Position:
Associate Professor, Center for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560012, Karnataka, India (Sept 2017 – present)
Assistant Professor, Center for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560012, Karnataka, India (Sept 2011 – Aug 2017)
Associate Faculty, Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering, IISc, (June 2021 – present)
Associate faculty, IISc Math. Initiative, IISc (Sept 2011 – present)
DBT Ramalingaswami Fellow (April 2012 – March 2017).
Adjunct faculty, Consciousness Studies Programme, National Institute for Advanced Studies, Bengaluru (Jan 2015 -Dec 2016)
Academic Background
Postdoctoral Research Associate June 2008-Aug 2011
Adviser: Prof. Iain Couzin
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University
PhD in Physics Oct 2003 – April 2008
Adviser: Prof. C. Jayaprakash, Department of Physics
Thesis title: “Applications of nonequilibrium statistical physics to ecological systems”
Minor in Statistics
The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Integrated M.Sc. in Physics 1998-2003
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India
Professional Experience
Graduate Research Associate 2005-2007
Department of Physics, The Ohio State University
Graduate Teaching Associate 2003-2005
Department of Physics, The Ohio State University
Awards/Honours
Associate, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, 2013-2016.
DBT Ramalingaswami Fellowship, 2012-2017 (by the Dept of Biotechnology, Govt. of India)
Volterra Award, Ecological Society of America, 2008
Best student presentation in Theoretical Ecology at the annual meeting at Milwaukee
Presidential Fellowship, The Ohio State University 2007-08
Highest recognition for graduate students in the university
Indian Institute of Science Young Fellow
Undergraduate summer fellowship for 3 years 1998-2001
Sponsored Research Projects
| Title | Funding Agency | Value | Duration | Co-Investigators |
| Investigate nonlinear and stochastic dynamics of fish schools | SERB | 42 lacks | March 2018 – March 2021 | -na- |
| Aerial videography and tracking to study collective behavior of Blackbuck | Royal Society Commonwealth Conference Follow on travel grant | 3000 UK Pounds | Sep 2016 – Aug 2017 | Dr Colin Torney, UK |
| Investigation of co-evolutionary dynamics of co-operation and collective movement in particle based models | Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | INR 13,00,000 | Aug 2016 – July 2018 | Prof Srikanth Iyer, Mathematics Department, IISc |
| Inferring ecological feedbacks from spacial patterns & remote sensing data | ISRO-IISc Space Technology cell | INR 10,00,000 | April 2016 – March 2018 | |
| Mathematical and computational models of self-organized patterns in semi-arid ecosystems | Indo-French Centre for Applied Mathematics | Euros 15,000/- | April 2015 – March 2018 | Dr. Sonia Kefi |
| Vegetation patterns to mobile organisms: self-organization in biological systems | Department of Biotechnology, India | INR 32,50,000 | April 2012 – March 2017 | |
| Applications of nonlinear dynamics and stochastic processes to ecological systems | SERB | 25 Lacks | 2014 – 2018 | Prof Srikanth Iyer |
Talks/Presentations
(a) Invited:
Indo-French workshop on Evolutionary Developmental and Cell Biology, Observatoire Oceanologique de Banyuls sur Mer, France, Jan 2018.
International Conference on Complex Dynamical Systems and Applications, IIT Guwahati, Dec 2017
Multi scale analysis and modeling of collective migration in biological systems, Bielefeld, Germany, Oct 2017
Early Warning Signs of ecosystem degradation, Montpellier, France Sept 2016
Games, Behaviour \& Epidemics, ICTS-TIFR, Bengaluru June 2016
Advances in Mathematical \& Computational Biology, IIT Ropar May 2016
Complex Systems Approach to Self-Organization, IIT Madras, Feb 2016
Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Nov 2015.
Virtual reality symposium, Behaviour 2015 meeting, Cairns, Australia Aug 2015
Indo-US workshop on Environmental Statistics, ISI Kolkata, March 2015
Commonwealth Science Conference in Bangalore from 25-28 November 2014
Regional conference of young scientists, Third World Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, March, 2014.
Teachers conference on active matter, KITP, Univ. California, Santa Barbara, US (declined).
Population genetics workshop and meeting, International workshop and meeting, Bangalore, Feb 2014.
International Conference on Mathematical Modeling and Applications,Nov 2013, Meiji University (Nakano, Tokyo, Japan)
Individuals and Groups, International Workshop and Discussion Meeting, Almora, May 2012
International conference on theoretical and mathematical biology, Pune, India, Jan 2012
Working group on “Practical methods for analysis of early-warnings for regime shifts”, Santa Fe Institute, NM, Oct 2011
Symposium at SIAM Conference on Applications of Dyn System s[declined] May 2011
University of Central Florida, Mathematical Biology Colloquium, Orlando, FL, Feb2011
Jornada 18th Annual Symposium, University of New Mexico, Las Cruces, USA, June 2009
Ecological thresholds workshop, United States Geological Service, Duluth, MN, May 2008.
(b) Invited summer schools/workshops
Nobel Prize series, Rashtrapathi Bhavan, New Delhi, Jan 2018.
Physics and Biology of Collective Behaviour for UG students, Azim Premji University, October 2017
NCBS Monsoon school for UG students, July 2017.
ICTS Summer School on Dynamics of Complex Systems, June 2017
NCBS Monsoon school for UG students, June 2015.
DST-INSPIRE Camp for High School Children, Shimoga, Karnataka, Dec 2014
Nonlinear Dynamics in Biology” at National Mathematics Initiative, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, July, 2013
Ecology through numbers, Young Ecologists Talk and Interact, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Dec 2012.
Mathematical modeling of Patterns and Diffusion Procession in Ecology, ISI-Kolkata, June 2012.
Ecology through numbers, Young Ecologists Talk and Interact, IIT-Guwahati, Dec 2011.
(c) Selected departmental seminars
Department of Physics, Delhi University, New Delhi, India, March 2015
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Dept of Physics, March 2013
Indian Institute of Science, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Bangalore, Feb 2012.
National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Nov 2010
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Theoretical Physics, Mumbai Nov 2010
Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, Nov 2010
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Adv Sci Res, Theoretical Sciences Oct 2010
Indian Institute of Science, Department of Physics Oct 2010
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune Dec 2009
(d) Contributed talks
Bangalore School on Population Genetics and Evolution, TIFR-ICTS, March 2018
Criticality in biology, Max-Planck Institute for Physics of Complex Systems, April 2015
Ecological Society of America, Annual Meeting, Sacramento, CA Aug 2014
Inclusive fitness and game theory, Arolla, Switzerland, June 2013
ICAM workshop on Soft active materials, Syracyse, NY May 2009
Ecological Society of America, Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI Aug 2008
Probability summer school, Cornell University, June 2008
British Ecological Society, Annual Meeting, Glasgow, UK Sept 2007
Ecological Society of America, Annual Meeting, San Jose, CA Aug 2007
Ecological Society of America, Annual Meeting, Memphis, TN Aug 2006
American Physical Society, March meeting, Baltimore, WA March 2006
(e) Research workshops/schools on specialized topics
Insect self-organization, Mathematical Biosciences Institute, OSU Mar 2011
Cancer Modeling, Mathematical Biosciences Institute, OSU Sept 2010
DARPA “Fundamental Laws of Biology” meeting, Dana Point, CA Jan 2010
Probability theory in ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca June 2008
Biology of decision making, Mathematical Biosciences Institute, OSU June 2008
Theoretical Ecology and Evolution, Mathematical Biosciences Institute, OSU July 2006
Spatial Ecology, Mathematical Biosciences Institute, OSU, March 2006
Departmental service (not exhaustive):
Dept Representative, Biology Building Committee, Oct 2018 – present
CES Workplace Wellness Committee, Oct 2017-present
CES IT Team, Jan 2012 – present
Institute Service (not exhaustive):
KVPY core committee member, July 2019 – present
Faculty mentor, IISc Biology Student Seminar Series, May 2019 – present
Member, Student Advisory Committee, 2014 – present
Service to the scientific community:
(a) Reviewer for grant proposals from international funding agencies.
(b) Reviewer for journal articles: Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences USA, Ecology Letters, American Naturalist, Ecological Monographs, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Theoretical Ecology, Ecosphere, Theoretical Population Biology, Phil. Transactions Roy Soc A, Ecological Modelling, Physica A and others.
(c) Co-organizer of student session “How to succeed in Ecology” in Ecological Society of America annual meeting, 2008, at San Jose.
Theoretical Ecology and Evolution Laboratory 