Rock Stars

How geologists connect the dots to tell stories of the Earth’s evolution   It was a clear but cold July evening in the Kumaon Himalayas in Uttarakhand. Prakash Chandra Arya and his younger brother, Vikas, were on day one of their 15-day trek from a village called Munsiyari to the Milam glacier, more than 4000 […]

When Continents Collide

Seismologists have their work cut out when it comes to understanding and predicting earthquakes and their impact   Beneath the serene snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas, danger lurks. Scientists are increasingly worried about a big earthquake overdue in the Himalayan region, anticipated to have a magnitude greater than 8.0 on the Richter scale. To give […]

Charting a Course to Net Zero

Several researchers at IISc are working on technological solutions to tackle some of the causes of climate-induced disasters, and reduce carbon emissions   A sizzling heatwave across North India, prolonged power outages, and 20 million dead. Fortunately, this is a work of fiction, the setting in the first chapter of The Ministry for the Future, […]

Out of the Lab, Into the World Beyond

How ME research aims to make a difference in clean energy, manufacturing, healthcare and more JN Tata, IISc’s founder, strongly believed that scientific research played a role in social and economic transformation. The Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME), one of the largest in IISc and currently celebrating its 75th year, has had a history of […]

Partners In The Field

Field assistants are critical yet underappreciated members of the ecological research community   When Raman Sukumar went to the forests of Mudumalai to study elephants for his PhD in 1978, he wanted a local person familiar with the terrain, and experienced at navigating elephant country to guide him. The forest rangers put him in touch […]

The Race for Five Million Dollars

IISc-TCS was the only Indian team to compete in the Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge 2020   The competition was only a few days away. With one drone having crashed already, all eyes were locked nervously on the two drones over the airfield outside the Department of Aerospace Engineering. During the final testing at […]

The Birth of Wipro’s Computer Systems Business

IISc’s role in helping Wipro launch its minicomputers in 1981 As one of India’s leading technology companies, Wipro is today largely known for its Information Technology (IT), engineering, and consulting services. But what brought Wipro into the IT industry was its computer systems business in the 1980s. The origins of the company’s most flourishing business […]

Beating the Jam

Using technology to tackle India’s terrible traffic Last summer, the image of a software engineer riding a horse to protest against Bangalore’s notorious traffic jams went viral on social media. “Bengaluru is overcrowded and too many vehicles on the road lead to traffic jams every day,” he was quoted as saying. “In fact, I learnt […]