Kaapi with Kuriosity


Kaapi with Kuriosity is a monthly public lecture series organised by the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS-TIFR), in collaboration with the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium and other educational institutions in Bengaluru.

The aim of the talks in this series is to stimulate the curiosity of the public towards the myriad aspects of science. The setting for these talks will be informal with a lot of scope for open discussions. The scientific background assumed will not be beyond the school level. As such, they are easily accessible to school/college students, families and working professionals interested in science.

Contact: outreach @ icts . res . in

Register to get updates on all ICTS outreach activities

Give us feedback on this program

Past Talks
Understanding the Glue – the “Super-God Particle” – That Binds Us All
Abhay Deshpande (Stony Brook University)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 28 January 2024
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: Protons and neutrons are the building blocks the observable universe. However, despite much experimental and theoretical effort over the past century we know surprisingly little about the origin of their intrinsic properties. For example, how do the quarks and gluons — discovered in the...more
Marine Living Resources: A Blue Future
Sherine Sonia Cubelio (Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology, Kochi)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 10 December 2023
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: The Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, is a national facility undertaking dedicated R&D activities related to marine living resources within the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and beyond. Through extensive ecosystem...more
High Fidelity Sound Reproduction: Practical Aspects for the DIYer
Reji Philip (Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru)
11:00 am to 12:30 pm Sunday, 19 November 2023
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: The inception of sound reproduction technologies can be traced back to more than a century and half. Subsequently, significant advancements have taken place in this field. The era of wax cylinders and phonographs has been supplanted by high-fidelity digital files and top-tier audio...more
The extreme physics of zombie stars
Nils Andersson (University of Southampton)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 08 October 2023
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: A neutron star is born when a massive star runs out of nuclear fuel and dies in a supernova explosion. The object that emerges when the dust settles – effectively, a zombie star – involves physics at the edge of our understanding (and beyond!). We need to consider many extremes, in terms...more
The Imaging Story: black holes to MRI
Rajaram Nityananda (ICTS-TIFR)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 17 September 2023
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: A camera, or eye, transfers light from a point on the object to a corresponding point on the image. The best images are made very differently today, combining many measurements, each of which is not a picture at all. MRI and CT in medicine and pictures made by modern radio telescopes are...more
The odyssey of liquid crystals, from carrot to flat screen
Michel Mitov (French National Centre for Scientific Research)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 13 August 2023
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: This lecture will narrate the strange space-time odyssey of a carrot, beginning in 1888 at the German University of Prague in the Czech Republic and completing in 1968 on the ground floor of Rockefeller Center in New York–USA. RCA revealed there a breakthrough in the field of liquid...more
Conway's Tangles
Michael Lacey (Georgia Institute of Technology)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 02 July 2023
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: John Conway has given us a method to tangle two ropes, with each tangle identified with a rational number. We start with untangled rope. With twists and rotations, one can arrive at any rational number. Remarkably, the tangles can be added, just like rational numbers. All of this will be...more
Is clay a solid or a liquid?
Ranjini Bandyopadhyay (Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Saturday, 17 June 2023
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: Pierre de Gennes received the Nobel prize in Physics in 1991 for ‘discovering that methods developed for studying order phenomena in simple systems can be generalized to more complex forms of matter, in particular to liquid crystals and polymers’. Liquid crystals, polymers, foams,...more
What's the matter with primordial black holes?
Ravi K. Sheth (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 14 May 2023
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: We believe that most of the matter in the universe does not make light, so astronomers like to speak of a universe that is filled with `dark matter'. In addition, black holes are objects from which light cannot escape, so it is natural to ask if the dark matter is made of black holes. I'...more
Opportunities for breakthrough science with lunar exploration
Jan Harms (Gran Sasso Science Institute, Italy)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 16 April 2023
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: The Moon might become the first extra-terrestrial location with permanent human settlements. Lunar exploration programs exist or are under development in all major space agencies. Commercial transport services to the Moon will play an increasing role and revolutionize lunar exploration...more

Pages