Dr. Prabal Maiti

A professor in the department of physics at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore one of Dr Maiti’s major research goals is to pursue theoretical and numerical modeling connecting molecular and macroscopic length scales. His aim is to improve basic understanding of soft-matter and biological systems, both from a fundamental and an applied point of view. His current research interests include computational materials science, computational nanotechnology and biophysics. He is passionate about education at the grass-roots level and along with his friends and colleagues from IIT, he runs a school for underprivileged children.

Dr. TV Ramchandra

Dr. T.V. Ramachandra, FIE, FIEE (UK) is the co-ordinator of Energy and Wetlands Research Group (EWRG). A Ph.D. in Ecology and Energy from Indian Institute of Science, he has to his credit a vast body of research in renewable energy, energy conservation, GIS (Geographic Information Systems), Remote Sensing, Biodiversity, Western Ghats and Himalayan Ecology Ecosystem conservation.

He is also the convener of Environmental Information System (ENVIS) at Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES) at IISc. Over the past twenty years, he has been a member of various expert committees on environment, including the Western Ghats Task Force instituted by the Government of Karnataka as well as the Working Group on Sustainable Product Development under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP-WG-SPD). He has also authored 17 books and over 264 research papers in reputed national and international journals. Dr Ramachandra is the recepient of many awards, namely Johny Biosphere Award for Ecology and Environment (2004), Satish Dhawan Young Scientist Award, 2007, Best ENVIS award (2016, 2015, 2004), Namma Bangalorean award, 2016 by Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Rotary Exemplars 2017 – Citizen Extraordinaire award (Rotary Club of Bangalore).

Riad Mahmood

Riad Mahmood is the managing trustee and founder of Head Start Educational Academy. He also founded the Riad Foundation with a vision to integrate arts with education. Riad believes that people should follow their dreams and pursue opportunities in their areas of interest. Before starting the foundation in 2013, Riad worked with Head Start Montessori House of Children. His diligent efforts led to the rapid expansion of the school in the early 2000s. Over the next few years, he went on to start Early Years Montessori for younger children as well as the Head ‎Start Educational Academy for students from Grade 1 to 12. Riad has also taken up the challenge of training teachers by setting up an AMI Montessori Training centre at Head Start Montessori House of Children, in association with Navadisha Foundation, Chennai. This course trains teachers to work with three to six year olds.

Riad has a degree in commerce and business administration. He loves to play cricket and golf and is also a passionate runner.

Virendra Paliwal

Founder and CEO

An engineering and management graduate from VJTI, Mumbai and XLRI, Jamshedpur, Virendra has over 22 years of professional experience working with L&T Ltd., Ramco Systems and Infosys. During his 19 year stint with Infosys, Virendra played multiple roles, both in India and abroad. He spent 12 years in Infosys Lab, the R&D unit of Infosys, where his team developed some of the most successful software products by using innovative technology solutions, filed patents and won Infosys Excellence Awards.

An innovative thinker and executioner of strategy, Virendra is deeply passionate about making experiential learning a reality and change the way science and engineering education is delivered in India. He believes that short-term memory based rote learning is not helping students to develop scientific temperament needed in today’s knowledge and innovation driven world. He is committed to providing an environment where students can freely experiment, explore and tinker to learn new concepts and bring ideas to life.

Atishaya Saksham

Atishaya Kumar Saksham is a post-graduate from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore with a major in Earth and Environmental Science. Atishaya is deeply passionate about science and wants to promote it amongst students. Despite being selected by IIT to pursue engineering, Atishaya chose to pursue his passion for pure science and joined IISc. He is a recipient of KVPY fellowship (Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojna) from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. This fellowship is awarded to meritorious students to help them pursue research in science. Atishaya’s research experience ranges from Environmental Computation and Modelling to Bio and Chemical Remediation. When he’s not immersed in scientific research, Atishaya volunteers for various social events related to education.