Sayantan Datta, Assistant Professor of Practice, Krea-CWP has authored an editorial titled Recording sex and gender data in clinical settings published by the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. In the editorial, they highlight potential issues in the collection of sex data in clinical settings, and suggest that an accurate, ethical, and transgender- and intersex-affirmative medical practice entails the mandatory collection of both sex and gender data, and in more than two categories.
On his academic visit to Canada, Professor Govindarajan T R, Visiting Professor, Physics delivered a talk on ‘Fuzzy dark matter and primordial black hole’ at McGill University, Montreal on 15 July 2025 and ‘Overluminous Supernovae and Hubble tension’ at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo on 21 July 2025.
Fuzzy dark matter and primordial black hole
The center of most galaxies have a super massive black hole whose presence has remained a mystery. Now we have evidence that galaxies existed as early as 400 million years after the big bang. At the same time 90% of galaxy mass is made up of dark matter. This also posed problems in identifying the nature of the particle which does not interact with normal matter except through gravity. But it aids in the formation and stability of the galaxy. Ultralight particles are one of the promising candidates. We propose one such candidate which can at the same time provide some link to understand the supermassive black holes through providing seeds for primordial blackholes.
Overluminous Supernovae and Hubble tension
Type Ia supernovae (SNe\,Ia) serve as crucial cosmological distance indicators due to their empirical consistency in decline rates with peak luminosity. This facilitates finding $H_0$. Nevertheless, a statistically significant difference persists between $H_0$ values derived from early and late-time measurements, a phenomenon known as the Hubble tension. Furthermore, recent observations have identified a subset of over-luminous SNe\,Ia, characterized by peak luminosities exceeding the nominal range and faster decline rates. These discoveries raise questions regarding the reliability of SNe\,Ia as standard candles in measuring cosmological distances. We present the Bayesian analysis of over-luminous SNe\,Ia and show that they yield lower $H_0$ estimates, exhibiting closer concordance with $H_0$ estimates derived from early-universe data. This investigation potentially represents a step toward addressing the Hubble tension.
Gautham Warrier, Teaching Fellow, Sociology and Social Anthropology, SIAS presented their paper at the 9th Congress of the Portuguese Anthropological Association (APA), held from 14-18 July. The paper, ‘Reflections and Portraits: An Autoethnographic Exploration of Trans*-Queer Orientations and Reconstitutions in Binary-Gendered Spaces’ was presented in the panel titled “Rompendo Véus: (re)existências e vivências de corpos subversives*” translated in English as “Breaking Veils: (Re)existences and Lived Experiences of Subversive Bodies”.
The paper examined the existence, negotiation, and navigation of trans*-queer bodyminds through dis/orientations in spacetimes that are often rooted in cisgender and heteronormative binaries. The paper explored this topic through methods drawn from autoethnography, digital archival cultures, and through conversations with works such as Sara Ahmed’s Queer Phenomenology (2006) and Logan Smilges’s Queer Silence (2022), as well as with practices from trans* and queer life-writing.
Dr Vivek Tewary, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, SIAS and Sayantan Datta, Assistant Professor of Practice, Krea-CWP, have been awarded a ‘Small Research Grant’ by the Foundation for Advancement of Science & Technology (FAST) India under their India Science Book Fellowship scheme. The award will support the duo in writing their popular science book tentatively titled Equations of Life: How the Living World Speaks Mathematics, and Why We Should Learn to Listen.
About Equations of Life: Equations of Life invites readers to wonder at the world of mathematical biology by focusing on the story of five mathematical equations that changed the course of biology, mathematics – and, at times, the world. These equations describe various biological phenomena at different scales: from molecular interactions within a single cell to movement of a large number of organisms in response to a signal. This book asks readers to consider an uncomfortable proposition: that the language of mathematics – artificial in many ways, and carefully crafted into abstraction by human beings – might be, at times, our best chance at uncovering the mysteries of the living world, a messy but beautiful marvel of nature.
About the India Science Book Fellowship: FAST-India’s India Science Book Fellowship is an incredibly competitive fellowship that seeks to support the writing of non-fiction popular science books by scientists, science writers, and communicators.
We are delighted to share that Inika Khosla, Alum, SIAS Cohort of 2020 – 2023, has had her Psychology capstone dissertation published in the Cambridge Journal of Human Behaviour. Titled Exploring Community-based Alcohol Rehabilitation in India: A Case Study of a Community Rehabilitation and Support Centre, the paper was guided by Dr Sabah Siddiqui, Assistant Professor of Psychology, SIAS.
Sara Abraham, Visiting Faculty, SIAS has authored an article titled Tamil Nadu’s migrant worker survey: Missing the crucial questions, and answers for Frontline – The Hindu. The article discussed a survey undertaken by the Tamil Nadu government to understand the work and living conditions of 811 inter-State migrant workers in Chennai and its surroundings. The author shares how the survey finally acknowledges millions of invisible workers but ignores illegal recruitment networks and employer violations that keep them poor.
From 16 to 21 June 16 2025, Dr Sarabjeet Dhody Natesan, Associate Professor of Economics, SIAS participated in the Levy Economics Institute’s Summer Seminar at Bard College, New York. This immersive programme focused on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), financial instability, and heterodox macroeconomic policy.
The seminar, organised by the Levy Economics Institute and led by Professors Pavlina Tcherneva and L. Randall Wray, gathered an international group of scholars and academics for a week of intense lectures, workshops, and collaborative research. During this time, participants had the privilege of engaging with distinguished thinkers like James K. Galbraith, Randall Wray, and Fadhel Kaboub, as well as prominent researchers including Scott Fullwiler, Yan Liang, Yeva Nersisyan, Ndongo Samba Sylla, and Rohan Grey.
The topics covered were diverse and complex, ranging from Minskyan approaches to financial fragility and stock-flow consistent modeling to exploring monetary sovereignty in the Global South. The participants also discussed the practical applications of Job Guarantee Schemes, public provisioning, ecological finance, industrial policy, and effective policy responses to the fractured global order. The programme offered a comprehensive blend of theoretical insights and practical policy solutions rooted in Keynesian and post-Keynesian frameworks.
The seminar also coincided with the 32nd Annual Levy Conference, which provided a valuable space to address urgent global challenges—from climate transitions to structural inequality.
This was a thoughtfully designed space for learning and collaboration, furthering our understanding of how macroeconomics intersects with public policy in meaningful and impactful ways.
SIAS alum Tanishka Nandakumar and student Hriday Shankar are conducting a research under the guidance of Dr Swayam Sampurna Panigrahi, Assistant Professor, Operations, IFMR GSB and have presented the working paper on Recycling of Lithium Ion Batteries: The Key to Sustainable EV Growth at ” SOM 2024: XXVII Annual International Conference of Society of Operations Management “, Institute of Management Technology (IMT) Ghaziabad held from, 19-21 December 2024. The same research was also presented at the “FLAME Undergraduate Research Day 2025” held at FLAME University, Pune, on 19 March 2025.
Sayantan Datta, Assistant Professor of Practice, Krea-CWP has authored a piece for The Hindu titled How safe AI is in healthcare depends on the humans of healthcare.
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They have also penned a piece for The Hindu titled Yeast shows physics can give rise to multicellular life sans mutations.
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Dr I Iyyappan, Post-Doctoral Fellow, SIAS, presented his research on “Nonlinear Refrigerator with Finite-Sized Cold Bath” at the 10th Indian Statistical Physics Community Meeting, organised by the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS), Bengaluru, from 23 to 25 April, 2025.
