Summer is on the horizon and that means it’s a great time to catch up on a book (or two or three!). We spoke with some of the Mittal Institute’s Graduate Student Associates to see what’s on their reading list and to hear more about their favorite reads.
Scienspur, a program that offers free STEM courses to economically disadvantaged students across India, is built on the philosophy of igniting scientific curiosity. All courses are free, and all instructors volunteer their time – something that its students explain is particularly unique. “Very few programs have an interest in helping others with their career, without any profit…it has inspired my classmates and I to give back to others’ education, when our own time comes,” says Ebinesh S, a photonics major from the University of Madras, India. “It was an honor to be a part of an organization that works to elevate scientists from every corner of the globe.”
Jonathan Ripley, Preceptor, has been teaching the Tamil language at Harvard University since 2012. Tamil, one of the longest-surviving classical languages of India, is offered as a class to Harvard students, faculty and staff. We spoke to Jonathan about his language learners, and his own journey with Tamil.
Leren Gao, a Master’s of Theological Studies candidate at Harvard Divinity School, spent her summer learning Sanskrit in Kathmandu, Nepal. With her goal of eventually pursuing a Ph.D. in the field of Tibetan Buddhist Studies, Sanskrit is a valuable language to learn for Leren. She shared her experience.
For Nicole Jain, Ed.M.’11, the children’s book she recently published is the kind of book that would have been helpful when she was a girl. Our Mom, Our Superhero, co-authored with her brother Ravi is about the experience of two young siblings trying to help their mother deal with mental illness. It’s based on the experience the pair had with their own mom. Jain spoke about the book.
Harvard Law Review has elected second-year student Apsara Iyer as its 137th President. Founded in 1887, the Harvard Law Review is among the oldest student-run legal scholarship publications. We spoke with Apsara about the position, and what she envisions for her tenure.
Last semester, a new multi-year project was launched to research, document, and create conversations around architecture in South Asia. The project, “The State of Architecture in South Asia,” utilizes podcasts, lecture series, exhibits and conferences to ask fundamental questions about architecture’s role and space in the region. The project is coordinated by the Mittal Institute, the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD), and supported by The Architecture Foundation, India and The South Asia GSD Student Group. We spoke with project conveners Rahul Mehrotra, Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) and an LMSAI Steering Committee member, and Pranav Thole, an urban design graduate student at the GSD and co-chair of the South Asia GSD student group, who also launched a corresponding virtual lecture series, “The Architecture of Transition: Emergent Practices in South Asia.” Fall installments of the series can be found on our YouTube channel – upcoming events are listed below and on our events calendar.