Name of the candidate:

Dr. Shahila Muhammed

About the candidate:

Dr. Shahila Muhammed obtained her master's in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) in 2013. Her MSc dissertation, titled "Tandem mass spectrometric studies of gold and silver thiolates", was carried out under the guidance of Prof. T Pradeep at the DST unit of nanoscience, IIT Madras, where she acquired training in employing sensitive tandem mass spectrometric methods for molecular structural investigation. During the next three years (2014 January - 2017 January), she worked as a junior research fellow at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune (IISER Pune). At IISER Pune, she worked in the biophotonics laboratory with Dr. Mrinalini Puranik, and in the Chemical Origins of Life Lab with Dr. Sudha Rajamani. The projects on substrate recognition of DNA repair proteins and the photophysics of modified nucleobases from the origins of life perspective provided her with thorough training in vibrational spectroscopy. A transition from experimental research to theoretical chemistry research brought her to the current position. She enrolled in the PhD program in chemistry at the National Institute of Technology Calicut (NIT Calicut) in December 2017. She worked with Prof. Parameswaran Pattiyil (Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Lab, NITC) on the thesis titled "Role of Hyperconjugation in Dictating the Molecular Geometry and Reactivity of Low-valent Group-15 Compounds". Her studies explored the electronic structure, chemical bonding, and reactivity of several group-15 compounds where pseudo-multiple bonding is present. She defended her PhD thesis in November 2024. While at NITC, her research produced several publications in reputable, peer-reviewed international journals.

Title of the talk:

Understanding Chemistry through Heuristic Chemical Bonding Models

Abstract of the talk:

Heuristic models are indispensable to the growth of chemistry and are excellent candidates that help to categorise the huge amount of structural and spectroscopic data collected over centuries. Although these models lack a direct one-to-one correspondence with the underlying physical reality and often appear as fuzzy concepts to non-chemists, they are essential to manipulate the material world. Design and synthesis of new molecules are inevitably influenced by the depth of chemical intuition built upon exposing ourselves to these models and categorisation schemes. Importantly, the extensive symbolism used in chemistry to represent structures, reaction mechanisms, etc., is rooted in models. Molecules being intrinsically delocalized quantum objects, the second-order electron delocalisation is dealt with two prime concepts in chemistry – conjugation and hyperconjugation. The first part of the talk will discuss the concepts of hyperconjugation, bonds formed through hyperconjugation (pseudo-bonds) and pseudo-π-delocalisation with recent examples from main-group chemistry. The second part of the talk will present ideas for enhancing the teaching and learning of quantum chemical models in undergraduate courses. This discussion will address the inclusion of philosophical and historical accounts of the development of quantum chemical models, strategies for improving mechanistic reasoning in organic chemistry, and approaches to strengthen students’ understanding of bonding and molecular structure through hands-on experience with computer-aided visualization and simulation tools.

The 3rd round of MathCircle@HBCSE for girls studying in Standard 9. Math Circles were initiated in 2022 as a pan-TIFR activity, and HBCSE has been hosting these since 2024.

Given the challenges faced by Math Circles across the country in sustaining the participation of girl students, HBCSE decided to organise face-to-face Math Circles exclusively for girls. In each round conducted since 2024, we have had around 30 girl students participating consistently over a period of three to four months.

The problems used in these Math Circles are intentionally atypical. The current round will run from today until the end of May, with sessions held every Wednesday from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm in the Mathematics Laboratory (MB119).

Title:

Designing and Researching with Serious Games

Speaker:

Mr. Prasad Sandbhor

Abstract:

How can serious games model complex realities and contribute to research knowledge? In this talk, I will share how I design serious games with the example of 'Birds in the City: Bengaluru Edition'. I will explain how real-world data on urban development, avian ecology, and citizen activism were translated into gameplay using the Triadic and Transformational Game Design frameworks. Additionally, I will discuss my doctoral research, which involved exploring the potential of role-playing games for climate action, including studies with a tabletop and a live-action role-playing game that informed the 'Thinking Through' design framework. The talk will provide practical insights into the design of serious games and the qualitative, design-led methods used in research with them. There will also be some games available for playing if the time permits!

About the speaker:

Mr. Prasad Sandbhor is a serious game designer, researcher and educator. While he is the co-founder of 'Play in Nature', he is also completing a PhD in Intelligent Games and Games Intelligence (iGGi), where he has developed the 'Thinking Through' framework for climate-action role-playing games.

https://linktr.ee/prasadsandbhor