Inquisitio: A STEM and Research Podcast

In this episode, the hosts are joined by Prof. J Ramkumar, who talks about the innovative endeavours he has been a part of, including the recent COVID relief technologies that he’s been involved in developing.   

Prof. J. Ramkumar is a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India. His specialisations include micro/nano manufacturing and novel product/process development, tribology, composite, and manufacturing process modelling. He has 27 patents and several prestigious awards to his name.  

To learn more about his journey as a researcher and his advice for young innovators, check out this interview on the InnovatiON blog: https://www.innovationon.org/post/prof-j-ramkumar-on-encouraging-children-to-innovate-and-current-opportunities-in-india

In this episode, the hosts are joined by Prof. Nitin Gupta, from IIT Kanpur, who illuminates his path of becoming a researcher, shares some advice for young students, and gives us his take on the Indian education system.  

After acing his entrance exams, he studied Computer Science at IIT-K, where he developed an interest in Computational Biology. He then went on to obtain a PhD in Systems Biology and Bioinformatics at UCSD (University of California, San Diego).   

Now, he’s a faculty member of the Biological Sciences and Biological Engineering Department (BSBE) at IIT Kanpur (and is also a part of the Cognitive Science Program there). His research interests lie at the intersection of computation and biology.

Aditya Radhakrishnan, a Computer Science student researcher from Coimbatore, joins us in this episode to talk about his story with science and research. Aditya’s research has included the applications of computer science in wildlife conservation and in space weather prediction. His projects have earned him the honor of being a two-time ISEF finalist. At ISEF 2019, he won both a Special Award and a Grand Award; he was also a regional finalist for the Google Science Fair, 2019.

Maanasi, a student researcher from Bangalore, is interested in biological sciences research. For her work in cancer drug resistance, she was honoured with a Special Award at the IRIS National Fair this year. She was also a Grand Award winner, and thereby an ISEF finalist. In this episode, she joins the hosts to discuss about her journey and research.

In this episode, co-hosts Anwesha and Arnav introduce themselves and this podcast, shed light on their motivations behind taking up this initiative, and talk about their aspirations with this endeavour.