Supriya, DG and Gadagkar, R Professor Raghavendra Gadagkar: The world at his doorstep. NRI Pulse. UNSPECIFIED.
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Abstract
“I think the wasps hold a mirror to us and allow us to reflect on our own society” – Professor Gadagkar in an interview with science writer Kaspar Mossman, June 24, 2009 PNAS. BY SUPRIYA D. G. Dr Raghavendra Gadagkar is well known for his work in the field of animal behavior, ecology and evolution. He was recently inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences as a foreign honorary member. His conversation with this writer at NRI Pulse were musings about a long journey. Atlanta, GA, May 7, 2017: Dr. Raghavendra Gadagkar will probably be the last one to admit that his journey is about connecting the dots. Admittedly, he has had a distinguishing career with a long list of prestigious awards. But, he has remained with the Indian Institute of Science (IISC)Bangalore, since he joined the institution in1979 to do a PhD in Molecular Biology. A reversal of the brain drain that continues to plague Indian Institutions even to this day! Yet Dr Gadagkar brought the attention of the world to his doorstep. He stayed back in India, turning his hobby of observing wasps into a career, even pioneering a theory on the social behavior of insects through several decades of study of the local wasp found in South India called Ropalidia marginata. His seminal work has been an attempt to understand a complex world, of what many are dismissive about and unaware of, and bring out the interdependent nature of its existence. So is the evident excitement at IISC surrounding Dr. Gadagkar’s honor matched by the common man’s understanding about his chosen field? For a man who has spent an equal amount of time and energy communicating his work in public lectures, school visits, and talks uploaded on YouTube, the award is meaningful also because it has conferred the privilege of learning and interaction with a rich and diverse community. Dr. Gadagkar reminisces about an episode when he first as an undergraduate student had heard about the Academy of Arts and Sciences. In a rare occurrence, during his early years in college, he chanced upon a journal published by that prestigious society, in the library at Bangalore University. Perhaps it was his own youthful spirit that has encouraged him to have faith in the succeeding generations.
| Item Type: | Other |
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| Additional Information: | Supriya, D. G. (2017) Professor Raghavendra Gadagkar: The world at his doorstep. NRI Pulse. http://www.nripulse.com/professor-raghavendra-gadagkar-the-world-at-his-doorstep/ Supriya, D. G. 2017. Professor Raghavendra Gadagkar: The World At His Doorstep, NRI Pulse, http://www.nripulse.com/professor-raghavendra-gadagkar-the-world-at-his-doorstep/; https://issuu.com/nripulse/docs/nri_pulse_may_2017_print_issue |
| Keywords: | Interview,Gadagkar |
| Department/Centre: | Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 16 Mar 2021 06:02 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Jun 2022 11:56 |
| URI: | https://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/68365 |
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