Event Introduction

Walk-the-Talk with Prof. P. Balaram, Director IISC Bangalore

Prof. P. Balaram received his Bachelors degree in Chemistry from Fergusson College, Pune followed by a Master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and his PhD degree from Carnegie Mellon University with A. A. Bothner-By. After a postdoctoral stint at Harvard University with Nobel laureate Robert Burns Woodward, he returned to the Indian Institute of Science, where he has been ever since as a faculty member in the Molecular Biophysics Unit. During his PhD, Prof. Balaram studied the use of negative Nuclear Overhauser effect signals as probes of macromolecular conformations. As a postdoc with Woodward, Balaram worked on the synthesis of the antibiotic Erythromycin.

In a personal interview with Team TechSpeak, Prof. P. Balaram speaks about a host of topics such as life as the IISc Director, Role of policy makers in education, Bridging the gap between Science and Engineering, evaluation of an educational system and development of an ideal student. Being the first of its kind event at the ENGINEER – Golden Jubilee Edition, it is sure to be a great learning opportunity for the budding engineers. Prof. Balaram’s inspiring words will indeed provide a great impetus to all the aspiring participants of ENGINEER.