Admin Staff

Mr Aithal joined NIAS on 01 November 1995

He has a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in commerce, respectively from Bangalore University and Karnataka University. He also holds a post-graduate diploma in financial management from Pondicherry University. 

He has been overseeing the accounts of the Institute as well as its research projects since 1995. He has also successfully handled the finances of the Global Water Partnership Organisation South Asia Secretariat and coordinated with six South Asian Countries for a period of two and half years when the Secretariat was hosted at NIAS.  In this context, he visited International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Sri Lanka in 2007. He also visited the University of Exeter, the UK in September 2013, as part of the NIAS delegation. He was once again invited by the University of Exeter in May 2016.

Before taking up the role of Head of Administration and Finance of NIAS with effect from February 2009, he had also held the position of Administrative and Accounts officer at the Institute. As the Head of Administration, he is responsible for matters pertaining to administration, finance, grants, logistics and communication, maintenance of the infrastructure of the establishment, etc. He also ensured the successful completion of the construction of the TCS Knowledge Centre at the Institute during 2016-19.

Providing administrative support for all appointments, renewals, promotions etc., and monitoring the same are also the key responsibilities of Head-Administration.

Mr MS Shivakumar joined NIAS on 07 July 2008.

He has a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Mysore.

He has been assisting the Assistant Manager (Finance & Accounts) on day-to-day matters related to accounts of the Institute as well as its research projects and training programme/conference/seminars etc., since 2008. He also provides admin support to the Office Manager as and when needed.

Ms J N Sandhya has a bachelor's degree in arts from Bangalore University. Proficient in technical typing in English, Kannada and mathematics, using Latex, she has worked in reputed institutions like the Indian Institute of Science (Departments of Physics, Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Applied Mathematics) and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, before joining NIAS. At NIAS, she had assisted the late Prof S Settar in the publication of his Kannada dictionary and earlier served as a secretary to the late Prof C V Sundaram, when he published his renowned book, Atomic Energy in India – 50 Years. Sandhya had also assisted the late Prof K Ramachandra in publishing 33 volumes of his distinguished Hardy Ramanujan Journal from 1997 to 2010 and in the preparation of an acclaimed book, Theory of Numbers, in 2007. Sandhya has worked on the development and maintenance of the infrastructural facilities of NIAS till 2008 and coordinated several national and international courses at the institute. She was also instrumental in coordinating the establishment of the First INFOSYS Prize for Mathematics, 2009, jointly organised by Infosys and NIAS. 

Currently a Senior Executive Assistant in the NIAS Doctoral Programme, Sandhya has been active – virtually singlehandedly – coordinating the activities of the Programme for over 16 years now. This has involved guiding the admission process of all the students each year till the final submission of their thesis to the concerned university, handling the affairs of occasionally more than 70 students at a time. She also provides secretarial support to the faculty of the International Strategic and Security Studies Programme, thus being involved in the organisation of national and international conferences, other meetings and public lectures of the Programme throughout the year.   

Ms Mary Stella joined NIAS in the year 1994.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Indira Gandhi National Open University and a Proficiency Diploma in Secretarial Training from St.Joseph’s College of Business Administration, Bangalore. She has completed a course in word processing in 1991 from St.Joseph's Evening College. She is also certified in Office Equipment Operation by the Regional Vocational Training Institute for Women under the Government of India, Ministry of Labour. She has been certified by Commerce Institutes' Association of Karnataka in Typewriting (Senior) and has completed her English Shorthand (Intermediate) course under Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board.

In 1994, she worked under the guidance of Late Prof. R.L. Kapoor and Dr. Biswajit Sen for a DRDO Project. During 1994 to 1997, she had provided administrative support in organising the University Grants Commission Courses. Later, she also provided Secretarial Support to Prof. B.V. Sreekantan, Prof. C V Sundaram, and Prof. M.N. Srinivas for a project.

As an Executive Assistant, she is responsible for handling the matters pertaining to Group Mediclaim Policy of the Employees and PhD Students, such as submission of claims, follow-up with the agency, proper documentation and ensuring smooth settlement of claims. All queries related to Mediclaim facility are handled by her. She also manages the front office and its communication channels and coordinates with its service providers. Ms Stella assists the faculty members with meeting-related tasks, organising conference/workshops, as and when assigned by the Administration.