Prof. Rakesh Popli and Mrs. Rama Popli Distinguished lecture Series
Prof. Rakesh Popli and Mrs. Rama Popli Distinguished Lecture Series series was instituted by Dr. Abhimanyu Popli, Ms. Shivaranjani Popli Verma, and Mr. Divyaratan Popli in memory of Prof. Popli and his contributions to education, science popularization, and social development.
Prof. Rakesh Kumar Popli (1952-15 September 2007) served as a faculty member in the Department of Physics at IIT Kanpur from 1981 to 1983. He later left academia to dedicate himself to the education and upliftment of tribal communities in India. A brilliant academician and strong advocate of science popularization, he played a key role in establishing Ekal Vidyalaya, a non-profit initiative that provides education to children in rural and remote areas, and actively promoted scientific awareness through his writings.
His wife, Mrs. Rama Popli, is a specialist in elementary education with over 40 years of experience in field research and rural social development. She founded Kislaya Vidya Mandir, which later became an incubator for developing curricula for Ekal Vidyalaya, and continues to support elementary education through the Panini Foundation.
Past Speaker
Prof. Arnab Bhattacharya
Prof. Arnab Bhattacharya spoke on "The Wonderful Lab Called Home". He is a scientist, tinkerer, and science communicator at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, where he leads a research group in semiconductor optoelectronics and serves as the Centre Director of the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education. He holds a B.Tech. from IIT Bombay, MS and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and completed postdoctoral research at the Ferdinand-Braun-Institute, Berlin, Germany.