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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Ashoka University
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TZID:Asia/Kolkata
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DTSTART:20250101T000000
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260916T133000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260916T144500
DTSTAMP:20260916T072653Z
CREATED:20260916T072653Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T072653Z
UID:99187-1789565400-1789569900@www.ashoka.edu.in
SUMMARY:Land restoration in a human-dominated world  | Guest Lecture EVS
DESCRIPTION:Dear All\, \nWe are delighted to invite you to a guest lecture being organized by Environmental Studies Department as part of the coures ES-2722 Return of the wild: the practice and science of ecological restoration and rewilding by Prof. Akshay Surendra. \nDate & Time: Wednesday\, 16th Sept. 2026\, 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. \nVenue: AC02 – 013 \nTitle: Land restoration in a human-dominated world: Intended and unintended outcomes and their trade-offs for climate\, human wellbeing and biodiversity  \nAbstract:  \nEcological restoration has emerged as a means to mitigate climate change\, with the potential to provide biodiversity and human wellbeing co-benefits. Globally\, enormous investments have been made to restore degraded land in the UN Decade on Restoration (2021-2030). However\, in light of the recent failure of several restoration and reforestation efforts\, a scrutiny of social-ecological outcomes\, both intended and unintended\, has become crucial to guide ongoing and future efforts. To do so\, my research combines diverse data and methodologies\, such as acoustics\, vegetation data\, remote sensing and evidence syntheses. In this talk\, I will focus on the multidimensional outcomes of restoration policies and programs in India\, the trade-offs between biodiversity\, human-wellbeing and climate associated with these efforts\, and suggestions on upscaling effective restoration policies and programs.  \nSpeaker's Bio:  \nDr Pooja Choksi is an ecologist and researcher with a Master's in Environmental Management from Yale University\, a PhD in Ecology from Columbia University. Until 2025\, Dr Choksi was a research associate at NASA LULC project at University of Minnesota. After a decade in academia\, Pooja Choksi founded an environmental consultancy\, Ficus Research Consulting. Through Ficus\, she works on real-world ecological research questions (often\, with  messy data) to provide insights that support non-profit and government conservation and restoration efforts. \n  \nWe look forward to having you with us for the talk. \n  \nwarm regards\, \nEnvironmental Studies Department
URL:https://www.ashoka.edu.in/event/land-restoration-in-a-humandominated-world--guest-lecture-evs/
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DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260916T133000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260916T144500
DTSTAMP:20260916T072655Z
CREATED:20260916T072655Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T072655Z
UID:99191-1789565400-1789569900@www.ashoka.edu.in
SUMMARY:Physics Colloquium
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: On the basis of fundamental physical principles\, we now have a remarkably successful picture of why the universe looks the way it does today. Modern cosmology has allowed us to trace the evolution of the universe from its earliest stages to the present\, explaining many of its observed properties and the emergence of structure on scales ranging from galaxies to the largest patterns in the cosmos. Yet\, despite these remarkable successes\, our understanding remains incomplete. Several important questions arise when we examine the universe at different stages of its evolution. Some concern the detailed physical processes that shaped the universe as it expanded and evolved\, while others point to deeper gaps in our fundamental understanding. Indeed\, some of the outstanding problems in cosmology may require us to reconsider basic aspects of physics\, including the nature of gravity itself. The universe therefore provides not only a remarkable laboratory for testing our existing theories\, but also clues that may point toward a deeper description of physical reality. \nIn this colloquium\, I will take a broad journey through the evolution of the universe\, beginning with its earliest stages and tracing its development to the rich and structured cosmos we observe today. Along the way\, I will highlight the major successes of modern cosmology\, as well as the puzzles and unresolved questions that remain. The aim is to explore both how far our understanding has come and where the universe continues to challenge us. \nAbout the Speaker: Prof T.R. Seshadri is a physicist and cosmologist with over three decades of experience in research and teaching. He completed his five-year M.S. in Physics from 1978–1983 and his Ph.D. from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)\, Bombay\, from 1983–1989. He subsequently held postdoctoral positions at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL)\, Ahmedabad; the University of Delhi; and the University of Sussex\, Brighton\, UK. \nIn 1992\, he joined the Harish-Chandra Research Institute\, Allahabad\, as a faculty member\, where he served until 2001. He then joined the University of Delhi\, where he continued his academic and research career until his retirement in 2026. He is currently a Visiting Professor of Physics at Ashoka University. \nHis research interests primarily lie in cosmology and astrophysics\, with a focus on the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation\, large-scale structures in the Universe\, cosmic and astrophysical magnetic fields\, and aspects of the early Universe. More recently\, he has also developed an interest in atmospheric physics. \nHe has authored approximately 60 research papers in these areas. \nWe look forward to your active participation.
URL:https://www.ashoka.edu.in/event/physics-colloquium/
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DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260916T133000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260916T150000
DTSTAMP:20260916T072654Z
CREATED:20260916T072654Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T072654Z
UID:99189-1789565400-1789570800@www.ashoka.edu.in
SUMMARY:Philosophy Colloquium: Ralph Weber - Comparative Philosophy: Between Past and Future
DESCRIPTION:Philosophy Colloquium: Prof. Ralph Weber will talk on 'Comparative Philosophy: Between Past and Future'\, followed by time for Q&A.  He will offer a critical account of how comparative philosophy has been practiced in the past and how we lack good historiographical accounts\, then go on to offer some thoughts on how the field should move forward in order to make it philosophically an even more persuasive undertaking. \nProf. Ralph Weber is based at the University of Basel\, Switzerland\, where he is Deputy Director of the Institute for European Global Studies\, Associate Professor of European Global Studies\, Director of the MA and PhD Programs in European Global Studies\, and on the Research Council Swiss National Science Foundation Institute for European Global Studies.  He is an expert in European and Chinese Political Philosophy\, with insights relevant to Philosophy\, Political Science\, and International Relations. This semester he will be collaborating with Ashoka's own Professor Arindam Chakrabarti\, including giving guest lectures in the course Metaphysics of Political Relations. \nAbstract: Comparative philosophy as a self-conscious academic inquiry has been around for at least a century\, but it continues to be riddled with some unresolved ambiguities. As Wilhelm Halbfass has pointed out\, it is unclear whether “philosophy is the subject or the object of comparing.” If it were about comparing philosophies\, what is it that separates one philosophy from another? If about comparing philosophically\, what distinguishes philosophical comparison from other forms of comparison? Unsurprisingly\, practitioners of comparative philosophers have filled in these missing pieces of information in varied ways\, bringing about a pluralism of approaches and labels. \nIn this talk\, I present a critical account of how comparative philosophy has been practiced in the past and how we lack good historiographical accounts\, calling for a more sociological and global history of comparative philosophy that emphasizes entanglement and knowledge circulation rather than cultural boundaries. It is\, I argue\, only from such a rewriting of the history of philosophy that the future of a global post-comparative philosophy as just philosophy can be envisaged. \nThe colloquium will be held on Wednesday 16th of September 2026\,  at 13:30-15:00\, in AC02-LR203. Refreshments will be served.
URL:https://www.ashoka.edu.in/event/philosophy-colloquium-ralph-weber-comparative-philosophy-between-past-and-future/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260916T134000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260916T145000
DTSTAMP:20260916T072656Z
CREATED:20260916T072656Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T072656Z
UID:99193-1789566000-1789570200@www.ashoka.edu.in
SUMMARY:Economics Department Weekly Seminar | Jeevant Rampal | 16th September 2026 | 1:40 PM
DESCRIPTION:Title: Bureaucrat Cadre Assignment Policies: Theory and Evidence \nAbstract: Indian Administrative Services officers spend their predominant work-life in a cadre/location. Three different cadre-assignment mechanisms have been applied since 2000: an essentially random assignment (both pre-2008 and current)\, serial dictatorship (SD; 2008-17)\, SD with constraints on reporting cadre-preferences (2017-2026). In addition\, we design and study a fourth mechanism. A key policy aim is national integration which implies officers should serve in diverse locations relative to their home cadre. We use theory\, surveys of aspirants\, and lab/field experiments to study the four mechanisms' implications for strategy-proofness and misreporting\, officers' envy and welfare\, and national integration. \n 
URL:https://www.ashoka.edu.in/event/economics-department-weekly-seminar-jeevant-rampal-16th-september-2026-140-pm/
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