Archives at the National Centre for Biological Sciences
 
What are we doing here?
Monthly discussions on campus histories.
 
Session 3: Hacks & Journeys
Thursday, Jul 21 2022. 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Archives at NCBS (ELC Basement)
Open to all at inStem, C-CAMP, NCBS, TIGS, and beyond!
 
A monthly experiment to spark conversation, to reflect on campus histories, and to see the culture of science here: its backstories, intersections with administration, funding, gender, caste, class, politics, culture, privilege, mentoring, and so much more. Join us to listen and share! 
 
Our third session will focus on the PROCESS of doing science or being part of it -- the stuff that doesn't quite fit in that research paper or product. The backstories of science. Got science hacks and not-so-pro tips? Stories from trips, from SP Road to Nilgiris, as part of your work on campus? Luck and serendipity in the field or lab? Moments in the field/lab at 2AM on a Sunday morning?
 
 
Session 3: Hacks & Journeys
Thursday, Jul 21 2022. 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Archives at NCBS (ELC Basement)
Want to contribute ideas ahead of time? Share your experiences: https://bit.ly/wawdh-3-survey
 
Hacks & Journeys?
We would be grateful if you can dive into your histories and share specific moments. It can be from 40+ years ago, and it can be from yesterday. 
 
There is the scientific paper or product or lab service. And then there is the work and stories that go into the science, most of it staying in our minds for the better part of our lives. This session is all about the backstories to science. That time when pregnant mice flown from Hyderabad to Bangalore turned out….not to be pregnant. Or that time when folks drew blood from horses as a source of nucleic acid for the lab in the late 1960s. Folks who collected seaweed off of TIFR for research. The trials of transporting a model organism for first-time research in India. The changes over decades on the art of writing a research paper. Early days of lab management at NCBS. Different ways of maintaining lab notes. The art of working with a microtome, and finding the right person for it. The efforts to try and build a rock-steady microscope lamp with a halogen lamp pried off a car. And yes, writing down field notes on tree-living mammals on Braille paper.
 
Who’s hosting this?
The Archives at NCBS. We are a public collecting centre for the history of science in contemporary India (https://archives.ncbs.res.in). We also carry institutional memory. Stop by the ELC basement sometime, maybe for this event, and stick around?
 
Why?
NCBS turns 31 this year Or 25, or 30, or some other number, depending on whom you speak to and what they are counting. And we thought we’ll do something different to understand this space. On Oct 22, 1991, the Department of Atomic Energy sent a letter to the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, conveying the President's sanction for a new biology research centre in Bangalore. Hence, NCBS turning 25 in 2016. Because only upon looking back does the 1991 letter appear as a bookend to what really was a decade-plus process in realizing a National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS). More on that here: http://stories.archives.ncbs.res.in/exhibit/13ways/
 
Series history: What are we doing here? 
#1 Campus Rituals and Blue Moons: https://www.ncbs.res.in/events/wawdh-1-20220527
 
Did you just scroll to the end of this without reading? We got you:
Session 3: Hacks & Journeys
Thursday, Jul 21 2022. 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Archives at NCBS (ELC Basement)
Open to all.