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

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Past Talks
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
What is Natural Selection (and why it is not 'survival of the fittest')?
Amitabh Joshi (JNCASR, Bengaluru)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 26 March 2023
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: The term 'natural selection', to most people, almost reflexively connects to the phrase 'survival of the fittest'. That trite phrase, coined by Herbert Spencer (not Darwin), however, is extremely misleading, inaccurate and susceptible to being (mis)used for furthering nefarious socio-...more
Ways of Computing
Jaikumar Radhakrishnan (ICTS-TIFR)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 26 February 2023
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: Is nature computing? If it is, can we trick it into performing our dirty computational tasks? Using examples, we will see how the laws of mechanics and probability inspire strikingly beautiful algorithms. We will then see how the combination of randomness and interaction allows us to...more
Black Holes, Quantum Mechanics and the Reversibility of Time
Suvrat Raju (International Centre for Theoretical Sciences)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Saturday, 14 January 2023
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: Black Holes are enigmatic objects that pepper the Universe around us. Their existence was predicted theoretically by the modern theory of gravity and has been confirmed by a wide variety of observations. Quantum Mechanics is one of the most successful theories known to humanity. Although...more
Chance and chaos: how to predict the unpredictable
Jens Marklof (University of Bristol, UK)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 11 December 2022
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: We live in a chaotic world: from weather forecasts and natural disasters to political developments, it seems often impossible to even make the most basic predictions. In this lecture I will discuss one of the most fundamental mathematical principles behind such unpredictability: the...more
Beaming into Matter and Life with Particles and Light
Swapan Chattopadhyay (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, USA)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 27 November 2022
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: We will take an adventure ride on beams of charged particles and light --- from their birth at a source and then eventually racing at the speed of light, gaining energy and packing information along the way and finally directing its energy and information into the heart of physical and...more
History of Walking Robots
Shishir N. Y. Kolathaya (Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 30 October 2022
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: In the 1870’s Leland Stanford, then governor of California, commissioned Eadweard Muybridge to find out whether or not a trotting horse left the ground with all four feet at the same time. Muybridge went on to document the walking and running behavior of over 40 mammals. In 1893 Lewis A...more
Finding our place among stars
Sarita Vig (Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 11 September 2022
Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract: We are all aware that our Galaxy, the Milky Way is a spiral galaxy. Where are we (Earth and our Sun) amongst the hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy? I will touch upon the aspects that have led us to our current understanding of the Milky Way. Measurements of stars and nebulae...more
Simulations: why, what and how?
Parthanil Roy (Indian Statistical Institute, Bengaluru)
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, 28 August 2022
Jawaharlal Nehru Planatarium, Bengaluru
This event is part of the Iconic Week Celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav of the DAE Abstract: According to Wikipedia, simulation refers to "imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time." With increasing importance of data-science, efficient simulation algorithms have...more

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