People Page

Dr. R. Natarajan, a Chemical Engineer, joined the Department of Atomic Energy in 1975 and held the post of Director of Reprocessing Group and Project Director of Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Facility in Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research. Under his leadership, the radioactive hot cell  facility, for establishing the process technology for the reprocessing of fast reactor fuels, was designed, erected and commissioned. He led the team that has successfully completed the reprocessing of plutonium rich fast reactor spent fuel from FBTR (Fast Breeder Test Reactor), which was highly irradiated, which is an international benchmark. This technology is being exploited for the fleet of fast reactors that are being set up in the country now. He was also responsible for the R&D activities of fast reactor fuel reprocessing and scaling up for the medium size demonstration plant as well as the commercial size fuel reprocessing plants. He was also instrumental in the recovery of the Uranium by reprocessing the irradiated thorium, facilitating thorium utilisation in the country. Thus his contributions are vital for the country in attaining self sufficiency, in both the Uranium-plutonium and the Thorium-Uranium reprocessing technologies.

He has over hundred technical presentations and publications to his credit. He has won the prestigious NOCIL Award for Excellence in Design and Development of Process Plant and Equipment for the year 2005 for his contribution in the development of fast reactor fuel reprocessing. He is also the recipient of Indian Nuclear Society's INS award for the year 2006 for his contributions in Nuclear Fuel Cycle technologies. He was awarded the prestigious VASVIK award for the year 2014. He is a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering and honorary fellow of the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Paavana P. Varma is a doctoral student in the School of Humanities. Her research explores the concept of charisma in conservation, examining how narratives about nature and species shape human perceptions, ethics, and relationships with the environment. Her research interests include environmental humanities, conservation narratives, human–nature relationships, affect studies, and interdisciplinary approaches to the Anthropocene.

Rupsa Karmakar is a PhD student at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (School of Humanities), Bengaluru, whose research involves archaeometallurgy, indigenous smelting, the history and the processes of metal crafting technology, ethnoarchaeology, and preservation of both tangible and intangible heritages in India. She holds an M.Sc. In Anthropology with a specialization in Paleoanthropology-Prehistoric Archaeology and a B.Sc. in Anthropology from the University of Calcutta.

Manikranth Chakravarthula is a doctoral student at the Conflict Resolution and Peace Research Programme, School of Conflict and Security Studies, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru. He holds a Master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Peacebuilding from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History from Hindu College, University of Delhi. His research interests centre on political violence and peacebuilding in South Asia, with a focus on Indian approaches, state responses, and the role of civil society in negotiating state-society relations in conflict and post-conflict contexts

Suhas M. is a PhD student at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (School of Humanities), Bengaluru, whose research applies remote sensing and multi sensor geospatial techniques to the documentation, monitoring and conservation of India’s built heritage. He holds an M.Tech in Remote Sensing & GIS (IIRS-ISRO) and a B.E. in Civil Engineering and has worked on digital documentation projects for sites such as Srirangapatna, Raya Gopura (Melukote) and Pattadakallu.

Shivanand Kanavi is former Vice President, TCS and is currently Adjunct Faculty at National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru.

His core competencies are in communication of complex ideas in business, science & technology, Indian history, political economy and philosophy.

He is a popular speaker in IITs, Universities and higher educational institutions, as well as in Radio and TV.

Shivanand studied Theoretical Physics at IIT Kanpur; Northeastern University, Boston and IIT Bombay.

He was the Executive Editor of Business India magazine, a pioneer in Business Journalism in India till 2004. He has written extensively on Business and Technology. He was awarded the Madhu Valluri Award for IT Journalism for the year 2004.

Shivanand has authored the highly acclaimed “Sand to Silicon: The amazing story of digital technology” (Tata-McGraw Hill 2004, Rupa 2006). A Kannada version of the book was published by Government of Karnataka as “ಡಿಜಿಟಲ್ ಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಭಾರತ” (2016).

Shivanand worked in the largest IT services company TCS as Vice President-Special Projects from 2004 to 2010. He has edited, “Research by Design-Innovation and TCS” (Rupa, 2007).

He was Global Head, Marketing and Strategic Communication of CMC Ltd, a subsidiary of TCS, from 2010 to 2013.  Twitter: @shivanandkanavi ,

Dr. Krishnan Raghavan specializes in climate modeling to understand scientific issues relating to “Climate Change, Asian Monsoon and Water Cycle”. Under his leadership the Centre for Climate Change Research (CCCR) @ IITM, Pune, developed the first Earth System Model (ESM) from India that contributed to the CMIP6 and IPCC Sixth Assessment Report. He was a Coordinating Lead Author in the IPCC AR6 WG1 report (Chapter-8: Water Cycle Changes) and a Drafting Author in the Summary for Policymakers. He was a Member of the Joint Scientific Committee (JSC), World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). He and his team from CCCR-IITM published the First National Climate Change Assessment Report of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt of India in 2020. After obtaining M.Sc degree in Applied Mathematics from the Madras Institute of Technology, Chennai, he pursued Ph.D. research in Atmospheric Sciences at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad. He was awarded Ph.D. degree from Univ. of Pune in 1994. He has published over 165 scientific articles/papers, supervised/co-supervised 26 PhDs [21 (awarded) + 1 (submitted) + 4 (ongoing)] & 7 Master (M.Sc/M.Tech) dissertation. He offered training lectures in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics & Atmospheric Sciences.

Dr. Dhananjay A. Sant, a retired Professor of Geology from the Department of Geology at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, India, holds over 38 years of academic and research experience. His expertise spans multidisciplinary studies in geology, geomorphology, paleoclimatology, geoarchaeology, and near-surface seismology. Dr. Sant obtained his Ph.D. in Geology in 1992 and a master’s degree in Geology (Honors) in 1987 from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. His research focuses on climate change dynamics, sedimentary processes, and subsurface imaging techniques. His impactful publications have significantly contributed to Earth Sciences, appearing in prestigious journals such as Geophysical Research Letters, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Frontiers Earth Science, Cretaceous Research, Current Science, Journal Geological Society of India. Dr. Sant has collaborated with esteemed institutions, including IISc Bangalore, Department of Ancient History and Archaeology at MSU, CSIR Fourth Paradigm Institute, Bengaluru, Geological Survey of India, Jammu University, Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, and the University of Cambridge. He has guided numerous Ph.D. students and serves as a reviewer for numerous international scientific journals and funding bodies. Dr. Sant’s pioneering research is on high-resolution quantitative sedimentology and profiling low-velocity zones within Quaternary sediments and beneath the Deccan Traps using microtremor HVSR technique. Microtremor HVSR technique has practical applications in engineering and mineral exploration, as well as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sequestration. Additionally, Dr. Sant actively participates in professional associations and has held key administrative positions at the university, including serving as a Senate member and Director of the All-India Central Services Training Centre.