NIAS Silver Jubilee Year 2012 - 2013
NIAS celebrates its Silver Jubilee Year 2012 - 2013 with a series of programmes throughout the year
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15 May 2013:
- 22 March 2013:
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11 January 2013:
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18 December 2012:
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28 September 2012:
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20 August 2012:
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09 August 2012:
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16 July 2012:
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20 June 2012:
NIAS SILVER JUBILEE LECTURE SERIES
15 May 2013:
““The Murals of India”
by
Shri. Benoy K Behl
Film maker, art-historian and photographer
Date: Wednesday, 15 May, 2013,
Time: 6.00 PM
Venue: JRD Tata Auditorium, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bangalore
(Tea/Coffee at 5.30 PM)
Chairperson:
Prof. S. Settar
Visiting Professor, NIAS
Abstract:
India has one of the finest traditions of painting of the world, coming from ancient times. Ancient and exquisite Indian murals are the foundations of the tradition of later manuscript paintings and Indian miniatures.
This early tradition is not generally known, as many of these paintings are hidden in dark recesses in ancient temples and caves. These had not been clearly photographed or sufficiently represented to the world before. It was generally believed that India did not have a continuous tradition of painting, which came from ancient times. Even the Ajanta murals, which were known, were considered as a flash in the pan, as many were not aware of other paintings of the centuries after Ajanta. The study and teaching of the styles of Indian paintings has been generally taken up from the medieval period onwards.
Behl’s detailed photography of the early Indian murals has placed the Indian tradition of paintings in a new perspective. This illustrated lecture has been delivered at a host of prestigious universities and museums around the world and has clearly established the fact of the continuous tradition of painting, since ancient times, in India. The murals of India have also been established as one of the greatest and most sublime traditions of the art of the world.
This ancient art of India is valuable to mankind today as it is deeply rooted in the philosophic vision of this land; a vision which takes us far from the confusion and clamour of the material world, to a peaceful sanctuary, where we may look within. An inner vision which opens our minds and hearts to a great treasure, to the bliss and the peace of the spirit.
About the Speaker:
Benoy K Behl is a film-maker, art-historian and photographer who is known for his tireless and prolific output of work over the past 34 years. He has taken over 36,000 photographs of Asian monuments and art heritage, made a hundred documentaries on art history and his exhibitions have been warmly received in 32 countries around the world. These have been inaugurated by ministers of the governments of various countries, ambassadors, archbishops and others dignitaries. He holds the Limca Book Record for being the most travelled photographer.
In January, 2008, National Geographic magazine carried an 18-page story about ancient Indian art revealed through Behl’s photography to the world. BBC World News have also carried 3 major stories about Behl’s pioneering work in India and Vietnam.
His films, including 26 documentaries on ‘The Paintings of India’ and 26 documentaries on ‘The Sculpture of India’ have been nationally telecast on prime time in India, as well as repeat telecasts. These have also been screened at scores of universities and museums in several countries around the world.
The vastness of Behl’s documentation presents a wide and new perspective in understanding the art of India and Asia. His photography of ancient murals in remote places has clearly established the continuous tradition of painting in India, from ancient times through the medieval period. This is significant, as earlier, the Indian tradition of painting was believed to begin in medieval times.
He has been invited to lecture by most of the important universities and museums around the world, who have departments of Asian art. His book on ‘The Ajanta Caves’ is published by Thames & Hudson, London and Harry N. Abrams, New York. His book on ‘The History of Indian Art: Sculpture and Mural Paintings’ is expected to be released in the second half of 2013.
22 March 2013:
“Judicial Activism - Boon or Bane”
by
Shri Soli J Sorabjee
Former Attorney-General of India
Date: Friday, 22 March, 2013,
Time: 6.30 PM
Venue: JRD Tata Auditorium, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bangalore
(Tea/Coffee at 6.00 PM)
About the Speaker:
Soli Sorabjee was born in 1930 in Bombay. At Government Law College, Bombay, he was awarded the Kinloch Forbes Gold Medal in Roman Law and Jurisprudence (1952). He was admitted to the bar in 1953. In 1971, Sorabjee began representing the government as Senior Advocate to the Supreme Court of India. He served as Solicitor-General of India from 1977 to 1980. He was appointed Attorney-General of India on 7 April 1998, a post he held until 2004. In March 2002, Soli Sorabjee was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his defense of the freedom of expression and the protection of human rights. Soli Sorabjee holds several offices in organizations of national and international repute. In addition to his columns for the Indian Express, Sorabjee also has a number of other publications to his credit, including a book on Law and Justice (2004).
11 January 2013:
“CAN INDIA’S FUTURE NEEDS OF ELECTRICITY BE MET BY RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES?”
by
Prof. S P Sukhatme
Professor Emeritus, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Date: Friday, 11 January, 2013,
Time: 6.00 PM
(Tea/Coffee at 5.30 PM)
Venue: JRD Tata Auditorium, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bangalore
Abstract:
In this lecture, an attempt is made to answer two questions. How much electrical energy will India need in the future? Can this need for electricity be met by renewable energy sources? The first question is answered in two ways. In the first approach, the energy inputs required for various activities in the residential, commercial, transportation, manufacturing, agriculture and other sectors are considered, while in the second approach, the empirical relationship between the Human Development Index and the annual per capita consumption of electricity is used. The second question is answered by considering all the renewable sources (solar power, wind power, hydro-electric power, etc) and estimating the potential of each source to supply electricity in the future. In an overall sense, the calculations show that the annual need of electricity can perhaps be met by renewable sources if India adopts a frugal policy for energy usage. However, this is not enough because the demand for electricity has to be met continuously on a daily basis. Because of the intermittent nature of solar and wind power, this does not happen and there is a mismatch between the diurnal variation of the electricity generated by renewable sources and the diurnal variation of the demand. Many difficult technical challenges will have to be overcome in order to remove this mismatch. These problems will be discussed.
About the Speaker:
Professor Sukhatme has been a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Bombay since 1965. He was the Director of IIT Bombay during 1995-2000, and Chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, Govt. of India during 2000-2005. Currently, he is a member of Board of numerous academic and other organizations. He is the recipient of many honours and awards and was awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology in 1983. He was elected as a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1986, a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering in 1987, a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy in 1995 and a Fellow of National Academy of Sciences in 1999. He is the recipient of Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2001 and was the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the IIT Bombay. Prof. Sukhatme obtained B.Sc (Engg.) from BHUS.M (Master of Science) and Sc.D. (Doctor of Science) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
18 December 2012:
“Designing and Operating a Safe and Secure Cyber Space”
by
Prof. S V Raghavan
Scientific Secretary
Office of Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India
Date: Tuesday, 18 December, 2012,
Time: 6.00 PM
(Tea/Coffee at 5.30 PM)
Venue: JRD Tata Auditorium, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bangalore
Abstract:
Cyber Space is ubiquitous and pervasive. The convenience it provides to human race is enormous. Cyber Space does not normally distinguish between “good” and “bad” intentions of use. Therefore the million-dollar question arises naturally in everyone’s mind: “Is Cyber Space safe and secure?”
This talk will focus on the origin and the evolution of the technology that made Cyber Space of today happen; the technology, economics, politics that unfolded over the last half a century. The solution lies in policy, regulation, products, standards, design, development, manufacturing, implementation, operation, and obsolescence at all levels of Cyber Space.
Defining the two words “Safe” and “Secure” in the context of this discourse, as Cyber Space has no boundaries, is a task in itself; the ecosystem development and its articulation will have a global pitch. The speaker, who is also the architect of India’s prestigious National Knowledge Network (NKN) will use examples from NKN.
About the Speaker:
Professor S V Raghavan is currently Scientific Secretary, Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India. He is a well-known expert in the area of networking and security. He is on the faculty of IIT Madras and Delhi. Professor Raghavan is the Chairman, Technical Advisory Committee of NKN and NOFN. He Chairs the National Committee on DTH for MHRD. He is currently Chairman, Board of Governors, IIITDM, Jabalpur.
28 September 2012:
“The future of cybersecurity: can we stop it?”
by
Prof. Benoit Morel
Professor in Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
Date: Friday, 28 September, 2012,
Time: 6.00 pm
(Tea/Coffee at 5.30 pm)
Venue: JRD Tata Auditorium, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bangalore
Abstract:
Cybersecurity is a growing area of concern in terms of security challenges. Cyber attacks have the potential to wreak havoc in modern societies in a not so distant future. Despite the fact that internet users are repeatedly warned about the dangers of online financial or business activities, they engage in them more day by day. The growing use of information technology for all sorts of critical activities from controlling the power grid to transportation in all its forms (from cars to airplanes) increases the risk of exposure to all forms of cyberattacks. But we do not seem to know how to mitigate that danger. Or are there not so visible progresses in our defensive postures, which are so bottom up that we do not see them? Can we detect signs of budding defense capabilities which are growing in reaction to cyberattacks and will co-evolve with it, in the same way the immune system grew to protect organisms against germs and co-evolved with antigens?
About the Speaker:
Prof Benoit Morel has been Professor in Engineering and Public Policy in Carnegie Mellon University since 1987 starting with the International Peace and Security program. After his PhD from University of Geneva and CERN in theoretical High Energy Physics, and his postdoctoral career in Physics at Harvard, CERN and CalTech, he joined the then the Center of International Security and Arms Control (CISAC) at Stanford as a "Science Fellow" before joining Carnegie Mellon. He has worked on various aspects of security, previously including nuclear security and safety, arms control, and as editor of the book ‘Shadows and Substance: The chemical weapons convention’ and currently focusing on the area of Cybersecurity. Prof. Morel is also interested in non-linear dynamic models, the study of complex systems and chaos, and applications to areas such as immunology, fluid mechanics, organization theory, economics, pollution, climate and environment. He is a visiting professor at CSTEP in Bangalore during October, 2012.
20 August 2012:
“Development of Solar Energy in India”
by
Dr. Anil Kakodkar
Chairman, Solar Energy Corporation of India
Former Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy,
Government of India
Date: Monday, 20 August, 2012,
Time: 5.30 pm
Venue: JRD Tata Auditorium, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bangalore
(Tea/Coffee at 5.00 pm)
Abstract:
Solar and Nuclear are the only two energy sources that are sufficiently large and can meet our growing energy needs in a sustainable manner. Recent policy thrust of the Government with regard to Solar energy has made significant difference in terms of capacity addition as well as reduction in tariff. There is however a need for greater technological thrust involving both R&D laboratories and industries to address India specific issues. Further, there are significant opportunities where deployment of solar energy could also lead to added benefits to our economy. The lecture would deal with some strategies for solar energy in near term and long term.
09 August 2012:
“Nurturing the Western Ghats: Towards a new paradigm”
by
Prof. Madhav Gadgil
Former Chairman
Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel
The Ministry of Environment and Forests
Government of India, New Delhi
and
Professor (Retd)
Centre for Ecological Sciences
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
Date: Thursday, 9 August, 2012
Time: 5.30 pm
Venue: JRD Tata Auditorium, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bangalore
(Tea/Coffee at 5.00 pm)
16 July 2012:
“Has Indian Federalism Succeeded?”
by
Prof. Ashutosh Varshney
Sol Goldman Professor of International Studies
and the Social Sciences
Director, Brown-India Initiative
Watson Institute of International Studies and
Department of Political Science, Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Date: Monday, 16 July, 2012
Time: 5.30 pm
Venue: JRD Tata Auditorium, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bangalore
(Tea/Coffee at 5.00 PM)
20 June 2012:
Launch of Silver Jubilee of founding of NIAS |
