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Floating in the Cosmos of Ideas: Some glimpses into the way great ideas emerge in Cosmology

Floating in the Cosmos of Ideas: Some glimpses into the way great ideas emerge in Cosmology

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Floating in the Cosmos of Ideas: Some glimpses into the way great ideas emerge in Cosmology
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<strong>Archives of Contemporary History School of Social Sciences, JNU</strong> an interactive colloquium titled <strong>Floating in the Cosmos of Ideas: Some glimpses into the way great ideas emerge in Cosmology </strong> <strong>Swadesh M Mahajan</strong> Professor of Physics, University of Texas, Austin, USA and Distinguished Professor (visiting) at Shiv Nadar University, India. The speaker, Swadesh M Mahajan, is Professor of Physics at the University of Texas at Austin, USA and Distinguished Professor (visiting) at Shiv Nadar University, India. His pursuits in Theoretical Physics encompass very practical to very abstract ideas. He has done pioneering work in a number of areas ranging from Nuclear Fusion Energy to non-linear quantum mechanics to Cosmology. He was the first to propose a practical Fusion-Fission Hybrid reactor, and first to weave together a somewhat comprehensive theory on how magnetic fields could be created in the early universe. His work is profusely quoted and written about. The discussion is envisaged as a non-technical but `physics-y' and non-scholarly exploration of ancient and modern scientific cosmologies to reveal patterns of thinking and emergence of ideas, and speculating on the general relevance of such patterns and ideas to broad intellectual endeavors. Date : <strong>12 October 2015</strong>

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.