Seminar in SMMEE

Speaker: Prof. Rudra Pratap (Mechanical Engineering, IISc, http://www.mecheng.iisc.ernet.in/~pratap/ )

Title: Initiation and Execution of Big Interdisciplinary Research

Projects: The Role of Vision, Teamwork, and Infrastructure Development

Date and Time: 08-Mar-2013 (Fri) from 4:30pm - 5:30pm

Location: L3

Abstract:

Ambitious scientific research projects today require interdisciplinary effort. Such efforts necessarily involve teamwork that demands a different kind of dynamics than what most researchers are trained for. Developing a common vision, making formidable teams, keeping everyone engaged, and delivering at the highest levels, is a nontrivial task. I will discuss each of these issues with concrete examples derived from my own experience of setting up a rather ambitious Centre for Nano Science and Engineering at IISc. I will also present several examples of interdisciplinary scientific work at micro and nanoscales, including my own, that have emerged from this exercise.