webinar

Covid-19 first appeared in China around December 2019.

In dealing with the pandemic, there are many important decisions to be made by elected officials. The main goal of our research is to predict future Covid-19 outcomes using past data to make out-of-sample forecasts.

The role of Knowledge in Society

Impact of the pandemic on the Financial Markets: Comparison of US and Indian markets.

Relations between the two Asian giants India and China, have plummeted to an all-time low after a physical scuffle between the Indian Army and the PLA soldiers. After some quick damage control, both sides decided to diffuse the situation  and are engaged in talks to resolve few longstanding issues. At the core of the problem lies the border dispute which has been simmering since both countries attained independence more than seven decades ago.  China finds India's emergence as a regional power an impediment to its agenda of becoming an undisputed leader.

In this lecture, Dr. Vijay Bhatkar shares his mystical romance with Mathematics in his long career. After recalling the amazing contributions of Pingala, Aryabhatta, Madhava, Ramanujan, and the contemporary scientists, from the mathematical viewpoint, he jumps to his own unbelievable philosophical entry in Mathematics, where as an engineer, he was called upon to develop   India’s electronic industry, that introduced him to computers and information technology.

Analysis of evidence from multiple disciplines reveals problems with the present-day narratives of the deep history of India. In this talk, the speaker will present multi-disciplinary evidence that raises several questions on such narratives. By analyzing the data, models, methods and evidence, the speaker will critique existing narratives and present a thesis for the deep antiquity of the Indian civilization.

Technology always had an impact on higher education even in the days of the Industrial age. For example, printing technology allowed education to be free of location and time with publications of books and journals. A single book could be printed and copies sent all over the world.

India's recent challenges have created different expected and possible paths for the future.  With many changes expected in the technological, economical and political spheres, one has to analyze the future with a proper care.  Dr. Jadhav being a leader in many areas, will do it in most interesting way, and will offer his perspectives on these developments.

Society relies on many algorithms for its functioning, e.g. holding regular elections, distributing vaccines etc. We often assume these algorithms to have certain logical properties. For instance, in an election, we not only want confidentiality but also verifiability (that every vote cast has been counted), and more such properties. Can we even prove that these requirements are consistent?

We present some examples of such analysis: insights from mathematical logic, computer science, game theory and dynamical systems theory seem relevant for such exploration.

What are ‘the commons’? Why are they constantly under threat?  Are we looking in the right theoretical place for their survival?  Akeel Bilgrami’s lecture will explore these questions with a view to uncovering the philosophical significance of the commons and its implications for law and norm and the nature of our deepest moral and political ideals.