Adjunct Faculty

J.S. Kharakwal did his masters from Kumaun University, Nainital and Ph. D form Deccan College, Pune in the year 1994, on the Archaeology of Central Himalayan Region. He spearheaded archaeological excavations at Kanmer, a Harappan site in Kachchh, Gujarat (2005 to 2016), Chandravati, near Abu Road (2013-16) and at Zawar (2019). He has published widely on Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Gujarat which include 6 books, 4 monographs and 80 research papers in various journals like Antiquity, Archaeological Science, Radiocarbon, Man and Environment, and others.

He was awarded a post doctoral fellowship of Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto, Japan for 15 months (2001-2002) and subsequently invited as a Visiting Professor at the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan for one year (2004-2005).

He is a member of various national and international academic societies. He has participated in various national and international seminars in several countries such as France, Austria, Italy, Japan, Turkmenistan, China, Vietnam and Iran. He has organized national and international seminars, symposia, workshops and has participated in seminars in various countries in Europe and Asia. He also enjoyed an opportunity to deliver presidential address in the year 2021 in Haryana History Congress, Kurukshetra.

He is a member of LOCF Committee of UGC for Archaeology and Traditional Knowledge Committee of CSIR, New Delhi. He is a member of BoS of a few universities. He is currently working as Director of Sahitya Sansthan, JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, (Deemed University), Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Prakash R. Golani obtained M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in geology from University of Rajasthan.  He has mapped and explored several ore deposit-forming geological set ups during his 36  year- long career in the Geological Survey of India (GSI). The ore deposit set ups worked by him include volcanic-hosted massive sulphides (VHMS) deposits, alkaline-carbonatite complexes, IOCG-, MVT-SEDEX-, evaporite-, epithermal- and granite-related set ups in  western, central and northeastern India including Himalayas. He has studies and published his  work on sillimanite-corundum, phosphorite, magnesite, lead, zinc, copper, gold, antimony and  selenium bearing polymetallic deposits. His interest in ore deposit-bearing settings finds expression in the book ‘Assessment of Ore Deposit Settings, Structures and Proximity Indicators in  Geological Exploration’. In GSI, he has been involved in formulation and execution of field and exploration-related training programs for professional geologists. He is lead author of the  international team which recognised and published evaporitic set up as a new repository of the gold  deposit (Bhukia, Rajasthan) in the global context. His current interest includes geochemistry, geological  characteristics of ore repository set ups for critical and byproduct elements associated with base metals and other ore deposits.

Prof. S Sreenivasa Murthy received B.E., M. Tech and PhD degrees from Bangalore University(1967) , IIT Bombay(1969) and IIT Delhi (1974) in Electrical Engineering. After serving briefly in BITS Pilani he joined IIT Delhi in 1970 where he held positions of Lecturer (1970-75) Asst Professor(1975-80), Assoc Professor(1980-83) Professor (1983-2012) and Professor in HAG Scale (2006-2012).His major administrative positions include Head of Electrical Engg.Department at IIT Delhi. Director of NIT, Surathkal and ERDA, Baroda and Vice Chancellor of Central University of Karnataka. He had visiting positions in UK (Univ. of Newcastle) and Canada (Universities of Calgary, Ryerson and Waterloo) and also at IISc, PES Univ, Kirloskar Electric ,CPRI & GE R&D Centre in Bengaluru. Presently he is Adjunct Professor at NIAS, member Board of Governors of IIT Dharwad, member Research Advisory Committee (RAC) of ERDA Baroda, Member Appellate Committee of National Board of Accreditation (GoI) and AICTE Distinguished Visiting Professional. He is a Life Fellow of IEEE(USA) and IE(India), and Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) , IET(UK), IETE and Life Member of ISTE. His other recognitions include: ISTE Award for outstanding research, IETE Bimal K. Bose Award for contribution in power electronics,. IEEE- PES/IAS Delhi Chapter Outstanding Engineer Award, IEEE-PES Bangalore Chapter Outstanding Service Award(2015), IEEE-IAS Distinguished Lecturer, Distinguished Alumni Award of BMS College of Engg. He has to his credit 300+ papers, 100+ theses supervision, 90+ sponsored projects, 40+ Technical reports, 7 Books/manuals/conference proceedings and18 patents. 15 video modules of total about 500 lectures recorded at IIT Delhi are available on line in YOUTUBE and other sites. He has delivered 250+ popular and special lectures in India and Abroad (Canada, USA, Japan, UK, Taiwan, Singapore) including 10 webinars. His research on self-excited and grid connected induction generators led to field installation of renewable energy based off grid and grid fed power generation. He has served in many committees of Professional organizations-INAE, IEEE, IET, IE(I), ISTE. He has extensive outreach activities serving Industry, Govt bodies, academia, and social organizations. He has contributed to international collaborations with USA, Canada, Japan, Korea and Australia through establishing MoU with overseas entities. He has organized many international conferences and continuing education programs. He is widely travelled with professional visits to USA, Canada, UK, Switzerland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Oman, Nepal, Bhutan, Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, and Australia. His interest areas are Electric Machines, Drives, Power Electronics, Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Engineering Education. For details see: (ssmurthyblog.wordpress.com/2018/12/12/professor-s-sreenivasa-murthy-a-profile)

Prof. Dhruva Kumar Singh is a nationally recognized authority in critical minerals and rare earth technologies, with more than three decades of leadership in strategic materials research and distinguished contributions to advancing the field. He served as Head, Hydrometallurgy & Rare Earth Development Section at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, and Professor of Chemical Sciences at the Homi Bhabha National Institute, Department of Atomic Energy. A Gold Medallist in M.Sc. Chemistry from Magadh University, he entered India’s premier nuclear research establishment—Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai—in 1991 after completing the prestigious BARC Training School’s Orientation Course in Nuclear Science, Engineering and Technology. He obtained his PhD from the University of Mumbai and carried out post-doctoral research at Florida State University with renowned nuclear scientist Prof. G. R. Choppin.

Prof. Singh has pioneered hydrometallurgical technologies for the extraction and processing of rare earth and critical metals using innovative indigenous approaches that contribute to the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. These technologies have been adopted and implemented by IREL (India) Limited, enabling India’s first production of several heavy rare earth elements, including dysprosium, yttrium, and gadolinium. His work has also enabled the production of nuclear-grade gadolinium nitrate hexahydrate in the country for reactor applications, along with high-purity neodymium and Nd–Pr oxides—key materials for clean energy technologies and advanced permanent magnets. Technologies developed under his leadership have further supported national initiatives such as the Rare Earths & Titanium Theme Park (RETTP) and strategic rare earth magnet production in India.

He has authored over 300 scientific publications, delivered numerous invited lectures at various forums, mentored numerous PhD and M.Tech scholars, and served on several technical committees, including those of NITI Aayog, where he currently chairs the High-Level Committee on Critical and Strategic Minerals. His distinguished contributions have been widely recognized through prestigious honors, including the Metallurgist of the Year Award (Ministry of Steel), the Hindustan Zinc Gold Medal, the INS Medal, the VASVIK Award, and several Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Currently, he serves as Visiting Professor at IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, where he has initiated a course on Critical Minerals and Rare Earths, contributing to capacity building in this strategically important sector.

Dr. Deependra Singh is the Former Chairman and Managing Director of IREL (India) Limited, a Central Public Sector Undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India. With over three and a half decades of experience in mining, mineral processing, and rare earth refining, he has been a key architect in strengthening India’s rare earth value chain.

During his nearly decade-long tenure as CMD, Dr. Singh led the development of both the upstream segment — from mining to rare earth oxides — and the midstream segment, covering metals to magnet production, contributing significantly to India’s strategic mineral capabilities. Prior to becoming CMD, he served as Director (Marketing), bringing strong commercial leadership to the organisation.

An Engineering graduate with an M.Tech in Industrial Design, MBA in Marketing, and Ph.D. in Mineral Technology, Dr. Singh has been associated with projects supported by the World Bank, OPEC, and the Asian Development Bank, and is a UNIDO Fellow (Germany). He has received several prestigious recognitions, including Lifetime Achievement and multiple CEO leadership awards for his contributions to public sector management and the rare earth industry. He has multiple professional association with Industrial and Institutional bodies and have the privilege of spearheading them as Chairman.

Dr Pratima Murthy, Director and Senior Professor of Psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru has over three and a half decades of experience in the field of addiction and mental health. She is an alumnus of Bangalore Medical College. She completed her Diploma and MD in Psychological Medicine from NIMHANS and has a Diploma in Psychological Medicine from the University of Manchester, UK. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Glasgow, UK. She has an honorary doctorate from the Sathya Sai University of Health Sciences and the YSR University of Health Sciences.

As the Director, NIMHANS, she has undertaken many innovations in patient care, training and research. She has undertaken several rights-based initiatives for persons with mental illness, provided leadership to Tele-MANAS and the NMHS 2, served as an expert to WHO for several guidelines for mental health and substance use. As an addiction specialist, she has made seminal contributions in clinical care, training, research and policy. She has expanded addiction services, facilitated digital interventions and initiated post graduate programmes. She has about 400 research publications, won several awards and mentored several post graduate students.

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 

Shabari Rao is an artist and educator from Bangalore, India. Her work engages with interdisciplinary research on embodiment. As an artist, she performs, directs, curates, teaches, and writes. Over the past 20 years, her work has been supported and presented at conferences, festivals, residencies, and in publications in cities as diverse as Shanghai, London, New York, Vienna, Oslo, Cape Town, and Melbourne, among others. Shabari has held several academic positions where she designs and delivers interdisciplinary courses in higher education settings. Most recently, she was an Adjunct Assistant Professor at BITS School of Law and a Visiting Faculty at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Previously, she was a founding faculty member at RV University, where she headed the Performing Arts programme in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She has completed her PhD at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, where her research focuses on Embodied Pedagogy in Mathematics Teaching. She has presented her doctoral research at international STEM and Mathematics Education conferences, where her contributions have been very well received. She also holds an MA (with distinction) in Arts and Education from the Royal Academy of Dance (UK), a professional diploma in Contemporary Dance Studies from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire (UK), and a BA in Kathak and Choreography from Bangalore University.

Dr. Ravi Bhandari is a distinguished economist whose extensive career has been marked by a relentless pursuit of knowledge and an impact on the world of economics. For over three decades, he has been at the forefront of teaching economic development, international financial markets, and world economic history.

Professor Ravi has taught these subjects at the leading universities around the world where he has earned accolades as an exceptional educator, consistently winning the best teacher award for his outstanding contributions to learning across the social sciences. 

His commitment to excellence transcends borders as he shares a wealth of knowledge with colleagues and students across the globe, teaching and conducting research in a number of countries including India, Nepal, Greece, Costa Rica, and the United States.

Beyond the classroom, Ravi’s  global foresight and analytical insights have earned him widespread international recognition. His timely warnings on economic crises – from the Asian currency crisis of 1997 to the global crisis of 2001 to the Great Recession 2007/2008 —  solidified his reputation in the field. 

Professor Ravi current research focuses on the unholy alliance of the unraveling global debt crisis, retaliatory tariffs/sanctions, and the epic AI bubble. Professionally, he advises clients on how best to avoid and hedge against the upcoming Global Depression, what he calls the mother of all crashes.