristic houses, the Chang Ghar. Situated in Assam, at the heart of the river Brahmaputra and secluded from the rest of the world, Majuli has preserved much of its traditional heritage, including its […]
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. […]
How its understanding has changed through the years The year was 1919. May was approaching and so was graduation season at the University of California, Berkeley in the USA. A young undergraduate student was in deep distress. One of his professors, William Bray, had assigned a paper to be submitted before the end of […]
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 […]
The enduring legacy of the JRD Tata Memorial Library In the late hours of the night, the bustling and lively IISc campus halts to a slight murmur. The streets are deserted; the silence is broken only by the slow pacing of the night guards and dogs barking at nothing in particular. In this dark […]
