Zeroing In

Even Darwin pointed out that his ideas on categorizing species might not be the most perfect way of understanding varieties in nature. But how do you study individuals and their species individually?

What is the definition of ‘boundaries’ when you move through the behavioral terrains of the nature?

The answers to such questions can reveal a long history of evolution and in our third conversation of the fifth season of Zeroing In we set out to scratch the surface of these defining questions. In the first part of this splendid conversation with Prof. Anindya Sinha we learn and unlearn ideas of studying the nature. Prof. Sinha is currently a Professor at NIAS, Bengaluru and his research interests span a plethora of disciplines ranging from behavioral ecology to molecular genetics. He has a master’s degree in botany and a PhD. in molecular biology. Alongside his wide ranging research interests he is also passionate about scientific outreach and popularization.

Discover the complete episode on any of your favorite podcast platform like Spotify, YouTube or head directly to our website- zeroingin.org.

Happy listening!

In the thread of our fifth season: from atoms to planets, we bead a very interesting segment of living beings. In the third episode, we converse with an extremely talented and charming Primatologist— Prof. Anindya Sinha, who is currently a professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru.
Stay tuned for the complete episode coming out this weekend, wherein we converse with Prof. Sinha about his fascinating research on non-human primates.

#science #podcast #primates

From the biggest waves of the ocean to the tiniest of the atoms tick at their own frequencies. While some are extremely periodic, others shift through time. The watch on your wrist or the clock on your wall might tell you the time of the day but what do we turn to when we need to record time with extreme precision and accuracy such as in picoseconds? We turn to the atoms! Yes, atomic clocks are used throughout scientific instruments on Earth and the outer space, and forms the basis of the Global Positioning system among other innumerable resources that take power from the precision measurements and timekeeping standards, running essentially at the backbone of our everyday worlds. Reeling into the world of atomic clocks and trying to understand their fundamentals as well as the technology, we converse with the man behind India’s first ever indigenous space-based clock, Prof. Thejesh Bandi, currently an associate professor at the University of Alabama, US and the former Division Head of the Atomic Clocks Division at SAC, ISRO. P.S.: This conversation was recorded before the launch of the first Indigenous atomic clock, which has since then been demonstrated to be working successfully in space! Stay tuned for the full episode coming out soon!

Artwork by: Akshita Arora

In the second and final part of the conversation in the first episode of Season 5, we continue our dialogue with the distinguished physicist, Prof. Rupamanjari Ghosh. In this episode, we delve deeper into her contributions to the field of Quantum Optics, as well as her experiences as a teacher and policy maker.

We talk at extent about developing the theory as well as the experimental set up for the two photon interference experiment while also traversing through her personal anecdotes and some extremely fascinating insights.

Don't miss out on this enriching conversation with Prof Ghosh, available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or directly on our website: www.zeroingin.org.

Video by: @shagun_barkodia

Season theme song by Shaun Ethan C. Phangcho and Krishnabh Thengal.

#podcast #Quantumoptics #Optics #physics #podcasts #physicist #conversations #sciencecommunications

How does the property of light change when we zoom in and look at the photons?

When we talk about ‘Quantum’ we view the universe probabilistically, that means while you are sitting in your room listening to this excerpt there’s a teeny-tiny but non-zero chance that you are currently playing foosball with the penguins in Antarctica!

Hear this exciting excerpt from a conversation where we talk about some of the pioneering works in the field that demonstrated experimental methods of probing the quantum nature of this fascinating universe we inhabit.

Stay tuned for the second half of our conversation— Zeroing In with Prof. Rupamanjari Ghosh releasing this weekend!

Artwork by: Akshita Arora

Music from Pixabay.

Visit us for more conversations and episodes at www.zeroingin.org

Quantum optics is an extremely rich and diverse field with applications ranging from super fast computers (quantum computers) to establishing a zero-failure communication system! Forming one of the most sought after fields in natural science in the present world to deepen our understanding of the universe, it holds immense potential of answering the long pressing big questions in fundamental physics, and beyond.

In our first episode of the fifth season of Zeroing In, we converse with a brilliant physicist whose contributions to this field essentially laid the foundations, while the research area was taking shape in the latter half of the 20th century. Our guest for this conversation, Prof. Rupamanjari Ghosh, completed her Ph.D. from the University of Rochester, New York, where among her other pioneering ideas, her thesis was based on exploring the ‘Non-classical effects in the interference of two photons’ with Prof. Leonard Mandel, widely known as one of the founding fathers of the field of Quantum Optics. Prof. Ghosh moved back to India as a professor at JNU, Delhi where she worked for the major part of her academic career. Subsequently, she moved to Shiv Nadar University as the Founding Director of Natural Sciences and later took over as the Vice Chancellor at the SNU.

She has also contributed immensely to nation building over the years as an all rounded-researcher and teacher in academia, as well as in very significant capacities as a policy maker at the apex institutions and organisations such as NCERT, DST, UGC and CSIR, among others, throughout her career.

In this first of the two part conversation with Prof. Ghosh, we discussed at length about the making of a scientist, and life in science. Diving deep, Prof. Ghosh takes us along the insightful journey of how the scientific landscape spanned in the 1980s, and through quintessential anecdotes, shares some beautiful insights from her starting years as a doctoral student, lending a closer view to a lifetime of pursuing brilliance while discovering and nurturing dexterity ranging wide across the experimental and theoretical fields of quantum optics, laser physics, non-linear optics and quantum information. Experience this rich conversation filled with beautiful insights and fascinating anecdotes on Spotify or Apple podcast or directly on our website: www.zeroingin.org

Stay tuned for the second half of this conversation, coming out in the following week!

Season theme song by Shaun Ethan C. Phangcho and Krishnabh Thengal.

Perhaps it is only fair to open this marveling season of our journey from Atoms to Planets with a conversation where we dive into the quantum world!

When we talk about interference, we consider light as a wave, while in the photoelectric effect, Einstein very revolutionarily proposed the idea of photons as particles. Sitting right in between, begs the question — how would you explain the interference of two photons!

One of the most pioneering experiments that also became a pivotal event in the story of Quantum Optics, was conceptualised and undertaken during the doctoral thesis of our guest for this episode— a fitting start to a journey studded with brilliant ideas all along—, for an extremely talented physicist and a charming human all around— Prof. Rupamanjari Ghosh.

Stay tuned for a conversation amalgamating a scientific breakthrough and personal anecdotes from a pioneering physicist!

The first part of this conversation releases this Friday on major podcast streaming platforms including Spotify and YouTube or directly head to our website: www.zeroingin.org

Artwork by: Akshita Arora.

Background music from Pixabay.

Happy listening!

While physicists go about explaining how the world works as it is being witnessed, mathematicians design a world with their own sets of curiosities. Everything being explored or has been explored about the physical system is merely a subset of the expanse to which the mathematical world extends.
Delving into some fundamental yet fascinating ideas of the mathematical world, we converse with Prof. Sujatha Ramdorai— famously known for her contributions to the Iwasawa theory, only to discover how much there is yet to be ventured beyond the physical dimensions.

Perhaps, if you take off a layer, or maybe two, from anything and everything functioning/existing in this universe, the underlying layer would be of Mathematics. Behind every pattern that ever existed to big machineries digging up holes in the ground to even the buzzing AI, everything can be written down in the language called Mathematics.

It is quite fascinating to even just acknowledge the vastness of this subject but where in our learning did we move from counting melons to learning about the most abstract ideas? Do we really understand how immense the fabric of Mathematics stretches to?

Trying to connect many more dots like these, we converse with an inspiring humans and a renowned number theorist, Prof. Sujatha Ramdorai, who takes us for a quick dip into the sea of mysteries, ideas, and abstractions— basically building up to the world of Mathematics.

The talks about computer science as a discipline that’s absolutely hot in trend are all pervasive. Of course, for the right reasons for most part, the field spans across the major pillars of our everyday life, and forms an inescapable basis of our present society. We deep dive with Prof. Debayan Gupta, Assistant Professor at the Ashoka University currently, on these ideas that span across a vast arena, as do his interests. Prof. Gupta completed his doctoral work at Yale University, and held an extraordinary faculty position at MIT, Boston, before moving to Ashoka, while he still acts as a visiting professor and research associate with MIT.

In this conversation where Prof. Gupta eloquently puts across the brilliance and beauty of the discipline, in context with the wider world and personal understanding thereof, the insights make for a compelling case to ask newer questions in the contemporary world to make sense of this changing playground.

We talk about the ideas of computer science that derive from mathematics, and core logic at heart, flowing in to beautiful applications as in encryption, cryptography, and digital (well, almost real) privacy.

Sit back and immerse yourself in the ideas that are almost reminiscent of the words by Bill Watterson, “To invent your own life’s meaning is not easy, but it’s still allowed and I think you’ll be happier for the trouble”, in the playfully put context of the 21st century world experienced from behind the screens.

S04 | E03: Zeroing In with Prof. Debayan Gupta | On Keeping and Working with Secrets for Scaled Societies

In the information era where knowledge is vast and the possibilities are only limited to one’s imagination, Computer Science has advanced to the extent where this very write-up can be polished and generated with the help of a computer. While advanced technology can be captivating, it also brings us to question the philosophical boundary of data privacy in modern societies.

Join us in understanding the critical importance of scaling in the machines and how we can build better checks and balances systems in the ever-changing world with Dr. Debayan Gupta.

The most basic of survival necessity is food—the plate at the end of the day. While the human population began settling down from the hunter-gatherer stage, it became quite essential for us to find ways of bringing our food to our vicinity. Settlement meant a big leap in the techniques of how food was grown, from calculating rains to fighting insects. There’s so much that our food depends on—from the clouds in the sky to water in the drain. But how do you look at the clouds above and water beneath? 

It’s quite astonishing to think how closely connected satellites are to the food we eat. Agriculture as a field took a big leap when instruments were placed up in the sky to map it ground below. 

We had the incredible opportunity to discuss ideas and questions with a renowned scientist and veteran, Prof. Vinay K. Dadhwal who has played a pivotal role in advancing agricultural methods and technologies in India. He has also headed some great organisations in India including National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad and Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram. 

Tune in to the episode from our website: zeroingin.org or listen on any of your favorite podcast platform.

Happy listening!

S04 | E03: Zeroing In with Dr. V. K. Dadhwal |  On Pertinence of Remote Sensing in Agriculture  

In the upcoming episode of Zeroing In, we delve into the topic of agriculture, the foundation of human sustenance. As we settled into a more stable lifestyle, cultivating food became a necessity. However, understanding the weather patterns and pests that impact crop growth proved to be a challenge. How could we monitor the skies and soil?

It's remarkable to ponder the role of satellites in our food supply chain. Thanks to remote sensing technology, agriculture has evolved tremendously. We had the pleasure of speaking with the distinguished Professor V.K. Dadhwal, an expert in the intersection of agriculture and remote sensing. Join us as we explore his insights on mapping an entire country's agricultural landscape to meet the needs of its population.

Music by "REW<

What does it take to design, create, and settle a city? Humankind has resolved these questions in varying epochs and geographical contexts, very differently, when looked into the details of — and through all these brilliant ways of becoming, we have shaped our worlds today- in the charming cities and towns we inhabit. 

Human colonies have been an intriguing subject not because the idea is new, but precisely the opposite— making it quite a rare definition of ‘interesting’ in the current day of rapidly growing areas of interest and applications. Hereby, the ideas of civil engineering, city planning, urban planning, traffic control, and pedestrian safety are only some of the ideas that come in the same gamut — the ideas that we were able to discuss with Prof. Geetam Tiwari, a distinguished expert in the field, and currently a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. 

In our conversation with her, we travelled along the curious pathways leading to a fundamental understanding of the shaping of city spaces, in context with the historical pillars of human settlements, as well as the ones that we inhabit currently across different continents, and socio-economic influences among other multifarious factors that make the discipline fascinating beyond measure.

As is largely true with our everyday life this discussion sheds some nurturing rays of revelation on why our everyday cities and towns look the way they do — the details that we forget to notice, and what goes into thinking and making of such a complex organism — a city itself.

Take the plunge and discover more about this fascinating topic here!

S04 | E02: Zeroing In with Prof. Geetam Tiwari | On City Planning and Routes to Engineering a MegaCity

City life is a complex and intricate experience that we all navigate in our own ways. Our daily routines, shortcuts, and familiar routes give us a sense of familiarity and belonging in the cities we call home. In fact, that is how we sometimes substantiate our claims for having actually experienced a city. And for each new place you’d move to, you’d do this all over again, and then call it your own.

But what does it take to chart this out from zero— to build the map of a city from scratch, and plan for all of these intricate, and inherently chaotic scenarios, that touch and actually shape human lives on a very everyday basis, and in turn define a human settlement?

Here’s a sneak peek of our beautiful journey of discussing these questions and much more with an expert from the field, Prof. Geetam Tiwari a distinguished civil engineer. Her expertise and experiences will offer invaluable insights into the planning, building, and evolution of cities, and the ways in which they shape human civilization. Join us for this exciting exploration of the origins and evolution of our urban landscapes from a scientific and technological perspective.

Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay.

Have you ever wondered how human civilsations took shape? How much do we know from our shared past, and how far do we have a scientific basis for these stories?

Exploring the depths of our past and unearthing the mysteries of ancient civilizations - this is what makes archaeology such an endlessly fascinating subject. From discovering ancient artifacts and deciphering hieroglyphics, to reconstructing lost cities, and piecing together the lives of our ancestors, the discipline offers a peephole to understanding the planet and our society that has formed over a span of several millennia.

For the Season 4 of Zeroing In : Of A City, as we embark on the journey of figuring our way through the making of the civilization that we live in, we start with the first puzzle piece of delving into all that has come before, and finding how much we know of it in the scientific context. The archaeological perspectives borrow the contexts from history, art, and literature, while also form a solid ground for scientific innovation and discovery.

In our conversation with Prof. Kalyan Chakraborty, Professor of Archaeology at the Ashoka University, we discovered some fascinating methodologies of building and putting together the stories from buried relics, deciphering mysteries while also understanding the intriguing ideologies and philosophies from around the world, centuries old and present, alike. 

Dive in to the full episode to hear on about the nurturing togetherness that we share as humankind, and the origins of it all, as we have traced, to find a sense of belongingness - with the planet, and within ourselves - in the infinite scheme to things.

Zeroing In Season 4 Theme Song credits: Ethan Phangcho and Sankalp Hongal.

S04 | E01: Zeroing In with Prof. Kalyan Chakraborty • While building up a city, it’s quite crucial to go down a bit. 

It is quite amusing to see how much a half broken eating bowl buried under ash of Pompeii can reveal stories of its citizens. But archeology isn't just about digging up dusty old relics and theorizing about the past. It's about understanding the way people lived, their beliefs and customs, and how they interacted with the world around them. 

In the first episode of the new season of Zeroing In we begin by doing some intriguing digging! In our fascinating conversation with Prof. Kalyan Chakraborty we do some major digging up of how stories are unraveled from broken pieces of history found depths underneath the surface. 

Music Credits: Confirmed Sightings by Ketsa

Our everyday lives are lined by collective behaviour of all kinds of things, particles, and beings. Have you wondered if it is possible to formulate physical ideas that can lead us to understanding these fascinating behaviours that seem to appear out of sheer randomness — imagine the flocking of birds, movements of schools of fish, aggregation of bacteria, self-arrangement of bio-polymers— the highly non-trivial out of equilibrium systems that are driven by supply of energy, essentially the living or non-living systems? The study of such systems is now popularly termed as active matter, and our guest for this episode, Prof. Sriram Ramaswamy, is known to have made seminal contributions to the field amounting to giving birth to and shaping the field of active matter, and laying the foundations of the hydrodynamical approach for studying these systems.   

Prof. Ramaswamy, Fellow of the Royal Society, is currently a Professor at the Centre for Condensed Matter Physics at IISc Bangalore. His research addresses the quintessential questions of the physical world wherein the quantum mechanical descriptions do not enter the scene and the classical pictures rule over the complexities, using the powerful principles of the symmetry and conservation laws, under the broad regimes of condensed matter physics.  

Listen in to our discussion with Prof. Ramaswamy, where we delved headlong into discovering more about the vast horizons and excitements in the field of active matter— Prof. Ramaswamy makes a call to all the bright young minds, to take a curious look at what wonderful ideas are in store to make sense of the physical world, and the apparent randomness in the absurdity of life.  

Music credits to Sankalp Hongal and Ethan Phangcho. 

Episode artwork by Akshita Arora.  

Visit us on www.zeroingin.org

How do you connect the tiniest particles of universe to macro systems — what do you find common in a bunch of strongly interacting atoms and a flock of bird? 

All these systems are brought under the same hood by Condensed Matter Physics! Perhaps a seemingly complex and advanced topic for a non-field person, condensed matter physics is one of the most active fields of physics, given the diversity of natural systems and phenomena existing to study it.

We made our attempts in unravelling this phenomenal research field with an extremely enthusiastic physicist, Prof. Sriram Ramaswamy FRS, Professor, IISc Bangalore. 

Stay tuned as we bring you an enthralling conversation on this subject with such a brilliant mind on the other side! 

Background track credits: Lobo Loco - Take my Hand

The episode comes out this weekend!

“Science is like a Pandora box – It is a never ending quest” 

Quoting Prof. Joshi from our conversation with him, where he simply yet elegantly points out the most fundamental idea of science – more the questions your try to answer, the more you find ‘yet to be’ answered. 

Curiosity is the true nature of science and it can never walk on a single line, it demands multiple facets to pool in together to unravel the mysteries or to even create newer ones. It seeks adventure, exploration, invention and diversification. Perhaps, one of the most direct field of science that bring out these ideas is Astronomy – where we indulge in quest of our own universe only to find how much more is yet to be understood.

Prof. Joshi's research explores vast and varied fields of astronomy and astrophysics, mainly addressing the questions about neutron stars and pulsars, and his expertise spans further beyond to building extremely elaborate and detailed instruments & facilities like the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) to delve deeper into those questions. After being trained as an electrical engineer at IIT Roorkee, Prof. Joshi went on to pursue his doctoral work in astronomy and astrophysics, and has produced very vital research works, along with making seminal contributions to building the GMRT facility with the veteran Prof. Govind Swarup. His deep understanding of the principles of fundamental physics is as deftly complemented by his expertise in the fields of engineering and instrumentation, bringing out a nourishing world-view and the essence of scientific explorations.

Tune in to the second part of our recent conversation with Prof. Joshi where we discuss upon what amazements contribute to living a life of scientific pursuits, the need for multidisciplinary influences for diving into the novel research directions, and how building on fundamental sciences changes the world, one step at a time, just as how it should be.

What does it take to pursue observational astronomy and how does it look like? For all these stars, and the exotic (anti)matter that lies all across our universe— how do we even muster the courage to embark on a journey that leads to deciphering these puzzles that lie far, far, far away?

Listen in to the beautiful excerpt from our discussion with Prof. Bhal Chandra Joshi, an astrophysicist who deals with addressing a plethora of these fascinating questions, and in turn, discovering new mysteries— he talks about what the nourishing excitements that such an odyssey brings along.

Second part of the episode releases this weekend! Stay tuned and listen in to the first part if you haven’t yet on zeroingin.org

Music credits: 'Echomimetic' (Album: 'Onomatopoeia') by 'REW<

The universe we inhabit is teeming with remarkable mysteries, far removed from the extraordinarily insignificant corner that the Earth occupies. Mysteries of which, we can only see the traces of, and they still, very beautifully, cradle answers to the questions of our very existence — we talk about the process of discovering these answers, and delve even more into the journey of setting out to seek out further questions with our guest for this episode, Prof. Bhal Chandra Joshi, from the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) - TIFR, Pune, India.

Prof. Joshi's research explores vast and varied fields of astronomy and astrophysics, mainly addressing the questions about neutron stars and pulsars, and his expertise spans further beyond to building extremely elaborate and detailed instruments & facilities like the Giant Metre-wave Radio Telescope (GMRT) to delve deeper into those questions. After being trained as an electrical engineer at IIT Roorkee, Prof. Joshi went on to pursue his doctoral work in astronomy and astrophysics, and has produced very vital research works, along with making seminal contributions to building the GMRT facility with the veteran Prof. Govind Swarup. His deep understanding of the principles of fundamental physics is as deftly complemented by his expertise in the fields of engineering and instrumentation, bringing out a nourishing world-view and the essence of scientific explorations. 

In the first part of the two part episodes from our conversation with him, we discussed about the faraway objects in the universe, specifically the most precise natural clocks ever known to humankind - pulsars, which happen to harbour extremely challenging and long-standing open questions in our understanding of these exotic objects. We discover how these questions span far and wide, and how on the other end, these objects can help us realize very useful technologies in the current scenarios. Dive in to the conversation to clock further perspectives on this and more!

Music credits to Sankalp Hongal and Ethan Phangcho. Episode artwork by Akshita Arora.

Looking up at the night sky, how do you identify the difference between all the twinkling objects above? 

Among those stars are the kinds that revolve with such precision that they act as very stable clocks and give a competition to the precise atomic clocks — the Pulsars. Pulsars are rotating neutron stars which emit radiations in a wide range of spectra and observing them reveals a plethora of exciting details which offer scientific understandings beyond measures. 

Studying these fascinating objects of the sky in his everyday life, in our recent conversation, Prof. Bhal Chandra Joshi talks with an infectious passion about the world beyond the sky.

Stay tuned for this fascinating conversation coming out this week!

Artwork by: Akshita Arora

Music credits: Living in Hope by Purple Planet Music.

Click, clank, grrrr, hummm— meddling with the symphonies of the mechanical world, our guest for this episode, Prof. Kurien Issac, Senior Professor, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, gives us a peek into the extremely fascinating and intriguing field of kinematics and mechanics.

Throughout his research work so far, Prof. Issac, has made significant contributions in the wide areas of mechanics, robotics, and aerospace, and has even created quite a number of novel mechanisms, ranging from variations of four-legged robots to those of ornithopters. Currently a Senior Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at IIST, his research directions span the wide arenas of optimization techniques and designs, robotics, mechanism control, humanoids and landing rovers.

Dive in to the conversation, as Prof. Issac takes us along a breezy ride through some very internal understandings of the mechanical world, introducing us to the gears of our fast moving lives that are enabled in many dimensions by the excellence mastered by the researchers and engineers practicing in the field. It was an absolute pleasure to uncover some exceedingly intricate ideas, which Prof. Issac articulates with stellar insights, and inspiring humility, lined with equal amounts of fascination!

Discover our conversation with Prof. Kurien Issac, as we uncover the underlying immensities of the functioning behind our everyday world.

Music credits to Sankalp Hongal and Ethan Phangcho. Episode artwork by Akshita Arora.

From the simple act of walking to an elaborate one of performing an elegant ballerina, there are enumerable turns and twists and movements underneath the visible locomotion. So how does one get to the backstage to figure out the strings behind the dancing puppets? 

Tooling and toying with some of the extremely intriguing mechanisms is something that Prof. Issac does on a daily basis. 

Stay tuned to hear our conversation with him where we worked together make and break some complex ideas of the robotic world in the episode releasing this weekend!

String theory is considered as one of most complex theories put forth by our physicists. But what are these ‘strings’ that are being debated on so much? And is this really the theory that will unify everything, bring it all under same hood? Fundamental fields, such as string theory, offer a plethora of curiosities that seem to surpass our understanding of this universe, making it a an equally complex and intriguing subject.

Discover our conversation with the Director of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences - TIFR, Bengaluru, Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar, where we dive into the immensity of theoretical physics, and in turn uncovering the stories and the treasure trove of ideas from his personal experiences. Our discussion forayed into the broad regimes that the intimidating constructs of string theory aim to address, as Prof. Gopakumar very artfully untangled the intermingling of awe-inspiring ideas, which tapered to the discussions on the state of the field, upcoming excitements and brief portrayal in context of the Indian scientific scene at present. 

This conversation was taken up in collaboration with Shasthra Snehi and Aastro Kerala organisations which also works towards science outreach.

Music credits to Sankalp Hongal and Ethan Phangcho.

Episode artwork by Akshita Arora.

From the very beginning, while we have tried to understand this universe, our explorers have been able to find the underlying links between big ideas. Like Newton united the sky above with a spinning wheel on Earth, explaining how the two could be were linked by the same laws. Following the road of unification, Maxwell united electricity and magnetism— illustrating how they are facets of the same force. The next big one came with Einstein when he linked space and time. But is there a thread that would link it all?
In the year 1984, the first idea that at the core of every particle is a tiny vibrating string was put forth, and also presenting a possible unified theory was here!
So to get a first hand view on this extremely complex and fascinating subject of String theory, we sat in an exhilarating conversation with Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar, Director ICTS-TIFR, Bengaluru.
Stay close to listen to the full conversation with Prof. Gopakumar as he takes us on a casual stroll in many dimensions— coming out week!

“There is nothing like a dream to create the future.” 

Humankind chose to explore the wide space and its objects not because it is easy, but because it is challenging.

Continuing to explore the technological marvels and the way that the Indian Space Program shaped itself amidst all the challenges with the man who has been a part of each of the space vehicle launches that ISRO has undertaken up to date— Dr. B.N. Suresh, currently gracing the Honorary Distinguished Professor position at the ISRO Headquarters in Bengaluru, is also the Founding Director and Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology – Asia’s only space university. Dr. Suresh was formerly the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), the lead center of ISRO in launch vehicle design; former President of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE); and former member of the Space Commission of India. His role in defining the activities for advanced technology development and their planning for space transportation in India has been very significant. 

In this final part of the two-part episode, he discusses at length the history of the Indian Space Program, and how the Indian Space Research Organisation has risen up over the years to brilliantly shape and take forward India's technological expertise by the development of highly complex space systems, to the international acclaim that it currently commands. Through the course, he also shares his exceptional insights, in conversation with Prakhar Agarwal and Naman Pain, and a few of the curious young minds from high schools across the country, which makes this conversation a treat to hear, as they ask their probing questions to an eminent space scientist directly.

If you have not discovered the first part of this podcast, we'd recommend you start there.

Happy listening!

Sketch of Dr. Suresh by Sambuddha Majumder.
Episode artwork by Akshita Arora.

The greatest of dreams that human civilization has looked up to, are undoubtedly related to extending our reaches into the unknown - the space. This exploration not only serves to fulfil the aspirational ideals of humankind, but also plays a major role in developing the life-tools that aid and shape the everyday lives of the whole community. Of course, it doesn't come as a surprise that rocket science is deemed to be one of the most complex of subjects, and its manifestation from scratch- formidable.

In this discussion, we conversed with one such rare space science veteran from India who has played crucial roles in shaping the Indian Space Program almost right from its beginning. A world renowned aerospace engineer, pioneering technocrat, and above all a brilliant science communicator and teacher, Dr. B.N. Suresh is presently serving as an Honorary Distinguished Professor at ISRO Headquarters.

Listen on to hear our conversation with him, as he talks candidly about the excitement of the vast field of rocket science and the plethora of opportunities for brilliance it encapsulates, along with his personal experiences and journey through the formative years and the beginning of the Indian Space Program in this part of the episode.

Also featured in this episode, you'd find the voices and questions from the curious bright young minds who joined us for the live session from schools across the country, and made the discussion an incredible treat to be a part of; these were: 
Kendriya Vidyalaya No.1, Palakkad, Kerala
St. Xavier's Senior Sec. School, Jaipur, Rajasthan
Naagarjuna Talent School, Hyderabad
Sherwood Public School, Secunderabad
Heritage Valley - The Indian School, Shadnagar
Anjuman-I-Islam Allana English High School, Mumbai.
VMJ School, Madurai
Somalwar High School and Jr. College, Nagpur
Kendriya Vidyalaya, Barrackpore (AFS), West Bengal.

Inspirations are drawn and thrills are served in abundance as Dr. Suresh walks us down the lane of ideas, memories, and insights from his incomparable journey. Stay tuned for the second part of the episode releasing very soon!
Happy listening!

Artwork by Akshita Arora.

"August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time. "- Sylvia Plath

The rains, be it the mango showers that herald the end of the summer or the torrential downpours accompanying cyclones, have always invoked a wide range of emotions in everyone’s heart. But did you know that the oceans that surround us actually play a very important role in driving the rains?

For this week’s episode, we discuss the role of the oceans in climate change and many more, with Dr. Roxy Mathew Koll, an eminent oceanographer from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.  Dr. Koll took us on an exciting ride, giving us  a sneak peak into the life of an oceanographer who studies the forces of weather that shape the world.

The team for Zeroing In for this episode included Arun S, Murala Aman Naveen, Kanthan Narayanan, Kriti Raj,  Shaun Ethan Phangcho, Shreya Mishra and K. V. N. G. Vikram. Featured season poster by Naman Jain. Zeroing In season’s theme song featured herewith, 'Kuikkukisu', created by Ethan Phangcho.

Precision and accuracy are two of the most fundamental properties any measurement could have. The difference between 1 and 1.000001 might seem inconsequential but such miniscule differences often have significant consequences. It is the miniscule mass defects in atoms that lead to nuclear fusion and the miniscule angular deviations that cause a satellite to fall out of orbit. To measure such miniscule changes has always been a monumental challenge which instrumentation engineers are trying to overcome.

In our conversation with Dr. Anoop C.S, associate professor at the Indian Institute of Space science and Technology, we explore the world of instrumentation and sensor design. We discussed the elaborate details and processes that go into designing sensors and circuits that are employed in a wide spectra of application ranging from medical sciences to the space industry. We also talked about his experiences, ideas and his unique methodology that he applies to both his research work and his teaching.

The team for Zeroing In for this episode included Murala Aman Naveen, Kanthan Narayanan, Kriti Raj, Arun S, Shaun Ethan Chaudhary Phangcho, Shreya Mishra, Naman Jain and Fenil Shah. Featured season poster by Naman Jain. Zeroing In season’s theme song featured herewith, 'Kuikkukisu', created by Ethan Phangcho.

Evolution is a race that has no finish line with the myriad lifeforms of the world constantly undergoing morphological and physiological changes just to keep up, to keep the eternal race going. Did you know that there are certain species of spiders that mimic ants? or that termite cultivate fungus inside their mounds or that most of the fig species have a unique species of fig wasp that exist in mutualism for survival? The wild realm aided by the process of evolution and natural selection holds an astonishing number of details that still elude the human understanding. In part two of the conversation with Dr. Renee M. Borges, we dwell deep into these fascinating systems as she shares with us her experiences and challenges she encountered while conducting experiments out in the open, while also parallely introducing a beautiful world that coexists.

The team for Zeroing In for this episode included Naman Jain, Murala Aman Naveen, Kanthan Narayanan, Kriti Raj, Arun S, Shaun Ethan Chaudhary Phanghcho and Shreya Mishra. Featured season poster by Naman Jain. Zeroing In season’s theme song featured herewith, 'Kuikkukisu', created by Ethan Phangcho.

Around 200 years back, Darwin set out on his historic voyage around the world, observing and cataloguing the immense diversity the world had to offer, he laid down the foundation for a theory that shook the foundation of biology, the theory of evolution out of which was born the field of evolutionary ecology which tries to unravel the countless puzzles of life nature has to offer.

Our guest for the day is a pioneering expert from this very same field, who has gone on adventures through forests and jungles all over the world, witnessing and explaining the miracles of the wild, trying to uncover the underlying complex relations that connect different species. In our conversation with her, we explore her research which deals with a vast range of topics ranging from fungus farming termites to fig pollinating wasps.  Dive in to listen to the ever charismatic Dr. Renee Maria Borges, Professor at the Centre of Ecological Sciences, IISc explain the intricacies of life with the help of scintillating stories from her own treasure trove of experiences.

The team for Zeroing In for this episode included Murala Aman Naveen, Kanthan Narayanan, Kriti Raj, Arun S, Shaun Ethan Chaudhary Phanghcho, Shreya Mishra, Naman Jain and Fenil Shah. Featured season poster by Naman Jain. Zeroing In season’s theme song featured herewith, 'Kuikkukisu', created by Ethan Phangcho.

In the great enveloping cosmic dark, our planet is but a pale blue dot. A pale blue dot teeming with a myriad of lifeforms carving out their own unique path not just to survive but to thrive. Have you ever thought about these countless beings of all shapes, sizes, colors that coexist in this intricately complex ecosystem that we call our home?

This week, we bring to you tales from the jungles of Panama to the forests of the Western ghats, stories about farming termites and giant squirrels, the life journey of an expert researcher who spends her time trying to understand our own place in this beautiful puzzle of life.

Listen to excerpts from our conversation with Dr. Renee Maria Borges, wherein we dwell into the captivating field of Evolutionary ecology, while she also takes us through the stories of her adventures in exploring the canopies above and the ground beneath.

Stay tuned for the first part of the episode releasing this weekend!

Cover art by Saurabh Shandilya.

Background score: Retreat Gold Coast

Throughout the ages, different forms of communications have rapidly evolved to an extent where we have enslaved light itself to act as our messenger, to send and receive information not just across the world but to probe the corners of the universe that is reaching out to us in the form of electromagnetic waves.

For this episode we have in conversation with us, Dr. Raghunath Kashinath Shevgaonkar, Professor Emeritus at IIT Bombay and  former director of IIT Delhi, to help us unravel the ever expanding domain of electromagnetism. Stressing on the importance of fundamentals, Dr Shevgaonkar explained in great detail yet with immense clarity, the subtleties that go behind designing systems like fibre optical cables, giant radio telescopes while also discussing the current education status of the country. Listen on as he spins (not unlike a photon) a tale of passion and ingenuity peppered with his own personal interests and passion.

The team for Zeroing In for this episode included Prajwal Patnaik, Naman Jain, Arun S, Murala Aman Naveen, Kanthan Narayanan, Kriti Raj, Shaun Ethan Chaudhary Phanghcho and Shreya Mishra.

Featured season poster by Naman Jain. Zeroing In season’s theme song featured herewith, 'Kuikkukisu', created by Ethan Phangcho.

In the era of telephones and satellites, the world around us is immersed in a sea of unseen electromagnetic radiation emitted from a plethora of sources. Have you ever thought about the countless hours of engineering that goes on behind the scenes to make sure humanity stays connected?

Hear on for the excerpts of our conversation with a researcher who has made valuable contributions to a wide variety of fields from radio astronomy to fiber optics and communication. Apart from his illustrious research career, he is a skilled administrator who has served at multiple crucial positions at some of the best institutions in the country and has also pioneered the digital education in India, with his extensive contributions to NPTEL. Formerly the director of IIT Delhi and for a long time associated with IIT Bombay as a professor in the Electrical Engineering department, Dr. Shevgaonkar has been associated with the Indian ground reality up close.

Stay tuned for this weekend we bring to you, Zeroing In with Dr. Raghunath Kashinath Shevgaonkar, wherein we discover the fascinating field of electromagnetism

Artwork by Saurabh Shandilya. Background score: ‘Once again’ by bensound.

The dawn of the twenty-first century saw the boundaries of science being pushed to unseen territories, with ground breaking discoveries and inventions seen on an everyday basis. The subatomic realm working it's wonders away from the inquiring eyes of humanity, has slowly started to reveal its magnificence with the advent of never before seen technologies and theories.

In our conversation with Dr. Umesh R. Kadhane, an Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, we talked in detail about the most fundamental ideas upon which the entire universe is built. With his insightful ideas and infectious passion for physics and everything else, the conversation blew our minds to another world.

Dive in to hear the entire conversation where Dr. Kadhane elaborates the details of science and life in general, through poetry while also taking us around to explain the intricacies of the most complex of theories physics has to offer.

The team for Zeroing In for this episode included Arun S, Murala Aman Naveen, Kanthan Narayanan, Kriti Raj, Shaun Ethan Chaudhary Phanghcho, Shreya Mishra, Naman Jain, Fenil Shah and KVNG Vikram. Featured artwork by Saurabh Shandiliya. Zeroing In season’s theme song featured herewith, 'Kuikkukisu', created by Ethan Phangcho.

From the stars in the sky to the sand near the seas, we are all made of a gazillion atoms and molecules working in unison. Have you ever wondered about these entities which unseen to the naked eye, run the universe and all we know? 

Stay tuned for we bring to you the stories of a physicist, who weaves together the subtleties of poetry and the curiosities of physics as he paints a tapestry of the everyday world, atom by atom. 

Coming soon this week, Zeroing In with Dr. Umesh R. Kadhane wherein we discover the exciting world of atomic and molecular physics.

Cover art by Saurabh Shandiliya. Background score: 'Loyalty' by Ketsa

The willingness to deal with failures is neither new nor an exceptional idea at all when we take a closer look at the great minds across history. Doesn't parlaying the mistakes into future gains instead of mourning them define success?

In an exciting conversation with Dr. B.N. Suresh, a first-generation scientist of the Indian Space Research Organisation we gained a much-coveted insider’s view into the fascinating work of ISRO. 

Stay tuned for the big picture coming soon and to gain closer insights into the life of a Space Scientist who has been a part of ISRO from its outset. 

Cover art by Akshita Arora. Background score:  'Dreamcatcher' by Purple Planet Music.

Treading a path with multiple variables to play along, where failure awaits every turn, how does one touch the pinnacle in the field of ‘Rocket Science’!?

Singing the songs of a journey, so complete and detailed with adventures, we bring you a conversation with one of India’s pioneering rocket-scientist and researcher who has played a fundamental role in the Indian Space Program, Dr. B.N. Suresh. 

Stay tuned for the upcoming episode, where we converse with a direct perspective of life in the field of Space Sciences. 

Cover art by Akshita Arora. Background score:  'Moment of Inspiration' by Purple Planet Music.

Curiosity is one of those virtues that we all the masters of in childhood. If we are lucky and adamant enough, we are able to sustain it through the storms and seasons of life. Perhaps it won't be an exaggeration to say that this is what keeps us alive. What questions do you remember?
The greatest of discoveries and inventions were born out of mere curiosities of beings who held on to their questions every time when the numbers didn’t add up.
How else can life be defined if not as an adventure of the how’s, the why’s and the what’s?
Concluding with the first season, we bring to you in the season finale, a brilliant discussion with an internationally acclaimed scientist, a visionary and veteran in space science, whose contributions have essentially shaped a whole nation's technological advancements over the last half of the century.
Present alongwith in the conversation were some of the brightest young guests from secondary schools across the country!
Can you guess who our next guest is?

Stay tuned for more details! Meanwhile, dig in for the first view of the final episode of Season 01, and stay tuned for more of Zeroing In, an initiative by the Alumni Association of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IISTAA).

Artwork by Akshita Arora.
Background Score from Purple Planet.

“A single and distinct luminous body causes stronger relief in the objects than a diffused light; as may be seen by comparing one side of a landscape illuminated by the sun, and one overshadowed by clouds, and illuminated only by the diffused light of the atmosphere.” 

Helping us figure out the ideas and efforts it takes for mapping out the farthest skies and the deepest oceans in all painstakingly fascinating details is our next guest Dr. GovindanKutty M., an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology. In our conversation, we explored the bounds and beyond of atmospheric science, the pressing subject of climate change from a scientific perspective, and all the complexities its understanding entails. 

Hear on the entire conversation to venture with us into the journey of a scientist, his work in the elaborate fields of meteorology, climatology, studying weather patterns, and how modelling of such chaotic systems can be made possible.

The team for Zeroing In for this episode included Fenil Shah, Shreya Mishra, Manish Chauhan, Prajwal Patnaik, KVNG Vikram and Naman Jain. Featured artwork for the episode cover courtesy of Akshita Arora. Zeroing In season’s theme song featured herewith, 'Longing', created by Ethan Phangcho.

What has caught the curiosity of a kid if not the rolling of thunder, of how the winds change and where all those clouds travel to!

Transitioning from outer space after our first episode, and entering the Earth’s atmosphere and the seas alike (almost at the end of this season), our next guest is an expert of ‘things’ that go on around us — affecting the weather and climate. 

Tag along to catch a glimpse of our conversation with Dr. GovindanKutty M., an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, pertaining to his awe-inspiring research in atmospheric sciences and modeling, climate change, and a plethora of natural phenomena, tied together with his experiences through it all. 

Stay tuned for the entire episode releasing this week! 

Cover art by Akshita Arora. The background score, ‘Awakenings’ by Ketsa

Chemical Sciences is a primeval forest full of the most intriguing phenomena that gets one thinking hard and deep about what they observed. From our kitchen shelves to prodigious laboratories, from our own bodies to the interstellar medium, chemistry takes parts in all frames. (Organic Chemistry helps us resolve Alkynes of problems we have been Diene to figure out.)

We discussed the captivating aspects of the discipline with Dr. Sreejalekshmi K.G., currently an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, who leads the group on organic molecules and functional materials at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology. Touching over multi-disciplinary fields of her work including combinatorial chemistry, synthetic organic chemistry, and drug discovery, with a strong relation to the biological sciences, she also gave a beautifully vivid perspective of her current research work and collaborations, and what it takes to thrive for our deepest passions.

Dive in to hear an elaborate conversation about the details that go into building a career with such multidimensional interests.

The team for Zeroing In for this episode included Manish Chauhan, Fenil Shah, Shreya Mishra, Prajwal Patnaik, KVNG Vikram, and Naman Jain. Featured artwork for the episode cover courtesy of Akshita Arora. Zeroing In season’s theme song featured herewith, 'Longing', created by Ethan Phangcho.