Category: Faculty & Staff Spotlight

Dr Sonia Ghalian, Visiting Assistant Professor of Literature at SIAS, Krea University presented a paper at the International Online Symposium on Queer Children’s Film and Television, co-organized by the University of Cambridge and the University of Glasgow on 1 March, 2024.

The paper titled (Im)Possibility of Queerness in Indian Children’s Films directs attention to a fundamental yet frequently overlooked connection between being queer and being a child. The talk focused on the ideological, economic as well as cultural contours of the Indian context to highlight the impossibility of the connection and its lack of adequate representation in Indian cinema. The paper strives to highlight certain children’s films that navigate these identities beyond societal norms to acknowledge such characters’ differences— their struggles for acceptance because of them—but just as importantly to acknowledge their sameness, their shared existences, and their mutual bonds with the larger community.

Dr Vivek Tewary, Assistant Professor of Mathematics at SIAS, Krea University, delivered a talk at the Workshop on Multi-scale Analysis / Conference on Differential Equations (MSADE-24) held at IIT Ropar from 26 February to 2 March, 2024. 

The workshop focuses on multiscale methods in mathematics, particularly as they apply to questions of homogenization, control theory, and inverse problems. Mathematicians are developing new tools to investigate multiscale phenomena that arise in the design of new materials.

Dr Tewari delivered a lecture on Bloch wave homogenisation of periodic media. Bloch waves are special waves supported by periodic media and can be used in various applications in physical models. They are also used in homogenisation – where one studies approximations of highly heterogeneous media. Dr Tewari talked about the existence of Bloch waves and demonstrated their use in finding a macroscopic approximation for highly heterogeneous periodic media.

Sayantan Datta, Assistant Professor of Practice at the the Centre for Writing and Pedagogy (CWP), Krea University, and a children’s book author, was a speaker in a panel discussion titled STEM With Stories: A Webinar on Fuelling Curiosity and Shaping STEM MIndsets. The panel was organised by Storyweaver by Pratham Books, and took place on 28 February, 2024. Other panelists included Sarit Sharma (Co-founder, Aavishkaar), Neha Parti (Director Schools, Quest Alliance), Veena Prasad (author), Sampad Mohapatra (journalist) and Seema Acharya (teacher). In this panel, Sayantan discussed the need for children’s literature in STEM fields, and their process behind creating a STEM-focussed children’s book.

For more information, click here. 

Sayantan also delivered a special lecture on the lived experiences of queer, transgender, and intersex persons in the Indian science ecosystem, at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Bengaluru. Titled Trans as Transformation: Queer, Transgender and Intersex Persons in the Indian Science Ecosystem, the event took place 1 March 2024. 

For more information, click here. 

Professor S Sivakumar, Dean, Research and Professor of Physics at SIAS, Krea University has written a science article titled Are ‘colour molecules’ the key to a room-temperature quantum computer?, published in The Hindu. 

The article explores the intriguing possibility of utilising chromophores or ’colour molecules’ as a potential solution for achieving room temperature quantum computing. Unlike traditional quantum systems that are expensive as they require extremely low temperatures to function, the application of ‘colour molecules’ could significantly reduce the complexity and cost of quantum computing setups. The article delves into the principles behind this concept, highlighting recent advancements and the challenges that lie ahead in realising this vision of room temperature quantum computing using ‘colour molecules’.

Read the article here. 

Dr Anannya Dasgupta, Director, Centre for Writing & Pedagogy (CWP) and Associate Professor of Literature, SIAS, Krea University is conducting a workshop on 29 February, 2024 at Azim Premji University, Bangalore.  Titled Haibun: Description in Prose, Description in Poetry, this hands-on workshop will be both an introduction to a form of haikai called haibun and an invitation to try writing one. Haibun combines prose descriptions with haiku.

For more information about the workshop, click  here. 

Sathyanarayanan Ramachandran, Sundram Fasteners Associate Professor of Marketing, IFMR Graduate School of Business, Krea University has been invited to conduct the Workshop on Case Method during the International Conference on Marketing Research 2024 (ICMR ’24). This conference is organised by the Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA) in partnership with the Albers School of Business, Seattle University, US, and is scheduled for 15 March, 2024.

This International Conference on Marketing Research is conceived and conceptualised by the Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), Chennai, India, aiming to be one of the flagship events in the global academic circle. It intends to focus on the ever-evolving and contemporary fields in the marketing area, with a special focus on consumer research, branding & advertising, technology trends, sustainable marketing and artificial intelligence.

For more information about the workshop, click here and here. 

Dr Govindapuram Suresh, Assistant Professor of Economics at IFMR GSB, Krea University was an invited panelist for a discussion at a workshop hosted by the Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science (Hindustan University), Chennai, that took place on 24 February, 2024.

The workshop is part of the research project titled Impact of PM Krishi Sinchai Yojana on Water Productivity in Paddy Cultivation: Empirical Insights from Diverse Agro-Climatic Regions in South Indian States, funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Ministry of Education, Government of India, New Delhi.

Dr G Suresh specifically discussed observations from the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

For more information about the workshop, click here and here. 

Dr Panchali Ray, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Gender Studies and Associate Dean (Academic) and  at SIAS, Krea University presented a paper at the Law and Society in South Asia (LASSA) Workshop in Lahore, and wrote about her experience of travelling to and in Pakistan, published by the Frontline, the Hindu. She writes why visiting Pakistan brought home the fact that home is not what it used to be. And the idea of home, for her, is now nothing but a heartbreak. Also, she would like you to know that the title of the essay is not hers.  

Read the Blog here.