As part of the annual cultural festival Karavaan 2018, students of IISER Pune have organised:
Date: Thursday, November 1, 2018
Time: 6.30 PM onwards
Venue: Sir CV Raman Auditorium
· A brief analysis of the current scenario in funding of basic sciences.
· Usage of the taxpayer's money to fund what one may term "socially irrelevant" research
· Parallels between a society's progress and a flourishing scientific community
· Scope of and qualms surrounding industrial funding of research in the basic sciences
· Future of research in the basic sciences in India with current gears in place
· The potential of a self-sustaining scientific community in India and a roadmap to achieving that
Invited Speakers:
1) Prof Sandhya Visveswariah: Scientist and academic at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, India. She is currently the Chairperson of the Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics and the Co-chair of the Centre for Biosystems Science and Engineering, IISc Bangalore.
2) Prof Sabyasachi Bhattacharya: He is a CV Raman University Professor at Ashoka University. He is a Distinguished Professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai of which he was the former Director. Apart from Physics, he is interested in Higher Education Policy in India related especially to science and technology research.
3) Dr Rajeev Sharma: Retired in July 2018 from Government of India as the Secretary, Science and Engineering Research Board, India as well as Head, Technology Missions in the Department of Science and Technology related to research, development, and demonstration in areas of Water, Clean Energy and Supercomputing. Previously headed the bilateral Indo-US Science and Technology Forum as Executive Director. He is currently the Director General, Amity Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation Alliances.
4) Prof Sanjeev Galande: Dean, Research and Development and Chair, Department of Biology at IISER Pune. He is a recipient of the National Bioscience Award for Career Development of the Department of Biotechnology. He was also awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology in 2010, for his contributions to Biological Sciences.
Panel Discussion Moderator: Prof Sunil Mukhi, former Chair, Department of Physics, IISER Pune. Formerly, Professor of Physics at TIFR Mumbai. He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and The World Academy of Sciences, and a recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for Physical Sciences, 1999 and the Jagdish Chandra Bose Fellowship, 2008.
