LECTURE SERIES
The Lecture Series at IIT Bombay serves as a platform for scholarly exchange, bringing together renowned academicians, distinguished faculty, and thought leaders to discuss critical scientific and technological advancements shaping the world today. Flagship initiatives like the Institute Colloquium Series and the N.R. Kamath Lecture Series provide the IIT Bombay community with invaluable insights into emerging challenges, groundbreaking research, and transformative innovations across disciplines. Over the past month, the Institute has hosted a series of thought-provoking lectures that have enriched academic discourse and fostered meaningful intellectual interactions among students and faculty, further strengthening the Institute’s vibrant academic ecosystem.
This month, the Institute featured the following lecture(s)/seminars.
Prof. N.R. Kamath Distinguished Institute Lecture Series
Prof. Pramod Khargonekar
IIT Bombay hosted the Prof. N.R. Kamath Distinguished Institute Lecture series on campus. The series honours the leadership and contributions of Prof. N.R. Kamath, former Deputy Director and founding head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Bombay, to the Institute.
The first speaker of the series in 2026 was IITB’s Distinguished Alumnus, Prof. Pramod Khargonekar (B.Tech., Electrical Engineering, 1977). He is also a Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Irvine.
In his lecture titled Future of Work and Workers in the AI Era Prof. Khargonekar explored how automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence are reshaping work and the lives of workers. Drawing on historical examples, including the Industrial Revolution, he shared his insights on how current and projected AI developments are transforming work today.
The talk also highlighted how a human-centred approach to AI can help shape a more equitable future of work.
Apart from the Prof. N.R. Kamath Distinguished Lecture series, he is also scheduled to deliver four additional lectures on campus on Emerging Directions in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence for Robotics.
Image Source: DACR Image Folder and Story source: DACR LinkedIn – Kamath
SEMINAR
Dr. S. Kicha Ganapathy
IITB alumnus, Dr. S. Kicha Ganapathy (B.Tech., Electrical Engineering, 1967), and President, ColorEyeQ, conducted a seminar at IITB’s campus on the Evolution of Colour Technologies: Redefining the Future of Paint and Beyond. The session explored how digital colour technologies and cloud-based formulation systems are transforming the paint and coatings industry, enabling accurate first-hit colour formulation using portable digital spectrophotometers, and unlocking e-commerce opportunities for custom colours and new colour-driven business models.
Image Source: DACR Folder / Story source: DACR LinkedIn
LUMINA LECTURE SERIES
Dr. Girija Narlikar
Lumina is an IIT Bombay initiative that connects and inspires women across the Institute’s extended community through dialogue, mentorship, and shared learning. The Lumina lecture series presented an interactive session on Building AI That Powers and Protects the Digital Workplace. The Lecture was delivered by IITB alumna, Dr. Girija Narlikar (B. Tech, Computer Science, 1993), Director of Engineering at Google, who leads AI Safety and Security at Google Workspace. She shared how AI and large language models are transforming workplace productivity while addressing critical challenges around safety, security, and abuse prevention.
Image-story sources: DACR LinkedIn Narlikar