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    Viral robodog video shows why Indian universities need less spin, more substance
    (The Times of India, 2026-02-23) Rao, V. Ramgopal
    The recent episode involving a private university at the AI Impact Summit has been painful to watch. First, a word for the students and faculty. There are good students and committed teachers in every institution. When something goes viral for the wrong reasons, it is not only the management that feels the heat. It is the final year student sitting for placements. It is the young assistant professor building a research profile. Social media can be brutal. The debate quickly escalates into questions of national prestige. That part is deeply unfortunate. Now to the uncomfortable questions. What is fundamentally wrong in such incidents is not one exhibition or one poorly handled explanation. It is a culture where optics begin to dominate substance. A serious academic institution does not send a marketing executive to explain a technical prototype. The person standing next to a demo must be someone who designed it, built it, coded it or experimentally validated it. The moment scripted marketing language replaces technical depth, credibility collapses. In today’s world, every audience member can fact-check in real time. Second, excessive freedom to marketing teams in academic matters is risky. Universities are not branding agencies. Communication must be academically vetted. Leadership must take responsibility. Public claims are not just about visibility. They reflect the intellectual integrity of the institution.
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    What India can do to end science Nobel drought
    (The Times of India, 2024-10) Rao, V. Ramgopal
    It’s Nobel Prize season. Since their inception in 1901, only 12 individuals of Indian origin have been awarded the Prize, with just five being Indian citizens. Among them, Dr C V Raman remains the sole Indian to have won in the science category, with his 1930 Nobel in Physics for the discovery of the Raman Effect. The 94-year gap since Raman’s achievement is concerning, especially when there have been Indian scientists who have made significant discoveries that went unrecognised. To position Indian scientists for future Nobel recognition, we must act now to foster an environment where ground-breaking research thrives. Science is the foundation of all technological advancement. The mobile phone which everyone uses today would not have been possible without at least a dozen Nobel Prize-winning discoveries behind it. Be it the transistor (1956, Physics), laser technology (1964, Physics), information theory (1965, Physics), integrated circuit (2000, Physics), conducting polymers (2000, Chemistry), semiconductor heterostructures (2000, Physics), fibre optics (2009, Physics), LED technology (2014, Physics), lithium-ion battery (2019, Chemistry), etc., each of these discoveries and several others were critical for the modern revolution we see in consumer electronics. It’s vital to remember that countries don’t invest in science because they are developed; they become developed because they invest in science. Here are five steps to improve India’s scientific output and pave the way for future Nobel laureates.