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From conversation on:
Nov 19, 2022

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Understanding the behaviour of large molecules and nanoparticles is as complex a task, as it is quintessential towards building new technologies in this fast paced turn of century. Our guest for this episode Prof. Shobhana Narasimhan is a Professor at the JNCASR, Bengaluru leading a group working on addressing these questions through computational and theoretical perspectives. She uses the techniques of density functional theory to design novel nanomaterials, with applications in fields such as nanocatalysis and spintronics, to understand why the properties of matter change at nanoscale. In our conversation, we discussed about her formative years, inspiration towards pursuing a scientific career, and her very active work towards building a more gender-equal science community, by analysing and addressing various aspects of the major issues in the present world. She also talked about her personal experiences as a scientist and more importantly, as a female researcher, looking forward to a more inclusive community.

Prof. Shobhana Narasimhan pursued her Bachelors degree at the St. Xavier's College in Mumbai, and completed her MSc from IIT, Bombay, before moving to Harvard University for her MA and PhD work in theoretical physics with Prof. David Vanderbilt. Following this, she did her postdoctoral work at Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA and the Fritz Haber Institute, Germany, and then moved to JNCASR where she currently is a Professor. She takes part very actively in voicing gender related issues in the scientific community and has been on several national and international committees to promote women in science, including the Working Group on Women in Physics of IUPAP, and the Standing Committee on Women in Science of the Government of India.