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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Ashoka University
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DTSTART:20250101T000000
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260313T000000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260329T235500
DTSTAMP:20260311T235420Z
CREATED:20260311T235420Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260311T235420Z
UID:90278-1773360000-1774828500@www.ashoka.edu.in
SUMMARY:ACC x De Beers Inter-University Case Competition
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://www.ashoka.edu.in/event/acc-x-de-beers-interuniversity-case-competition/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260325T132500
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260325T150000
DTSTAMP:20260317T203509Z
CREATED:20260317T203509Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260317T203509Z
UID:90735-1774445100-1774450800@www.ashoka.edu.in
SUMMARY:25 March (Wed) 1:40 PM: Fourth Lecture in Ashoka History Spring Seminar Series 2026
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: Given the diverse geographies\, societies and cultures that imperial frontier making encompasses\, how would one write cultural history of such a frontier making process? Focusing on British Assam\, the discussion highlights how studying entanglements of frontier making and cultural forms (such as\, memoirs\, ballads\, etc.) can provide interesting conceptual scope in this regard. It can also help us understand how\, vis-à-vis such processes of frontier making\, cultural forms acquire their textual character not only through ruptures and limits but also as bearers of new meanings.       \nBio: Manjeet Baruah teaches at Special Centre for the Study of North East India\, Jawaharlal Nehru University\, New Delhi. His areas of research interest include literary and cultural history\, text and space\, and frontiers and borderlands. His recent works include\, Hunter\, Peasant\, Rebel: Colonialism and the British Assam Frontier (Routledge\, 2024). His works of translation include the novel\, Remains of Spring: A Naga Village in the No Man's Land (OUP\, 2016). 
URL:https://www.ashoka.edu.in/event/25-march-wed-140-pm-fourth-lecture-in-ashoka-history-spring-seminar-series-2026/
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DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260325T133000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260325T144500
DTSTAMP:20260323T012747Z
CREATED:20260316T194557Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260323T012747Z
UID:90733-1774445400-1774449900@www.ashoka.edu.in
SUMMARY:Physics and Computer Science Colloquium
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: I will introduce in broad terms the work I and my collaborators have been doing in an attempt to advance science through AI methodologies and to advance AI methodologies through building AI models to answer focused science-driven questions on data. On the science front\, I will concentrate on astronomy and cognitive neuroscience. On the AI side I will focus on interpretable and transparent methodologies\, ranging from probabilistic modelling of multi-manifold structures in extremely noisy environments (astronomy)\, to metric learning methods and probabilistic latent variable modelling of spatial-temporal structures (cognitive neuroscience). I will try to relate the message that if we care enough\, the interplay between sciences and AI can be healthy and mutually beneficial. \nAbout the Speaker: Peter holds a Chair position in Complex and Adaptive Systems at the University of Birmingham\, UK. He is fascinated by the possibilities of cross-disciplinary blending of machine learning\, mathematical modelling and domain knowledge in a variety of scientific disciplines ranging from astrophysics to bio-medical sciences. He led an EPSRC-funded consortium of six UK universities on developing a new mathematical framework for personalised healthcare and was awarded three Outstanding Paper of the Year Awards from the IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and the IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation. Peter (co-)chaired Task Force on Mining Complex Astronomical Data and Neural Networks Technical Committee (IEEE  Computational Intelligence Society). \nWe look forward to your active participation.
URL:https://www.ashoka.edu.in/event/physics-and-computer-science-colloquium/
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DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260325T170000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260325T180000
DTSTAMP:20260324T145337Z
CREATED:20260323T061705Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T145337Z
UID:90894-1774458000-1774461600@www.ashoka.edu.in
SUMMARY:Theoretical Physics for Robust\, Interpretable AI - Anindita Maiti\, Perimeter Institute Quantum Intelligence Lab (PIQuIL)
DESCRIPTION:Colloquium announcement\nTheoretical Physics for Robust\, Interpretable AI\nAnindita Maiti \nPerimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics\,\nPerimeter Institute Quantum Intelligence Lab (PIQuIL) \n \n\nAbstract: Despite rapid progress in the performance of State-of-the-Art AI models for quantum\, most such methods remain blackboxes: lacking guarantees of robust and reliable predictions that meet uncertainty quantification benchmarks essential in scientific domains. To address this gap\, I will summarize a few directions that improve robustness\, mechanistic interpretability\, and uncertainty quantification of complex learning and sample generation abilities. I will present the simplest model capable of in-context learning\, an ability that underpins LLM success\, especially for quantum attributes. The emergence of in-context learning ability is studied for the simplest class of tasks: linear regression. The model performance is exactly derived in the joint asymptotic limit of a large number of samples\, token dimensions\, sample length\, and task diversity: exhibiting neural scaling laws and a phase transition from memorization-to-generalization. These results are supported by experiments on standard (full) architectures. Time permitting\, I will also introduce a framework hinging on “Renormalization Group”\, a cornerstone of theoretical physics\, that systematically coarsegrains data features irrelevant to learning\, while capturing nontrivial perturbations to model predictions within scientific uncertainty bounds. Altogether\, these works advance AI reliability in a first-principles manner\, while bridging AI with fundamental physics. \nAbout the speaker: Dr. Anindita Maiti is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics\, cross-affiliated with Prof. Roger Melko’s group Perimeter Institute Quantum Intelligence Lab (PIQuIL) since September 2023. Previously\, Anindita held a short postdoctoral appointment in physics for ML foundations\, mentored by Prof. Cengiz Pehlevan\, at Harvard Applied Math (May–August 2023). She earned her PhD in theoretical high-energy physics (string theory and particle theory division) at Northeastern University and the NSF AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI) in May 2023\, under the supervision of Prof. James Halverson. Anindita received her Integrated Bachelors and Masters in Engineering Physics at IIT Bombay in Aug 2017\, guided by Prof. Urjit Yajnik. Anindita’s research lies at the intersection of AI/ML\, quantum\, and statistical physics. In short\, she works on Physics of Learning and ML for Quantum. Broadly\, Anindita uses theoretical physics concepts: such as path integrals\, renormalization group flow\, computational statistics\, and random matrix theory\, to develop a physics-informed theoretical foundation for ML and to guide the principled design of AI systems. Anindita applies this framework to construct interpretable and trustworthy AI- and ML-based simulation strategies for quantum field theory and quantum many-body physics. \n\nDate: Wednesday\, Mar 25\, 2026Time: 05:00 PM – 06:00 PM\nVenue: LR-305\, Admin Building\, Ashoka University CampusEmail: asac@ashoka.edu.in\nZoom link: https://zoom.us/j/99146995185?pwd=inazhbDg0AhIvkJTzeICdWvilQI89b.1Website: https://www.ashoka.edu.in/vachani-school-of-advanced-computing/
URL:https://www.ashoka.edu.in/event/sac_coll01/
LOCATION:AC-04-LR-302\, Ashoka University Campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.ashoka.edu.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/anindita.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260325T170000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260325T180000
DTSTAMP:20260323T212404Z
CREATED:20260324T051918Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260323T212404Z
UID:90937-1774458000-1774461600@www.ashoka.edu.in
SUMMARY:Theoretical Physics for Robust\, Interpretable AI
DESCRIPTION:Colloquium announcement\nTheoretical Physics for Robust\, Interpretable AI\nAnindita Maiti \nPerimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics\, Perimeter Institute Quantum Intelligence Lab (PIQuIL) \n \nAbstract: Despite rapid progress in the performance of State-of-the-Art AI models for quantum\, most such methods remain blackboxes: lacking guarantees of robust and reliable predictions that meet uncertainty quantification benchmarks essential in scientific domains. To address this gap\, I will summarize a few directions that improve robustness\, mechanistic interpretability\, and uncertainty quantification of complex learning and sample generation abilities. I will present the simplest model capable of in-context learning\, an ability that underpins LLM success\, especially for quantum attributes. The emergence of in-context learning ability is studied for the simplest class of tasks: linear regression. The model performance is exactly derived in the joint asymptotic limit of a large number of samples\, token dimensions\, sample length\, and task diversity: exhibiting neural scaling laws and a phase transition from memorization-to-generalization. These results are supported by experiments on standard (full) architectures. Time permitting\, I will also introduce a framework hinging on “Renormalization Group”\, a cornerstone of theoretical physics\, that systematically coarsegrains data features irrelevant to learning\, while capturing nontrivial perturbations to model predictions within scientific uncertainty bounds. Altogether\, these works advance AI reliability in a first-principles manner\, while bridging AI with fundamental physics. \nAbout the speaker: Dr. Anindita Maiti is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics\, cross-affiliated with Prof. Roger Melko’s group Perimeter Institute Quantum Intelligence Lab (PIQuIL) since September 2023. Previously\, Anindita held a short postdoctoral appointment in physics for ML foundations\, mentored by Prof. Cengiz Pehlevan\, at Harvard Applied Math (May–August 2023). She earned her PhD in theoretical high-energy physics (string theory and particle theory division) at Northeastern University and the NSF AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI) in May 2023\, under the supervision of Prof. James Halverson. Anindita received her Integrated Bachelors and Masters in Engineering Physics at IIT Bombay in Aug 2017\, guided by Prof. Urjit Yajnik. Anindita’s research lies at the intersection of AI/ML\, quantum\, and statistical physics. In short\, she works on Physics of Learning and ML for Quantum. Broadly\, Anindita uses theoretical physics concepts: such as path integrals\, renormalization group flow\, computational statistics\, and random matrix theory\, to develop a physics-informed theoretical foundation for ML and to guide the principled design of AI systems. Anindita applies this framework to construct interpretable and trustworthy AI- and ML-based simulation strategies for quantum field theory and quantum many-body physics.\nDate: Wednesday\, Mar 25\, 2026Time: 05:00 PM – 06:00 PM Venue: LR-305\, Admin Building\, Ashoka University CampusEmail: asac@ashoka.edu.in Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/99146995185?pwd=inazhbDg0AhIvkJTzeICdWvilQI89b.1Website: https://www.ashoka.edu.in/vachani-school-of-advanced-computing/
URL:https://www.ashoka.edu.in/event/theoretical-physics-for-robust-interpretable-ai/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260325T183000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260325T193000
DTSTAMP:20260317T193046Z
CREATED:20260318T022103Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260317T193046Z
UID:90751-1774463400-1774467000@www.ashoka.edu.in
SUMMARY:Birds in Biology: An Ornithologist\'s Trysts with Rare Bird Conservation in India
DESCRIPTION:Dear All\, \nThe Department of Environmental Studies cordially invites you to the Third colloquium in the Spring '26 Colloquium Series on Wednesday\, 25 March 2026 \nTitle: “Birds in Biology: An Ornithologist's Trysts with Rare Bird Conservation in India” \nSpeaker: Prof. Ghazala Shahabuddin\, Visiting Professor Environmental Studies\, Ashoka University \nDate: 25 March 2026 \nTime: 6:30 – 7:30 PM  \nZoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/97153280545?pwd=LjuF4ftbzF20CkGYoIBb25hZfhBwCY.1  \nAbstract: The preservationist doctrine has been the principal guiding framework for wildlife conservation in India\, advocating unconditional protection for wild species. Yet\, during the  late 20th century\, human-wildlife coexistence emerged as a distinct possibility; there was even a rethinking of outright bans on hunting and ecosystem use. Ravi Sankaran (1963-2009)\, a prominent Indian ecologist\, grappled with questions of human-bird coexistence\, being one of the few biologists of his time to do so. While he was possessed of a passion for unraveling the ecology of endangered birds in remote areas\, he also worked towards their conservation closely with marginalized communities who shared their habitats. Based on the Ravi Sankaran Papers at the Archives at NCBS\, I will explore his vision for human-bird coexistence in three strikingly different social-ecological situations: the Lesser Florican (Central India)\, Edible-nest Swiftlet (Andaman & Nicobar Islands) and the Blyth’s Tragopan (Nagaland Hills).  \nSpeaker's Bio: Ghazala Shahabuddin’s research interests lie at the cross-section of conservation science\, wildlife history and policy. She has a PhD in Ecology and Conservation Biology from Duke University\, USA (1998) for which she studied  forest fragmentation in Lago Guri\, Venezuela. Since then\, her work has expanded to the policy arena including conservation-induced displacement and community-based conservation . Her book\, Conservation at the Crossroads (Permanent Black\, 2010)\, critically analyzes contemporary wildlife policy and implementation in India. She worked as an Associate Professor at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University in Delhi where she  taught at the School of Human Ecology from 2009-2014. Since August 2021\, she has been a Visiting Professor to Environmental Studies at Ashoka University\, India and in 2024-25\, she was a Scholar-in-Residence at the Archives at NCBS. She is currently involved in a long-term field study on environmental change in Himalayan oak forests of Uttarakhand.  \n  \nWe look forward to your active participation in the talk. \nwarm regards\, \nEnvironmental Studies Department
URL:https://www.ashoka.edu.in/event/birds-in-biology-an-ornithologists-trysts-with-rare-bird-conservation-in-india/
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