School of Natural Sciences and Engineering

I am a comparative psychologist working at the intersection of primatology and cognitive science. I completed my PhD in Comparative-Developmental Psychology at the University of Portsmouth in 2021 and subsequently held postdoctoral positions at the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and the Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod in France.

My research centres on naturally occurring behaviour in humans and other primates, examining how communication, tool use, and social interaction develop and vary across ecological and cultural contexts. Drawing on long-term field research, I combine fine-grained behavioural analysis with computational modelling of sequential structure to investigate hierarchical organisation, vocal flexibility, imitation, and the relationship between action and meaning.

At the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, in collaboration with Professor Anindya Sinha, I develop conceptual critiques of comparative cognition, examining how assumptions about objectivity, anthropocentrism, and species boundaries shape interpretation in animal cognition research. This is combined with empirical work in North-East India examining macaque behaviour across a gradient from anthropogenic temple–river systems to primary forest. Simultaneously, we are initiating passive acoustic monitoring of western hoolock gibbons in the Eastern Himalayas. I also founded the Perspectives Collective Journal, an open-access platform advancing more inclusive approaches to knowledge production.

Vishnu Chandra is a senior ICT and Geo-Spatial Technology leader with over three decades of experience in the Government of India. An alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (formerly University of Roorkee), he holds MSc (Physics), M.Phil. (Instrumentation), and M.Tech (Electronics & Communication) degrees.

He served as Deputy Director General at the National Informatics Centre (NIC), leading Geo-Spatial Technology & Services and key National ICT divisions. He guided major initiatives for ministries including Housing & Urban Affairs, Power, Coal, MNRE, and Environment, Forest & Climate Change. He also held financial leadership roles as Additional Financial Advisor, NIC, and served on the Board of NIC Services Inc (NICSI) and Geospatial Delhi Limited.

For over 25 years, he led NIC’s GIS initiatives, developing the cloud-based multi-layer GIS platform “Bharatmaps,” now embedded in flagship e-governance projects such as SVAMITVA, e-Dharti, PARIVESH, National Power Portal, and GIS-based financial inclusion systems.

He later served as Advisor (Geo-ICT & Spatial Planning) to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, contributing to SVAMITVA and National Geospatial Policy-2022 initiatives. He currently serves as Independent Director at SatSure Analytics India Private Limited, Bengaluru and DRIISHYA, A Haryana Government Undertaking.

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishnu-chandra-6362a98?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app