Artwork by Akshita Arora

From conversation on:
Jul 11, 2023

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In conversation with Prof. Rupamanjari Ghosh, a pioneering expert in the field of quantum optics, laser physics, non-linear optics and quantum information, we discuss about the time of foundational nurturing of the discipline of quantum optics which currently forms one of the leading frontiers of advanced scientific research in the present day. Talking of the same ideas that are now promising the advent of a new era with quantum computers and the ultimate revolution at the length scales of atoms, we find more about how did this all begin, and what it took to design and conduct some of the most challenging research works that transformed the discipline since then - a towering body of work that Prof. Ghosh contributed towards. We hear more from her on the insights and personal philosophies that shed light on the resolute and passionate individual that lies underneath the towering brilliance that very evidently meets the eye in a rendezvous with her. Furthermore, we discuss about her impressions and the long-term vision inspired from the latter half of her career as a policy maker at the apex national bodies institutions, wherein she has also been actively involved in designing, analyzing, and shaping the educational landscape of the country.

Prof. Ghosh pursued her Bachelors and Masters of Science at the University of Calcutta, graduating in 1980. She then moved to the United States for her PhD at University of Rochester, New York, where she worked with Prof. Leonard Mandel. It was during her doctoral years that she undertook, among other ideas, the pioneering work on Non-classical effects in the interference of two photons which essentially is considered to be one of the holy grails of the field of quantum optics. Upon completion of her PhD, Prof. Ghosh moved back to India to join the Jawaharlal Nehru University as a professor, where she worked for the major part of her career, until 2012, while also holding multiple visiting positions through the years at the Université Paris-Sud, and École Normale Supérieure among others. Prof. Ghosh has served in pivotal roles on multiple national scientific and educational bodies, including the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT), DST, UGC and CSIR, among others. She was the Vice-Chancellor at the Shiv Nadar University from 2016-2022, and currently is also on the Advisory Board of the Executive Leadership Academy at the University of California, Berkeley. Prof. Ghosh has not only contributed immensely to the field of science and technology through her brilliant work, but has also made an indelible mark in the society through her significant contributions as a policy maker, and an administrator with various educational institutions and governing bodies at different levels.