Einstein Lectures
The Einstein Lectures series was initiated in 2015 as part of the centenary celebration of Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. Schools, colleges and other organizations can request to organize a lecture anywhere in India. Selected partner organizations will work with the ICTS in selecting an appropriate speaker depending on the date and venue of the lecture, and the nature of the audience. Einstein lectures cover a wide spectrum of topics in physics and related areas. Speakers range from early-career scientists to international luminaries. ICTS will support the travel and honorarium for the speaker. Partner organizations are expected to take care of the local organization.
Contact: einstein . lectures @ icts . res . in
Past Lectures
The map of a cat and Feynman’s other intersections with biology: their relevance for today
Shashi Thutupalli (ICTS and NCBS, Bengaluru)
26 November 2023, 11:15 to 12:00
Kiru Rangamandira, Mysore
Abstract: Richard Feynman, the master physicist, also had a strong interest in biology. Although Feynman, as an undergraduate student of physics, (in-)famously asked his librarian for the "map of a cat", in later years he engaged deeply with ideas in biology. In this talk, I will discuss these...more
Astronomy’s new frontiers
Ajith Parameswaran (International Centre for Theoretical Sciences)
06 October 2022, 10:00 to 11:30
St Marys Convent Girls HSS, Market Road, Ernakulam
Abstract: Modern astronomy started four centuries ago with Galileo’s invention of the astronomical telescope. In the past century, astronomical observations using different wavelengths of electromagnetic waves revolutionised our understanding of the Cosmos. Recently, observations using subatomic...more
In search of brain plasticity
Kshipra Gurunandan (University of Cambridge)
05 September 2022, 11:00 to 12:30
School of Sciences,Jain University, No. 34, 1st Cross, J C Road, Bengaluru - 560027
Abstract: What do crows, humans and machines have in common? We’re used to thinking about intelligence in certain ways — IQ, getting good marks, genius — something one either has or doesn’t have. Intelligence, however, is far from a uniquely human condition. So what is so special about the human...more
Physics of Life (ONLINE)
Vijaykumar Krishnamurthy (International Centre for Theoretical Sciences-TIFR, Bengaluru)
21 November 2020, 11:00 to 12:00
Online
Is there a (theoretical) physics of life? Living systems are possibly the most complex forms of matter known to us. As such, developing mathematical frameworks to explain the processes of life is a daunting task, requiring expertise in multiple disciplines. However, as biological experiments...more
Order and patterns in randomness
Abhishek Dhar (ICTS-TIFR, Bengaluru)
28 February 2020, 09:30 to 10:30
Kuvempu Auditorium, C V Raman Block, REVA University, Bengaluru
The talk will describe how physicists and mathematicians find hidden patterns and information in apparently random looking events. I will try to do this through the examples of the Random Walk, Brownian Motion, many particle systems in Statistical Physics, and finally a card trick. Download Postermore
Faint Strains of the Gravitational Wave Symphony and the Dawn of Multi-messenger Astronomy
Bala Iyer (ICTS-TIFR, Bengaluru)
25 November 2019, 15:00 to 17:00
E.M.S. Seminar Complex, University of Calicut.
The first detection of gravitational waves from a black hole binary in 2015 was a breakthrough, taking a century to realize, and made possible by the coming together of a remarkable experiment and an exquisite theory complemented by the best in sophisticated data analysis, state of the art...more
Black Holes and Holography
Amin Nizami (Ashoka University, Sonepat)
22 October 2019, 11:30 to 12:30
I-view studio, Department of Civil Engineering, First Floor, NIT Jalandhar, Punjab -144011
This talk will be a basic introduction to the physics of black holes and one theme in modern theoretical physics - holography - which was inspired by their study. We will explore how, from initially being considered unphysical solutions of Einstein’s theory of gravity, black holes were eventually...more
Millisecond Pulsars - The Born-again Pulsars
G Srinivasan (Raman Research Institute, retired)
21 October 2019, 17:00 to 18:00
ICSR Main Auditorium, IIT Madras
Neutron stars are highly condensed ‘cold’ stars with a mean density of 10 14 g cm -3 . Since they rotate rapidly and are very strongly magnetized, they function as powerful ‘dynamos’, generating incredible voltages. This results in relativistic particles and radiation being emitted along the...more
The revolutionary concept of “boundary layer” and its prevalence in aeronautics
Sourabh S. Diwan (Aerospace Engg., IISc, Bengaluru)
11 October 2019, 11:00 to 12:00
MBA Seminar Hall, MBA Block, Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru
In 1904, one year before Einstein published his miraculous papers, Ludwig Prandtl proposed the revolutionary concept of a boundary layer. This idea, in one shot, bridged the gap between the classical disciplines of “hydraulics” and “hydrodynamics” and gave birth to the modern discipline of “fluid...more
String theory and Strong interactions
Loganayagam R (ICTS-TIFR, Bengaluru)
26 September 2019, 11:00 to 12:00
School of Sciences, Center for Post Graduate Studies (CPGS), Jain Deemed-to-be University, #18/3, 9th Main Road, 3rd Block, Jayanagar, Bengaluru - 560011
The history of string theory begins with a set of curious experimental observations in 1960s about strongly interacting particles (hadrons). This relation has many surprising aspects to it which took many decades to uncover. I will talk about how advances since 1998 (arising from the work of a...more

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