Institute Colloquium on Science in Ancient India Speaker Prof. Michel Danino Visiting Faculty, IIT Kanpur and IIT Gandhinagar. Title: Science in Ancient India Date: Tuesday, January 27, 2014 Time: 5:15 PM Venue: Main Auditorium, Victor Menezes Convention Centre (VMCC), IIT Bombay. About the Speaker: Born in France in 1956, Prof. Michel Danino has been living in India since 1977 and is now an Indian citizen. An independent student of Indian civilization, he has authored papers and books in French and English. Recent titles include: The Lost River: On the Trail of the Sarasvati (Penguin India, 2010), a multidisciplinary study of the Vedic Sarasvati river; and Indian Culture and India’s Future (DK Printworld, 2011). Prof. Danino was a visiting faculty at IIM Ranchi from 2011–12 to 2013–14. He is currently guest professor at IIT Gandhinagar, where he is assisting the setting up of an Archaeological Sciences Centre. His other interests include nature conservation and the creation of innovative educational material. He has been coordinating a project to produce a multimedia educational DVD on Science and Technology in Ancient India, which is expected in 2015. He is also a member of the CBSE’s course committee for the development on a course on Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India and has co­edited the course textbook (two volumes, for class XI and XII). Abstract of the Lecture: India’s past scientific and technological advances have been well documented, although mainstream history of science is yet to take full notice of them. In fact, India’s scientific community remains largely unaware of India’s contributions to the field, rightly distrustful of exaggerated claims, but doing little to promote research in Indian history of science. Using authentic scholarship in the field, the illustrated lecture will offer an overview of scientific achievements in India from earliest times, with a focus on mathematics and astronomy. It will also show how India’s cultural background led to developments different from those found in other civilizations, illustrating how in the ancient world at least, science and culture need to be studied together.