What makes the work place work (for a mathematician)?

A few days ago, Abi's blog pointed to a very interesting article about serious steps being taken by premier institutes in India to attract faculty and bridge the huge gap between sanctioned versus existing faculty numbers.  This includes providing new faculty with high start-up grants needed to set up labs, streamlining hiring processes, and creating opportunities for spousal employment (especially at institutes where location might cause a disadvantage).

At around the same time, I came to know that 4 new mathematicians had been hired at IISER Pune.  They will be increasing not only our numbers, but also the research specialities represented by the Maths group here.  This made me wonder: How is it that new institutes like IISER Pune have managed to build a promising and vibrant Mathematics community while several institutes seriously struggle to even get Mathematics faculty to apply, leave alone join? Is it merely because Pune has a location advantage or are the reasons far deeper?  If a mathematician were to write an article along the same lines as the ET article mentioned above, what factors would they consider important to attract Mathematics faculty (especially at a new institute)? ``Huge" start-up grants are not such an important issue because most of us don't need to set up labs. How does an institute attract and retain its mathematicians?

While many of a mathematician's requirements overlap with those of faculty in other sciences, a few of these requirements are more crucial (in my opinion, make or break for new institutes) for Maths.  Being at IISER Pune, I can't help but write about how this institute in particular has reached out to its Mathematics faculty and has fostered an overall sense of professional satisfaction.  I hope that this post will lead to a healthy discussion about what makes an academic work place work for the people who join it.

Firstly, a key factor that can propel the growth of a baby department is the presence of accomplished researchers who can provide a leadership and mentoring role to it.  In a country where even established institutes are short of Maths faculty, this may be wishful thinking for new institutes.  However, even if a new department has one such accomplished researcher, they can attract more people to apply. In many ways, they become the face of the department.  One good hire leads to interest in the department from more job candidates, the department gets a pool of strong applications and soon starts to build non trivial research groups in diverse areas.  Such a person becomes a bridge between the institute-level administration (director, deans etc) and younger faculty members in the department.  Their strength in research as well as leadership abilities inspires the confidence of the younger faculty and the respect of the admin.  These mentors, being Mathematicians themselves, can understand the needs of Maths faculty better, the faculty can unhesitatingly put forward their requirements or concerns or suggestions to them and  they become effective channels to convey these points to the senior administrators. This is particularly important for Mathematics because some of its needs and practices with respect to publishing etc are different from others and this often needs to be convincingly conveyed to senior administrators.
Of course, several new departments are functioning without such mentors. At these departments, younger faculty members are entrusted with such a role.  Faced with the task of building up their research programmes and play a leadership role, they work very hard to do so (even with their very limited experience), but I believe that someone who has more experience and has already built a strong research programme will be much better able to undertake such a role.

Secondly, the library plays the same role for a mathematician that a laboratory plays for an experimentalist.  Whenever a prospective Maths job candidate visits an institute, invariably, one of the first few things that they want to know about is the library.  Many candidates even choose to spend a couple of hours at the library during their job visits and I know of some institutes which even schedule this as part of a candidate's job visit.  While talking to departmental members, they have questions about which journals or book series the library subscribes to and how easy is it to order new books or journals for the library.  This single factor plays a huge role in ensuring the professional satisfaction of Maths faculty.  While it is great to have electronic access to journals or books of their choice, the ideal situation would be to also have them in hard copy. Mathematicians often come up with research ideas while in the library. They don't necessarily visit the library to gain access to a particular book or journal: instead they browse through shelves (somewhat like what people do at bookstores), pick up a journal volume or book that catches their interest and often come up with good questions or ideas while going through its contents.  That is why many Mathematics departments at universities across the world have their own libraries and members are given unrestricted access at any time of the day or night on any day of the week.  While this may not be immediately possible at new institutes (due to shortage of space), recognizing the central role that a library plays for a mathematician and giving members the freedom and opportunity to order books and journals in a smooth and timely manner is a great start!

Thirdly, it is very important for mathematicians to attend conferences/workshops/ seminars on a regular basis.  Almost all job candidates have queries about travel grants for national and international travel, flexibility to attend conferences during term time and so on. This applies to all sciences and has been addressed in many articles (including the one mentioned above) - so, I need not elaborate upon it too much.  However, some comments: Pune's closeness to Mumbai and therefore easy accessibility to conferences and short-term research programmes organized at TIFR and IIT Bombay undoubtedly played some role in attracting the first few Maths faculty members to IISER Pune.  The rules and procedures to attend scientific meetings, claim travel reimbursement etc (especially with respect to balancing central government regulations about airlines with Pune airport's scheduling constraints) are very smooth and faculty-friendly here [1].  Also, I have mentioned before that the Mathematics department here is provided with resources and tremendous administrative support to organize conferences.  The recognition by the institute of the importance of such meetings for Mathematicians was one of the factors that motivated me to apply here.

Finally, an important question that a mathematician asks is if his/her department is treated like a service department to the other departments (for example, in terms of course work etc- is there a good variety of Maths courses for students interested in learning Mathematics or does the institute only wish to offer a limited number of Math courses aimed primarily at teaching mathematical techniques required for other disciplines?)  Or, is the department considered an independent and integral part of the institute? Also, does the leadership play merely a critical role or a critical as well as a facilitating role for the department?  Answers to these questions can eventually determine if an institute can attract and retain its mathematicians.

Here's a simple example:  let's say that a Maths department at an institute has a much smaller number of PhD students than other departments.  A critical leadership will simply question the competence of the faculty and will pressurize them to take more students.  However, a critical and facilitating leadership will not talk about the numbers, but of the faculty-to-PhD student ratio.  It will take steps to increase the number of faculty members in the department in diverse research areas and therefore foster an environment in which it will be feasible for the department to have a full fledged PhD programme with higher number of students.

Finally, let me pen down some non-academic factors (which apply to all faculty) which can make for a very faculty friendly workplace.  When I joined IISER Pune, I noticed that in order to overcome the disadvantages of a campus still under construction, the institute had made some key arrangements for the benefit of their employees.  For example, since campus housing is not yet ready, we have to find an apartment outside.  However, the lease is signed by IISER Pune - this one step prevents a lot of inconvenience.  Many house owners prefer to rent out to a central government organization.  IISER also pays the advance deposit which is a non-trivial amount and issues all rental cheques directly to the owner.  Secondly, since many of us were operating from the temporary campus and classes were held at the permanent campus, there was a fleet of five buses plying students and faculty between campuses. If needed, smaller vehicles could also be made available at short notice.  The whole system worked painlessly.  A transport system was also in place between the guest house (for visitors and newly arrived faculty) and the campus.  Did the institute have an instinctive understanding of the needs of its members from the very beginning? Probably not, but what they do have is a proper system in which members can unhesitatingly bring up their suggestions and grievances to the director and deans with the confidence that their input/feedback will be treated and acted upon in a professional manner.  It is possible that these facilities were not provided to begin with, but were made available when faculty members brought them up at the correct forums.  An institute where the admin works for the well being of all and where the culture is not based upon a senior/junior dichotomy but that of mutual respect and professional courtesy among all goes a long way in keeping its faculty happy, motivated and most importantly, focused on their scientific goals.




[1] Talking about smooth travel policies, a few days ago, I had to take a really early morning flight to go to Bhubaneswar for a Maths event.  I was a bit worried about how safe it would be for a woman to book a cab at 3 am and travel alone to the airport.  I was most pleasantly surprised to know that the institute makes airport/station pick up and drop off arrangements  for employees for professional travel and that there was no need to worry.  

Down memory lane - the move to IISER Pune

Last week, as I was waiting to meet the institute doctor regarding a medical exam, I met a colleague at the reception.  He asked me how I felt after moving from one IISER to another.

Warning: this is going to be a long post!  Read at your own risk.

This took me down memory lane and I remembered my first visit to IISER Pune.  I then realized that I was here this time last year.  I had come to attend the Pan Asian Number Theory Conference/Workshop on Bloch-Kato conjectures in July, 2012.  Apart from attending lectures by experts in this field, I thought it would be a good opportunity to meet and interact with number theorists at IISER Pune.  Moreover, I was really curious to know how another IISER was doing.
Until then, I had not been to any IISER other than IISERK.

I was under the impression that the conference would be in the Sai Trinity building, the temporary campus in the city and that the permanent campus would be somewhere far away.  However, the conference was being held at the permanent campus, situated at a central location on the Homi Bhabha Road in Pashan, Pune, surrounded by other research institutes like NCL, IITM and DRDO.  It was very close to the temporary campus.

On the first morning, as we entered the permanent campus, we noticed huge announcements at the entry gate about the conference.  As the car stopped in front of the conference venue (a building by the name of HR4 as I was to learn later), my heart skipped a beat.  The campus looked really impressive.  I had not expected that the construction of such a huge building (housing conference facilities and the future guest house) would be complete at a (twin) sister institute.

Prof. Raghuram, the Mathematics co-ordinator, who had recently moved to IISER from Oklahoma, welcomed us and took us to the conference room.  On entering and registering, we all got an umbrella designed with the logo of the institute and a special value of the Riemann zeta function.  We met Prof. Shashidhara, the Dean of Faculty and Research, who inaugurated the programme and gave a small welcome speech, followed by another one by Raghuram.  Both of them talked enthusiastically about how their Mathematics group was growing, the number of faculty along with the research areas represented  and the newly launched Maths PhD programme.  Shashi said two things which I still remember.  Firstly, he mentioned the very high faculty-student ratio in the Maths PhD programme.  To me, this meant that the administration there was aware that very few faculty members were working hard to build up a strong PhD programme and was appreciative of their efforts.  Secondly, he mentioned that just as experimental scientists need good experimental facilities to grow, Mathematicians need more interaction with others through conferences, workshops etc. To me, this meant that this was something which the administration here supported generously [1].  In short, he said exactly those things that I was desperately waiting for IISERK administration to recognize regarding my former department.

After the first half of the conference was over, I took a small walk around their campus during lunch time.  I came to know that the new hostel was ready, the lecture hall complex was well underway (it is now functional) and the construction of faculty housing had already started.  As I walked around, I also saw the pre-fab lab complexes.  I also noticed a fleet of IISER buses and small vehicles, which plied between the two campuses.  I took one of these buses to the temporary campus at Sai Trinity building and met a friend there, who gave me a very good idea about the life of a faculty member at IISER Pune.  I received lots of inputs about the availability of decent rented apartments around the area, the safety of women in Pune and related matters.

Just before this visit to IISER Pune, I had started to think about moving to another institute.  But, I had not thought about it seriously - in fact, I was procrastinating on it because the task of planning, doing a round of several job applications/interviews as in 2010 and executing a move seemed daunting.  What's more, I was a little overwhelmed with all kinds of news/rumours about how moving in India is really difficult, how job candidates at certain new institutes were insulted by randomly formed selection committees (I read many of these stories on the comments to the pinned post on Prof. Giri's blog), delay in processing of applications etc etc.  So, even a simple thought experiment of moving would increase my (already very high) levels of cortisol!!  One could say that I was misinformed to some extent and hesitant to come out of my "comfort zone" even though it would be better for my mathematical growth.

That evening, as we waited for a car to take us back to the hotel, I was talking to a senior colleague, Dr. Nice Prof from a different institute.  We were discussing the pleasant weather at Pune.  He jokingly said, "Aap Yahaan kyun nahi aa jaate [why don't you move here]?" He had simply said out aloud what I had already started thinking, namely that IISER P would indeed be a very good place to apply to.  It had a well-staffed (and growing) Mathematics group, a non-trivial group of number theorists and good infrastructure.  What's more, it was in the IISER family - so, I was familiar with and believed in its objectives and academic structure.  But, I was not sure if they were hiring and would entertain my application - if not, it would be an awkward situation.  I thought more about it and made up my mind to ask Raghuram the next morning.  At the very worst, he would say no.  But, at least this would force me to come out of my "comfort zone" and would be my first concrete step in exploring other opportunities.  As a very wise friend pointed out, where was the need for hesitation or awkwardness?  I already had a permanent position, but was just looking for a better opportunity - this is not a crime!  I should ask and I should ask confidently.

So, I approached him the next morning and received a prompt answer, "Yes, we are hiring."  He told me about the hiring procedure, patiently answered all my questions and directed me to the FAQ page for faculty aspirants.  He also told me more about the number theory group at Pune.  So, the matter was decided: I would apply.  It did not mean that I would get the position, but I was willing to try.  I was planning to return in September for another conference and would prepare my application package by then.  But, in the next week, I felt the need to apply as soon as possible.  I contacted potential referees who agreed to write reference letters as soon as needed and sent me plenty of encouragement.  Thus, for some time, I put aside a question that always gnaws at my mind before I apply for any thing, "am I good enough for this?"  I thought, "maybe I am not, but I must apply to find out."

On a dreary Friday morning, determined to put together my application package, I woke up with a headache.  It was raining very heavily and my domestic help did not show up.  I had to request my neighbour for a ride in her car.  She too had just returned from a visit to IISERP and while we drove to campus, she was praising it.

As luck would have it, our new Int. PhD students were joining on that day and I had to meet them to assign them course work, mentors for reading courses etc.  I also had to attend a long meeting.  After that, I remember having a meal at our local tea shop and one of my colleagues remarked, "Kaneenika, you look like you have hit a wall." You bet!  After that, I jumped into preparing the application, with copious help from The FAQ page for faculty aspirants at IISER Pune.  I again wrote to Raghuram, who promptly answered all queries and reminded me to take care to"apply through proper channels."  I called up a former colleague who is now at IISER TVM and he told me exactly what to do.  I then had "the talk" with the Dean, Faculty at IISERK as we headed for another meeting.  Although surprised, he fully cooperated and mentioned that he will speak to the director as soon as possible.
By 9 pm, the application was ready and sent by email to IISERP.  In the application, I mentioned that this was an electronic copy and a hard copy would be forwarded soon through the proper channels.

On Monday morning, I handed over the printed application to Dean, Faculty.  He got the director's approval and handed me a "No Objection Certificate" by noon!  To date, I feel grateful that the higher authorities understood my need to apply and fully cooperated, even at such short notice.  Meanwhile, I also got an acknowledgement of my application from Pune.  I scanned and emailed the NOC to them.  Just as I was waiting to meet D o F to take the NOC, I made the mistake of telling a trusted colleague about this application and requested him to keep it "strictly confidential." As if!! By Tuesday noon, everyone on campus, including the tea shop owner, knew.  I have written here about the comical consequences of my indiscretion.  But, the colleague still remains one of my favourite colleagues at IISERK.

Soon, I also received an email from IISERP, inviting me to give a seminar talk and attend an interview with the selection committee, which was meeting the next Monday on the 13th of August.  I got ready for it.  Since everyone on campus knew about my application, I took advantage of it by practicing the job talk in the preceding weekend with some Maths and Physics colleagues who live on campus.
Their inputs were very helpful.  I then made other preparations for the visit [2].

I arrived at the IISER Pune guest house at Mira Mohan Apartments on Sunday late afternoon and was generously fed with bananas, Maggi noodles and a hot cup of Masala Chai by the resident care-taker, Ramji.

The seminar talk was scheduled next morning, followed by the interview in the afternoon.  As I sat waiting for the committee to call me in, I started to get nervous again.  Will it be like the interviews mentioned in the comments on Prof. Giri's blog?
Will they ask me why I want to move from IISER Kolkata? Will they talk to me in a friendly or insulting tone?

All my fears were allayed within seconds of entering the board room.  Prof. Ganesh, the director, introduced me to all the committee members and immediately put me at ease.  It was a very professional, but at the same time, friendly meeting.  I was asked about my teaching and research activities at IISERK.  They did ask me why I was interested in IISER Pune, but no one asked anything inappropriate about IISERK.  In the later half of the interview, one of the committee members asked me what kind of admin work I had done at IISER K and what kind of committees I had served in.  When I started naming the committees, one member interjected and said, "wait, name the committees that you were not in," after which everyone started laughing.  I was also encouraged to ask questions - my only question was if my PhD student could move with me.  I was told that it was possible.  I came out of the board room very happy and relieved.

IISER Pune informs candidates within a week of the interview whether their application has been successful.  The formal letter comes after BOG's approval.  I also got such an email within two days of returning to Kolkata and then waited for the formal letter.

The formal letter arrived in the end of August.  I saw it in the early morning and immediately wrote back accepting the offer.  It was a bright and sunny morning.  To celebrate the good news, I went for a run around the IISER campus and was treated to Aloo Puri by my domestic help after that.

In early September, I visited IISER Pune again for another conference.  I thanked both Raghuram and Shashi for timely processing of my application, but both of them smiled and acted as if it is routine matter :)  Dr. Nice Prof, who was also visiting for this conference, was very surprised to hear about my upcoming move, joked about it and did not believe me when I reminded him that it was his suggestion.  Just like in July, we were taken for a walk around the campus.  But, this time, I felt as if I was a host and not a visitor.

In retrospect, I still feel amazed at how quickly and smoothly everything worked out.
The application, interview and formal offer happened within a span of one month.
First and foremost, my referees wrote up the letters at short notice.  Secondly, the people concerned at IISER Kolkata cooperated with the move.
Finally, the application got a very good treatment at IISER Pune and when I joined, I was provided with timely help by the administration, which helped in settling down quickly [3].

This also brought back memories of my application to IISER Kolkata way back in 2010, which was also promptly processed.  Even when I had joined there, I was provided a lot of help in settling down.  I believe that this kind of efficient and polite treatment of applications of faculty aspirants and the organizational help received by them on joining goes a long way in motivating new faculty members to give their very best to their organization.




[1] Mathematics at IISER Pune has been very active in organizing international conferences in focused areas.  Next year, we will be organizing two very big Mathematics events, one of which is very closely related to my research area.  I will be writing more about them soon.   

[2] I have written before about my casual approach to dressing up.  But, for the IISER Pune interview, I thought very carefully about what to wear.  In fact, I could not decide what to wear - so, I took three different formal dresses with me to Pune, so that I could choose the best one on the day of the job visit.  As you can see, I REALLY wanted this job :-) 

[3] On the personal front, I had the keys to an apartment and a new car within a day of arrival, prompting one of my colleagues here to name me "superfast Kaneenika."

Independent and monitored

I will be properly back soon.  Meanwhile, to end my long blogging break, let me share four telephonic conversations with my father at different points of time:

Conversation 1 (2000):

K: Dad, I want to apply abroad for a PhD.

Dad: Very good, beta. I am very happy. How much money will you need for this?

(No other questions asked)

Conversation 2 (2006/2008/2010/2012)

K: Dad, I will soon be moving to a new city XYZ.

Dad: Very good, beta. I am very happy. Have you started the preparations?

(No other questions asked)

Conversation 3 (On a Friday evening around 7 pm)

K: Hi dad, I am out watching a movie with a friend. So, I won't be able to call you at our usual time.

Dad: What? Out for a movie? Where?

K: ABC Mall.

Dad: What time does the movie start?

K: 8 pm.

Dad: What time does the movie end?

K: Probably around 10.15 pm.

Dad: So, it will be 11 pm by the time you reach home. Couldn't you have attended an earlier show?

K: No, both my friend and I were working.

Dad: Who is this friend?

K: A colleague of mine AC. You met her in Pune.

Dad: How did you both go? How will you get back home?

K: By car.

Dad: Couldn't some male colleague have accompanied you?

K: Dad!!!!!

Dad: Where does she stay?

K: ABCD Road.

Dad: Please make sure you drop her at her doorstep.

K: Okay.

Dad: So, after dropping her, you will drive back alone?

K: Hmmm. Don't worry.  All the roads are well lit and safe.

Dad: But, you will walk through your underground parking lot alone at 11 pm? Are there security guards there?

K: Don't worry. I will get home just fine. Take it easy.

Dad: Please call me once you reach your apartment.

(At 11 pm)

K: Dad, I have reached home.

Dad: (finally says the words I was dying to hear) Very good, beta. I am very happy.

Conversations 1 and 2 were about life-changing matters and yet my father either had no questions or at most one.  Conversation 3 related to just few hours of an evening.  Yet, it elicited the maximum number of questions from him and probably caused him the maximum amount of distress.

As I waited for the movie to start, I wondered about this phenomenon.  I have traveled and lived outside the country without my father batting an eyelid, but in India, even in my 30s, sometimes have to give a non-trivial account of day-to-day activities to him, especially if it involves staying out after dark.  He also derives a lot of comfort from my being reachable by mobile phone.

This is the reality of the times that we live in!

On Comprehensive Examinations

Last week, some members of Mathematics had a meeting with our PhD students to talk about their course work, their inputs about the graduate programme etc.  A sombre mood prevailed at the meeting because these students are now preparing for their comprehensive examinations (also called qualifiers in many other places) in the last week of July.  Clearing the comprehensives is necessary for them to continue in the programme.  Over here, this means that they will write exams in three foundational topics, like analysis, algebra, topology or discrete mathematics, for which they have been prepared through course work over the last year.  They are allowed two attempts in each subject within a limited time duration, but for almost all of them, the July exam will be the first attempt.

The students were worried about the extensive syllabus for the exams (they were not as worried when this syllabus had been broken down into different courses) and expressed concern over the passing mark etc.  To allay their apprehensions, one of my colleagues told them that the exam was a way of testing their grasp of fundamental topics.  While it is very important that they focus exclusively on preparing for these exams for the remaining part of the summer, they should not feel stressed and take small breaks if they are feeling very exhausted with the preparation.  All the faculty members present shared memories of their own comprehensive exams very candidly- when and how they took it and how they chose their PhD topics after the exams.

These exams, when thought of by themselves, do seem monstrous.  But, it helps a lot if one sees them as a phase of the PhD program, after which the students can start independent study and pick up topics that they really enjoy.  Although we hope that the meeting made these students feel better, the pressure will of course persist until these exams are cleared and left behind.

This meeting brought back some memories about my comprehensive exams, way back in 2004!  The programme at my grad school was structured differently from the Mathematics programme at IISER Pune.  Students were assigned a supervisor upon joining and were expected to pursue course work and their research projects simultaneously.  The comprehensive examination was usually conducted in the second year of the program, but could also be postponed till the third year.  For this exam, the student had to submit a research proposal, give a talk on it and then face an interview in which they were quizzed about the proposal.  The interview was not restricted to what was written on the proposal - it could have questions about any fundamental topics which the committee felt the student should know before embarking upon the proposed project.

Students would usually take their comprehensive exams during the summer to avoid clashes with their course work.  However, I really wanted to go to India during the summer.  So, my advisor (Prof. RM) suggested that I take the exam during term time.  I wrote up the proposal during Christmas vacation and after running it by Prof. RM, submitted it some time in January.  The exam was scheduled exactly after a month.  Meanwhile, in that semester, I was taking three courses and also teaching a first year course to a large class (this was my first teaching experience).

The real fun started after the submission of the proposal.  Other than my advisor, there were three members in the committee, out of which one was the meeting coordinator and two (Member 1 and Member 2) were subject experts.  I submitted the proposals to them in person and asked them to give me some feedback before the exam.  Member 1 read the proposal within two days of submission and gave me some feedback about what parts needed clarification, details etc.

Member 2 was a formidable senior number theorist, of whom most grad students were very scared. The courses offered by him (almost all of which I had taken) were very challenging.  I have spent a lot of sleepless nights working through his assignments.  When I went to his office to give him the write-up, he sternly glanced at it for a few minutes and mentioned a book that he expected me to master before the exam.  I almost fell off the chair [1].  He said that he did not believe in students taking exams unless they were thoroughly prepared and went on to describe some students whom he had examined before and who had failed the comps.  

Struck by lightning and dazed, I went straight to Prof. RM's office, told him about the conversation with Member 2 and requested that the exam be postponed.  I was ready to sacrifice the India trip.  The conversation that took place afterwards is a great example of how to supervise a student!

He explained to me the basic objective of the exam: to test whether the student understands fundamental concepts and techniques that would be needed for his/her research project.  He then went to the board, mentioned a problem in elementary number theory [2] and we started discussing how one solves it.  He then mentioned that the purpose of the comprehensive exam is to make sure, for example, that I can apply fundamental summation techniques to such questions before I embark on a research project.  He then took out the book mentioned by Member 2 from his bookshelf and we went through the table of contents.  I realized that I already knew many topics from this book.  He pointed out the other sections that were relevant to my proposal and convinced me that by working for two hours a day on this book, I will master these topics and be ready to face the comps within a month.

When I again expressed my inability to do this, he started talking about the good things that would happen if I could clear the comprehensive exam within a month.  "You can visit your family, relax [3] and come back with a fresh mind to work on your research problem.  You can finish by early 2006 and also invite your father for the convocation ceremony in the summer." I got convinced that adhering to the above timelines would be great and decided not to postpone my exam.

I came out of the office feeling relieved and much more confident.  I woke up two hours earlier every morning and worked through several sections of the book.   

My exam lasted for one and a half hours.  Members started by asking me basic definitions, examples, non-examples related to modular forms.  After the warm up, I was asked to prove some lemmas mentioned in the proposal and was asked if it was possible to generalize them to other cases [4]. Member 2 came prepared with a long list of questions, as expected.  As we ran out of time, we could not cover all his questions.  So, he graciously gave me a xerox copy of his questionnaire. The exam was not half as dreadful as I had anticipated and I was declared passed.

It was lunch time when the interview ended.  After lunch, I attended a class taught by Member 1 and taught my first year course.  Later in the evening, I had dinner at my favourite Indian restaurant and saw a Hindi movie with a Japanese friend.

In the next teaching semester, Member 2 also offered a course on the topics that he had asked me to learn before the exam.  I took this course.  Later, he gave me valuable inputs and feedback for my thesis and also wrote reference letters for my job applications.

To all students taking comprehensives this summer, all the very best.  Study well, take it easy and think of all the good things that will follow after you are done with them!


[1] For those who know what I am writing about, he asked me to master Serge Lang's  "Introduction to Modular Forms" and a proof of the Eichler-Selberg trace formula (it wasn't enough to just know the proof for the level 1 case).  He was particularly insistent upon Atkin-Lehner theory.

[2] Average order of the divisor function (counting the number of divisors of $n$). 

[3] As an added incentive, he recommended some very nice non-math books to read in the summer.

[4] Again, for those who know what I am talking about, I was asked to write out the terms of the Eichler-Selberg trace formula and evaluate them for specific cases.  A lot of the questions were about class numbers of binary quadratic forms and about Dirichlet characters.

The cadet's life

A few days ago, Prof. Sanghi wrote a very interesting post on his blog about his SSB interview (for entry into NDA) as a youngster.  I sent the link to my father, a retired army officer.  He was in splits after reading it, especially the twist at the end [0]. The blog post is now being circulated among his NDA batch mates.

Of course, his own circumstances were completely different from Prof. Sanghi.  His entire school life revolved around preparing for getting into NDA.  At the age of 8, he heard some friends talking about brave soldiers and Sainik Schools.  The idea of becoming a soldier immediately fascinated him and he requested his father to get him an admission form for such a school, which his father obtained most willingly as it involved a government-subsidised education.  He joined Sainik School Tilaiya the following year.  Sainik Schools have been solely created for preparing students to join the services.  The following statement in the vision document of Sainik School Tilaiya says it all:

The primary aim of Sainik School is to prepare boys academically, physically and  mentally for entry into the Defence Services and those who do not make the grade, for responsible positions in various other walks of life.

Therefore, for him and almost all his schoolmates, the entire spectrum of competitive exams started and ended at the admission test for NDA.  It was a do-or-die kind of situation.  The school thoroughly trained them for all stages of the interview.  His memories of the SSB interview are not very vivid, but he remembers the feeling of relief and celebration when he saw his name in the selection list.

He also vaguely remembers the bus which came to pick up young recruits at Pune railway station to take them to NDA and how the recruits sat quietly without making any effort to communicate with each other.  All the memories that he now shares with us are after he joined NDA.  And yes, Prof. Sanghi is right!  Riding a bicycle from Khadakwasla to Bangalore is a breeze in comparison with the grueling schedule of an NDA cadet.

Picture this: the cadets woke up at 5 am and were served tea and two biscuits (which they called "dog" biscuits).  After that, they had three 40-minute classes, out of which two were related to physical training, drill or horse riding and one was a theory class [1]. After that, they had about a quarter of an hour to cycle back a distance of about two kilometres, take a shower, change into their impeccable uniforms, have breakfast at the mess and report to the academic building for six more theory classes.  At the mess, they could eat as much as they liked (the only restriction was on the amount of butter), but following a very rigid table etiquette and within 10-15 minutes.

The six classes included academic subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Social Sciences, along with service subjects like battlecraft, map reading, field engineering etc.

At 1 pm, they reported for lunch and had an official rest period from 2 to 3 pm.  At 3 pm, they were served another round of tea with "dog" biscuits.  They played sports from 3.30 to 5 pm, after which they had to shower, change and gather at what they called the ante-room, where they were read out orders and announcements relevant to the next day.

6 to 8 pm was prep period, during which they had to stay in their rooms and study.
Each cadet had to keep all the doors and windows of his room open as the duty officer dropped by to inspect whether the cadet was really studying or not!  Dinner was served from 8 to 9 pm, after which they prepared to go to sleep.  10 pm was the "lights out" time.

The following are some of the mistakes which would earn you punishments:


1) Reporting late for any session/class.
2) Wearing a uniform with any kind of defect (for example, unpolished shoes!)
3) Caught not studying during prep period
4) Dozing off during class
5) Not slinging your satchel across your back while cycling (ie, not holding your satchel in this manner while cycling)
6) Indulging in any activity after "lights out" (It's a different matter that this was also the time when the new students were gathered in the corridor and ragged.  This was 40 years ago.  This practice must have stopped now.) 
7) Speaking back to a senior or calling him "nuts" to his face :-)
8) Not being particular about your crew cut hairstyle

Forms of punishment (which were levied during the rest periods or on Sunday mornings) could include:

a) A walk up to Sinhgadh Fort and back (a distance of about 20 kms) in your battle dress carrying a heavy load [called Pitthoo]
b) Picking up your cycle and running around a training ground
c) Rolling your way through a training ground [2]

Cadets spend 3 years at NDA (a total of six terms). They have to indicate at the application stage itself whether they want to join army, air force or navy, but it is only in the sixth term that they do course work based on their choices.  In theory, they can apply to change their preference in the third semester, but it is very rare to have this change approved. [3]

After 3 years of training, the cadets receive their graduation on one of the most important days of their lives, the day of the POP (Passing Out Parade) and become gentlemen cadets.  My father tells us with a lot of pride how his whole family attended his POP and gets angry when my brother points out the other meaning of "passing out". (Imagine a contingent of cadets "passing out" in front of Indira Gandhi.)

After that, the cadet, now a gentleman cadet (GC), spends a year at the Indian Air Force/Military/Navy Academy before he gets commissioned as an officer [4].  A lot of their instructors are non-commissioned officers (NCOs) or Junior Commissioned Officers.   They are very strict with the GCs.  But, as soon as the graduation ceremony/POP is over, the GCs, as commissioned officers,  become technically senior to them.  The instructors now salute them and address them as Sir.

When I told my father that I was moving to Pune, he was thrilled.  He associates Pune with the beginning of many positive things in his life.  Earlier this year, when he accompanied me here, he took me for a visit to NDA.  While we were there, I got to see all the places where he had trained/studied/been punished as a cadet.  He even managed to show me the room where he had lived as a cadet 40 years ago.
The senior cadets currently staying in his Squadron (called Golf Squadron) welcomed us warmly.  They were very happy to meet an ex-Golfie, even though he was 40 years senior.  We were visiting on the day after the induction of a fresh batch and the freshers had been gathered in the corridor after getting their crew-cut to receive further instruction.  They looked very nervous and shyly shook hands with my father.

I tried to imagine my father in their position in the winter of 1973.  Could he possibly have foreseen that one day, he would bring his grown up daughter to the very same spot?  I am sure he had a far more pressing issue to think about at that time: namely, if he will survive the stringent training!


[0] Incidentally, my father weighed a little over 41 kgs at the time of his interview (after being fed a diet with lots of bananas) and barely made it through.

[1] A quick look at this page gives a good overview of their academic programme. The last sentence summarizes it the best:the aim is to achieve excellence in academic pursuits without compromising on outdoor activities. 

[2] Interestingly, while there are many strenuous forms of punishment, it is against NDA code to levy any punishment to cadets which involves going hungry.  Cadets are never, ever asked to give up any meal or eat very little as punishment.

[3] My father gave army as his first preference while filling up his application form.  Later, he saw the movie "The Blue Max" and tried to change over to Air Force in his third semester, but did not succeed.
[4] One cannot refer to a cadet as "s/he".  NDA and IMA still remain male bastions (and I suspect, will remain so for a long time).  Other than in Medical Corps, women still do not receive permanent commission in the services.  Those who join on Short Service Commission are trained at the Officers Training Academy at Chennai (and now also at Gaya).

Breaking news about PC Mahalanobis?

Check out the latest revelation by Deccan Herald! You may also follow this link for as long as it exists!

(On a lighter note) What not to do on a job visit

Writing about the goodness of February brought back some memories of different job interviews I have faced.  In almost all of them, I have made blunders that I am not very proud of.  As some readers of this blog have just finished interviewing or have interviews coming up soon, I thought I will share some of my job-interview-mishaps.

My first interview was within the first year of finishing my PhD.  I wanted to gain a few years of postdoctoral experience, but applied for this tenure-track position in Canada on the advice of my mentors.  Much to my surprise, I got shortlisted and was invited for the interview.  Clueless about what happens during job interviews, I asked a colleague who helpfully told me, "Don't get nervous.  The committee will not harm you." Throughout the pleasant train journey to this university, I kept repeating this to myself.

Here's how the interview began:

Committee Member 1: Is this your first job interview?
K: Yes
Committee Member 2: Are you nervous?
K: No, I am fine, thank you.
Just then CM 3, the senior-most mathematician, started coughing.
CM 2: Oh, it looks like CM 3 is getting nervous.
K: Don't get nervous. I won't harm you.

Everyone in the room, except CM 3,  started laughing and the interview proceeded very smoothly thereafter.  I did not get this job, but I am sure it was not because of this goof-up.

Now, Goof up 1 at IISER Kolkata:

IISER Kolkata had shown a lot of interest in my application and I was looking forward to my visit there.  Just before I left for Kolkata, my brother jokingly mentioned that I should play up my Bengali connection as that might help (no offence intended - it was said merely in jest. [1]).  Now, I have no Bengali connection, except that my last name is also a common last name in Bengal.

During my visit, here's how a conversation went with a senior colleague at IISERK:

SC: Hello, Koneenika
K: Hello.  err, it's Kaneenika
SC: Aren't you Bengali?
K: No.
SC: From your name, I thought you are Bengali.
K: (suddenly realizes that she has passed up a great opportunity to play up the Bengali connection and tries to make amends) I am not Bengali, but I have spent a formative period of my childhood in Bengal.
SC: That's interesting.
(On further grilling, it is revealed that this formative period of K's childhood was at Darjeeling for a few months when she was 1 year old.)
SC: (laughs and says) You have understood the Bengali psyche very well.

Goof up 2 at IISERK (and I still feel very embarrassed whenever I think of it):

On the morning of my departure, at breakfast with a senior colleague and a colleague from Mathematics:

SC:  So, are you flying back to Edmonton now?
K: No, I am also visiting City A before flying back.
SC: I see. Who is your host there?
K: Institute ABC.
SC (in a nostalgic tone, tells us about his job search long ago and return to India): In our days, we were lucky if we had one job offer. Your generation gets to choose between multiple job offers.
K (feels that it was perhaps not appropriate to bring up another prospective institute in the conversation and desperately wants to say something to change the topic and save the day.  So, with the noblest of intentions, says):  Yes, our generation is lucky.  You guys worked very hard and we are reaping the benefits.
SC: (Not amused at being addressed as one of "you guys", but maintains a practiced calm and stays quiet).
Other colleague: (Almost falling off the chair)
K: (blushes as she realizes her poor choice of words) I had a very nice time here. Thank you for your hospitality.

The conversation proceeds smoothly after that. [2,3]



And now the goof-up at IISER Pune:

CM:  What activity did you enjoy the most at IISERK?
K: (interprets the word "activity" to mean conferences, winter schools etc) I enjoyed organizing two winter schools at IISERK. (Then explains how much fun it was to interact with so many students from all parts of India and the experience of organizing something from scratch).
CM: (looks a little surprised and then explains) I am sure you must also have enjoyed your teaching and research activities there.
K: (then realizes her mistake, is embarrassed and starts talking about her research and teaching)

After coming out of the meeting room, she spoke to a future colleague about how she misinterpreted the word "activity" and gave an inappropriate answer.

Colleague: Oh no, I think they were asking about your hobbies.
K: (suddenly feels much better)


Readers are welcome to share interview-mishaps (either theirs or those of others) in the comments section.

Just out of curiosity, what would you have interpreted "activity" to mean?






[1]  He later wrote here about his experience in Bengal.

[2] In my first few days at IISER K, I shocked a lot of people with my informal language.  For instance,  I was told that it was impolite to refer to women/lady faculty members as female faculty (or men/gentlemen  faculty members as male faculty for that matter).

[3] I used the word "guys" in a generic sense to mean both men and women.

New office

My stay at IISER Pune has been going very well. Last week in particular was very exciting.  Members of the Mathematics group moved to the permanent campus.
IISER P is building an integrated academic building, which will house all the sciences in different but connected wings.  The construction of this building is well underway.  However, for the time being, we have been moved to another building in the permanent campus, which has the guest house and conference facilities.  The management has very generously converted some rooms into single-occupant offices and provided them to us until the academic building is ready.

I am happy about this move for various reasons.  To start with, for the first time in my life, I have my own office.  It is very spacious - the kind of office in which groups of students can drop by and sit comfortably while I show them something on the board.  We can have animated discussions without disturbing any office mate!  The cafeteria is on the ground floor of the same building - so, no more commutes to have lunch.  I teach my course in a classroom on the same floor.  So, all in all, the management has made a very comfortable arrangement for us, even though it is temporary.

I also like being in the permanent campus of my institute for some emotional reasons.  Somehow, it gives me the uninhibited feeling of being in my own space.  I enjoy being able to walk around the gardens adjoining the building.  I can also enjoy the excitement of observing the progress in the construction of the academic building right next door.  Recently, our registrar and the co-ordinator of Mathematics took some of us for a short trip to this upcoming building.  We went to the floor designated for our group.  My colleagues and I were so happy that we even started self-allocating our offices-to-be (although I am sure we will have forgotten this by the time the building is ready to be occupied).

Happy one month!

I have now completed a month at IISERP.  Apart from some delays in arrival of my household luggage from IISERK and acquiring internet connection at home, the transition has been very smooth.  Well equipped office space was alloted to me on Day 1, administrative joining-in formalities were done promptly, I found a suitable apartment [1] and got a new car on Day 2 and started driving practice immediately thereafter [2].  While I waited for my luggage etc to arrive from N1, I enjoyed the warm hospitality at my favourite guest house.

My colleague, Prof. Sunil Mukhi, who joined a couple of months ago, summarizes his impressions of IISERP very well in this post and I couldn't agree more.

Here are some things that I like most about my new workplace:

1) The Mathematics group, of which I am a member, is fairly well staffed.  Other than a comfortable teaching load, this ensures that committee work and other responsibilities get evenly distributed among all members.  So, while a couple of colleagues can focus on, say, building the course curriculum, some others can take care of student counseling etc.  One group takes care of seminars etc and another takes care of library matters pertaining to Mathematics.  We even have a Happiness Committee which organizes regular get-togethers to facilitate interaction between faculty and students.  I will write later about the responsibilities given to me.

2) We have a separate course structure for PhD students.  Mathematics graduate students need more course preparation than other STEM fields and we have the requisite courses to offer to our students.  My student seems to be benefiting from this a lot.  While he has started work on his PhD project, he is taking some core foundational courses that he had missed out before.

3) My colleagues, including the senior ones, across all STEM fields, are in general, very friendly and approachable.  This is totally not meant as a complaint, but it took me a lot of time to make friends in my former workplace.  For months, I went to the office, did my work and came back home without talking to anyone.  It was more common there for people from the same grad school to hang out together.
By contrast, over here, it is impossible to be left alone in a corner while having lunch at the faculty lounge.  Even if people come in groups, they reach out and talk to others on the table.  I like that very much.







[1] "Suitable" is an understatement!  This apartment is a dream.  The kitchen itself is bigger than the biggest room of my previous dwelling!

The worst kept secret ever?

This blog is no longer anonymous.  Well, frankly speaking, it never was, really! The Indian science community is very small and the things that I like to write about (or can write about) also make it very easy for people to search me if they want to!
In fact, I just realized that anyone who figures out that I am at an IISER (super-obvious) and do Mathematics (easy to see because I don't talk about setting up labs etc) can put the search words "IISER Mathematics blog" on google and be directed to my webpage!

So, N1 = IISER Kolkata

New1 = IISER Pune

My STEM field: Mathematics

I never really cared about people discovering my identity, but an anonymous blog stylistically made it easier to write about certain people and incidents without revealing their names.  Hence, the reluctance to go public!

But, I am aware that many people at IISER Pune read this blog (I don't think this was the case at IISER K). [1]

So, it is a little awkward to pretend to be anonymous!

Going public also gives me more freedom to write about Mathematics-based issues and about life in Pune, which I am enjoying very much [2].

IISER Pune, my new academic garden, is a lovely place.  I am very happy to be here and will be writing more about it shortly.  Stay tuned!



[1] A few days ago, Professor VS Rao, the registrar at IISERP, mentioned that he appreciated a certain post I wrote about the guest house at IISERP.  When I asked him how he figured out that I was writing the blog, he thought I was joking! :-)

[2] One of the things, for example, which is very Pune-specific, is that the National Defence Academy is located here.  It is my father's alma mater.  I visited it for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it was an extremely profound experience, about which I would like to write one of these days.

Happy new year

A very happy new year to all.

I am settling down in New1 very comfortably and hope to write about it soon.  Life is going to be very different here.

Right now, I am a little busy preparing for the PhD course that I will teach this semester, setting things up in my apartment and taking driving lessons.

Will be back soon, but wanted to write a small blurb on the first day of the year.