A tryst with density

WalterKohn transformed theoretical chemistry and solid state physics with his development of density functional theory, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize. This article tries to explain, in simple terms, why this was an important advance in the field, and to describe precisely what it was that he (together with his collaborators Pierre Hohenberg and Lu Jeu Sham) achieved.     

Kosambi’s vision of science A critical appreciation

Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi (1907–1966) was an eminent mathematician, scientist, innovative Marxist, a maverick scholar, and historian of contemporary India. Combining both versatility and a certain sense of virtuosity Kosambi made seminal contributions to a wide variety of disciplines spread across from pure and applied mathematics to archaeology and Indology. In the course of these writings he provided an incisive analysis of various developments in science and technology and novel perspectives onmany topics related to mathematics (especially in number theory and statistics), genetics and India’s past history, present concerns, and future growth.     

Why do elephants have big ear flaps?

In this essay we shall try to answer the question in the title with some geometry and heat transfer thrown in for effect. For doing so, as the joke goes, allow me to assume the elephant as a sphere. The reason will be apparent soon. Arunn Narasimhan is a faculty at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. His research interests include transport in porous media, phase change materials and heat transfer in biological systems.