Nagaraj is a cell biologist and an Associate Professor of Biology at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune.

He is a scientist who interfaces with society and has a keen sense of aesthetics and love for music.

His webpage : https://www.adhesionlab.com/public

He is on twitter : https://twitter.com/AdhesionLab.

In this conversation, we discussed various things including

·     his biography

·     importance of school teachers

·     growing up in the-then Bombay

·     reading widely as student

·     background in microbiology

·     transition to cell-biology

·     doing PhD in cancer hospital

·     impact it had in on his research

·     importance of being curious

·     importance of stupidity in science

·     his transition from US to India

·     research on cellular matrix

·     connection to mechano-biology

·     multidisciplinary aspect of his work

·     elements of aesthetics

·     his deep interest in design

·     how to adapt your research to Indian

·     sociological aspects of doing research in

·     his outreach activities

·     his initiatives with Spic Macay

·     'great nation deserves great art'

·     a remarkable story on a concert by

·     emotion that music evokes

·     small segment in his mother tongue - Tamil

·     recitation of Hindi poem

·     engagement with art

·     interdisciplinary approaches towards research

·     some projects in outreach

 References:

1. adhesionlab. “HOME.” Accessed July 14, 2023. https://www.adhesionlab.com.
2. adhesionlab. “NAGARAJ.” Accessed July 14, 2023. https://www.adhesionlab.com/public.
3. “Martin Schwartz, PhD.” Accessed July 14, 2023. https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/martin-schwartz/.
4. Sand Mandala: Tibetan Buddhist Ritual,
   2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBrYUlOYK0U.
5. “The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research.” Journal of Cell Science 121, no. 11 (June 1, 2008): 1771. https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.033340.
6. Schwartz, Martin A. “The Importance of Indifference in Scientific Research.” Journal
   of Cell Science 128, no. 15 (August 1, 2015): 2745–46. https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.174946.
7. Schwartz, Martin A., and Alpha S. Yap. “The Importance of Character Development in
   Scientific Research.” Journal of Cell Science 136, no. 13 (July 5, 2023): jcs261405. https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.261405.
8. “Spicmacay IISER Pune.” Accessed July 14, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/SpicmacayIISERPUNE.
9. “Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.” In Wikipedia, July 14, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vishwa_Mohan_Bhatt&oldid=1165336574.
10. “इस पार उस पार - हरिवंशराय
    बच्चन| Is Paar Us Paar - Harivansh Rai
    Bachchan. काव्यालय| Kaavyaalaya: House of Hindi
    Poetry.” Accessed July 18, 2023. https://kaavyaalaya.org/ipup.

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