Faculty

Sangeetha Menon joined National Institute of Advanced Studies, in January 1996, in the Indian Institute of Science campus, Bangalore (India). Her interview and appointment was led by an illustrious group of scientists like Dr Raja Ramanna (Founding Director of NIAS), Prof CV Sundaram, Prof BV Sreekantan and Prof RL Kapur. Subsequently she conceptualised and commenced the NIAS Consciousness Studies Programme along with BV Sreekantan (former Director, TIFR and Honorary Professor, NIAS). This was the first academic group that started in India to study consciousness with an interdisciplinary and a multidisciplinary mandate. Sangeetha is a philosopher with a keen interest in consciousness. Her major area of research is in philosophy of psychology. Her expertise is in Indian philosophy, consciousness studies, philosophy of psychology, philosophy and psychology of self. She works with her colleagues at NIAS and collaborators worldwide to create and encourage a first-person centered approach to understanding consciousness and cognitive capabilities that favours experiential well-being for all. Dr Menon's professional qualifications include degrees in biology and philosophy. She is a first rank holder and gold medalist from Maharaja's College for Women, Trivandrum for post-graduate degree in philosophy. The thesis for her doctoral degree, from University of Kerala, is on the concept of consciousness in the Bhagavad Gita which was completed with junior and senior research fellowship from University Grants Commission, India.

Research Interest: 

Prof Menon's major area of research is in philosophy of psychology. Her expertise is in Indian philosophy, consciousness studies, philosophy of psychology, philosophy and psychology of self. She works with her colleagues at NIAS and collaborators worldwide to create and encourage a first-person centered approach to understanding consciousness and cognitive capabilities that favours experiential well-being for all. Sangeetha Menon started her research with a comparative study of consciousness, from the East and the West, focusing on the theories of agency, emotion, freedom, self, and human well-being in the Bhagavad Gita. Subsequently, she focused on Indian philosophical concepts criss-crossing the works of philosophers: Sankaracharya, Abhinavagupta, Narayana Guru et al. and bringing in Indian aesthetics and dramaturgy to understand cognitive dimensions of creative expressions and personal agency. Her initial papers argue for an epistemological shift that considers the ontological primacy of self, and the importance of the experiencer that would present the 'harder problem' of consciousness. While some of her initial studies were deeply metaphysical and philosophical in approach, she moved on to engaging philosophy with biology and psychology to understand the primary issue in consciousness, which is the 'self'. She is one of the originators of the field of Indian psychology, guiding research in well-being studies, life-sustaining values, self-transformation, and artistic experience. One of her primary contributions in consciousness studies is presenting and engaging with the concept and experience of self from the neurobiological and philosophical point of view, and theorising a 'self-challenged brain and brain-challenged self'.

Prof. Sharada Srinivasan is a Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru. She received the Padhmashri, the fourth highest civilian award from Government of India last year in Archaeology in 2019.  She has made pioneering contributions to the study of archaeology and history of art from the perspective of exploring engineering applications in these disciplines.  Prof. Sharada Srinivasan’s landmark contributions include archaeometric characterisation of bronzes of South India using lead isotope analysis and archaeometallurgical studies on ancient mining and metallurgy in southern India. These span studies on the production mechanisms of high carbon wootz steel and documentation of artisanal technologies such as Aranmula high tin bronze metal mirror making, bronze casting at Swamimalai and ancient and continuing traditions of high-tin bronze working, while she has worked on artefacts in the Government Museum, Chennai, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, ASI and so on.  Prof. Sharada Srinivasan is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and World Academy of Art and Science. Her awards include the Dr. Kalpana Chawla Young Women Scientist Award for 2011, the Indian Institute of Metals, Certificate of Excellence 2007 and Materials Research Society of India Medal 2006, the Malti B. Nagar Ethnoarchaeology Award (2005), and the DST-SERC Young Scientist Fellowship, the Flinders Petrie Medal 1989 from University of London, the Materials Research Society Graduate Student Award 1996, the DST Nurture Scheme and Young Scientist Awards and the British Chevening Scholarship for her Phd work. She has been a Forbes Research Associate at the Department of Scientific Research and Conservation, Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, USA in 1999 and Homi Bhabha Fellow at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore from 1996-98.  She has been a co-recipient of awards from UKIERI, UK, (on pioneering iron and steel metallurgy), AHRC, UK, (on interfaces between archaeology and drama), SSHRC Canada, Royal Society, National Science Foundation and other international bodies.   She is first author of the book ‘India’s Legendary Wootz Steel’ and contributing author to ‘Ecstasy of Classical Art’, the bronze catalogue of National Museum, Delhi and co-editor of ‘Digital Hampi’ on digital explorations into the art and architecture of Hampi.  She is on the Standing Committee of the international Beginning of the Use of Metals and Alloys Conference.  She has also been an accomplished exponent of the classical dance form of Bharata Natyam and has given numerous lecture-demonstrations such as on the artistic and scientific perspectives on the Chola Nataraja bronze at international museums such as Royal Academy of Arts, London (2007) and with a photo-exhibition on the theme at Space City, Toulouse (2009) apart from national venues.   She has earned her PhD from the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (1996) on Archaeometallurgy of South Indian bronzes; MA from School of Oriental & African Studies, London (1989) and BTech in Engineering Physics from IIT Bombay (1987).

Anitha Kurup is a Professor in the School of Social Sciences  and Head of the Education Programme. She leads the National Gifted and Talented Education Program in India anchored at NIAS. Her research interests span the broad disciplines of education and gender studies. Her recent publications “Trained Scientific Women Power: How much are we Losing and Why?” and “Trends Report: Creation and Analysis of Database of PhDs in India (1998-2007)” have been widely appreciated. As part of the Gifted Education research, she and her team have developed Indian based protocols to identify the gifted children in the age group 3-18 years for different populations- urban and rural. They have  been working on the standardisation of the identification protocols. Along the same lines she is developing a multi-level multi-stage model for mentoring gifted children in rural and urban India. She was part of the National core team that developed a 4-year integrated curriculum for pre-service teachers training for India. As part of the sub-committee, she contributed to the development of disability and special education as one of the streams of the four year integrated pre-service teacher education curriculum.  She and her team on Vocational education have initiated an exploratory study on understanding the skill gaps and aspirations of the diploma/ITI holders in the manufacturing sector in Bangalore. The study will be used to develop a research agenda in vocational and higher education in India. Her doctoral work on the quality of primary education in rural India is one of the earliest often cited work on grounded research in classroom processes and school –community relationship in rural India. Prof Anitha Kurup's expertise in gender covers a wide spectrum, from examining conceptual and methodological strands of gender relations to political participation and decentralised governance. Prof. Anitha Kurup was a Member, Governing Board of ISEC, Bangalore, and Member, Academic Council, Christ University.  She has several publications to her credit. Prof Anitha Kurup was awarded the Fulbright Nehru Senior Research Fellowship for 2011-2012 and was hosted at the University of California, Davis. Prof Anitha Kurup is also the Chair and Academic Head of Ph.D. Programme.

Joined NIAS on 15th November 1996. Dean, Academic Affairs; 18th February 2013-Current. Most significant research contribution: Was responsible for the discovery of a new species of primate, the Arunachal macaque, in Northeastern India, although principal contributions have been in understanding the structure and evolution of the primate mind. 

Dr. Anindya Sinha's wide-ranging research interests in  behavioural ecology and cognitive psychology of primates, animal molecular genetics, evolutionary biology, conservation biology and the philosophy of biology. He has a master's degree in botany, a doctorate in molecular biology, and has earlier worked on the biochemical genetics of yeast, the social biology of wasps, and the classical genetics of human disease. He is also interested in biology education and the popularisation of science, and has lectured extensively in a variety of educational and research institutions

Amit Mukherjee is an Assistant Professor in the International Strategic Security Studies Program at the School of Conflict and Security Studies in the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore. His work involves using GIS and Remote Sensing systems for national and international strategic security. His areas of research interest include homeland security, counter insurgency, terrorism studies, maritime security, weapons and warfare, military affairs and strategy, border security, and India-Israel Security Cooperation, among others.  

He has a PhD on, “Application of GIS for India’s Defence: To assess battlefield conditions and its effects on weapons and weapon systems”. Apart from this, he has a Masters in Computer Science, and has received training in technical specializations at various institutes including NRSC Hyderabad, India.  

He was previously a PBC-Post Doctoral Fellow at National Security Studies Center, the University of Haifa, Israel, from 2013-2016, where he is an (Honorary) Research Fellow. He was actively involved in overseeing research related academic work with several International Students in the research group of the center. He has received several letters of commendation for meritorious work and research contributions from various institutions including the University of Allahabad, University of Haifa and the Israel–Asia Chamber of Commerce

Prof Sai Baba is Honorary Visiting Professor at NIAS and Registrar at the M S Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences.  Prof. M Sai Baba was former 'TV Raman Pai Chair Professor' at NIAS and worked in the domain of Science Communication and Risk Communication.  

Present work includes, obtaining effective and informative insights on managing public perceptions and the public acceptance of public risks associated with new and emerging technologies, through science and technology communications.  Developing platforms for enhancing interaction between scientists and public using conventional and nonconventional communication media. Outlining strategies based on science and technology communication to manage the fear of hazards from novel technologies possessed by the public. 

Formerly Prof. M. Sai Baba, Outstanding Scientist was Director, Resources Management Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam and Senior Professor, Homi Bhabha National Institute

I am a social scientist, with my training throughout in economics but my interests and writing spanning well outside of the discipline, into economic-sociology, technological change, and the political economy of development. Prior to NIAS, I was with the School of Development at Azim Premji University, Bangalore, for six years. My doctoral work was at the United Nations University / MERIT (The Netherlands), before which I have studied at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS, Trivandrum), Madras School of Economics (Chennai) and St. Joseph's College (Bangalore). As principal violinist of the Bangalore School of Music Chamber Orchestra, I am also involved in the western classical music scene in Bangalore. 

My interests lie in technological studies. My focus has been around the economic-sociology of technological outcomes, with conceptual foundations in social constructivist and feminist-historical perspectives on technology. Hence, concerns on social capital and spatiality, inequality, urban transition, social mobility, gender, and caste, have undergrid all my research thus far. Methodologically, I have experimented on and employed various methods such as network analysis, archival work, oral histories, the social construction of technology, focus group discussions, interviews, surveys, and quantitative methods. As a result, the broader political-economy dynamics have always framed the analytical and conceptual setting in every one of my research studies.  

I have published in various international journals on technology and society. My latest book, ‘The Social Context of Technological Experiences ' was released in 2020 under Routledge. I also brought out a book in 2015 under Routledge titled Industrial Innovation, Networks, and Economic Development. My third volume (co-authored) is on neoliberal urban transition and digital experiences among street-based sex workers in Bangalore under review with Cambridge University Press.