anyone has her contact? On 10/25/16, avinash shahi <shahi88avin...@gmail.com> wrote: > Nandita Jayaraj > 17/10/2016 The Wire.in > http://thewire.in/73448/this-mathematician-doesnt-need-to-see-the-board-to-solve-problems/ > Sushama Agarwal, who was born with a visual impairment didn’t let it > stop her from achieving her academic dream of becoming a > mathematician. > Sushama Agarwal. Credit: The Life of Science/Nandita Jayaraj > Sushama Agarwal. Credit: The Life of Science/Nandita Jayaraj > > Who? Sushama Agarwal > > What? Mathematician > > Where? Ramanujan Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics, Chennai > > Squeezing past police vans, barricades and scattered groups of > demonstrators on the wide roads of Chepauk, I made my way to Madras > University’s math department. A large peaceful protest was underway. > This area in Chennai is no stranger to such demonstrations as many of > government institutions are located here, including one of the main > campuses of the 159-year-old University of Madras. > > The University’s alumni include two Nobel Laureates, a former > President of India, as well as world famous mathematician Srinivasa > Ramanujan after whom its math department – where I was headed – is > named. The small and somewhat dilapidated building of the Ramanujan > Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics (RIASM) is separate from > the majestic main campus. On the outside, its walls are filled with > the remains of political posters and graffiti. I walked in, past two > students and a few policemen and women who seemed to be taking a break > from patrolling duty. > > When I entered her office, Sushama Agarwal greeted me with a cautious > smile. Born and brought up in Bhusawal, a town in Maharashtra, Agarwal > moved to Chennai for a Ph.D. in 1988. She has been a faculty member at > RIASM for almost two decades now. Her expertise is an abstract area of > mathematics called ‘functional analysis’. > > An abstract idea with a lot of applications > > “Functional analysis involves describing any process in the form of > mathematical functions”, said Sushama. “By doing this, it is possible > to model any experiment or system to predict its behaviour. Functional > analysis enables better decisions in a multitude of different domains > – economics, engineering and electronics.” Agarwal, however, is > focused on the mathematical theory of this applied science. > > The excerpt below nicely illustrates how the need of functional analysis > arose: > > “Mathematicians observed that different problems from varied fields > often have related features and properties. This fact was used for an > effective unifying approach towards such problems, the unification > being obtained by the omission of unessential details. Hence the > advantage of an abstract approach is that it concentrates on the > essential facts, so that these facts become clearly visible and one’s > attention is not disturbed by unimportant details. Moreover, by > developing a box of tools in the abstract framework, one is equipped > to solve many different problems (that are really the same problem in > disguise!). > > For example, while fishing for various different species of fish > (bass, sardines, perch, and so on), one notices that in each of these > different algorithms, the basic steps are the same: all one needs is a > fishing rod and some bait. Of course, what bait one uses, where and > when one fishes, depends on the particular species one wants to catch, > but underlying these minor details, the basic technique is the same. > So one can come up with an abstract algorithm for fishing, and > applying this general algorithm to the particular species at hand, one > gets an algorithm for catching that particular species. Such an > abstract approach also has the advantage that it helps us to tackle > unseen problems. For instance, if we are faced with a hitherto unknown > species of fish, all that one has to do in order to catch it is to > find out what it eats, and then by applying the general fishing > algorithm, one would also be able to catch this new species. > Early life and dealing with loss of vision > > Managing an academic career is no walk in the park and it was even > less so for Agarwal who was born with an eye disorder that left her > blind by the time she was in college. I had forgotten to ask her the > name of the condition but I found from a profile online that it was > retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disease where the rod and cone cells > of the retina die. As this happened, her eyes lost the ability to > convert light rays into nerve impulses that can be translated into > images by the brain. Reports say that retinitis pigmentosa is up to > ten times more prevalent in India than in the west; up to two lakh > Indians are affected by it. Agarwal’s vision began deteriorating while > at school. “I could read from books but not from the blackboard. By > the time I was doing my M.Sc., that also went,” she said. > > Agarwal was always inclined towards subjects requiring logical > thinking. Maths was her favourite. It was the subject she could > understand most clearly, as physics and chemistry involved experiments > that were difficult to do with her visual impairment. “That’s why I > went on to study math.” She continued after a pause, “Even if I was > sighted I think I would have been interested in math only…” > > She was completed her B.Sc. in Bhusawal, but beyond that the future > looked hazy. Her father had passed away just a few years before and as > her siblings were away, Agarwal was the only one to give her mother > company at home. There were not many options for higher studies and > for her to leave her hometown she would need someone to support her. > Due to these circumstances, Agarwal spent two years at home – “I was > bored doing nothing.” > > A turning point and a supporter for life > > Agarwal’s turning point came when a friend agreed to accompany her to > a different town to do her Masters. There, she met one of her > teachers, soon-to-be husband, P. Veeramani. “He came to know that I > had a problem when teachers wrote some things on the board without > speaking it out. At these times, continuity is broken and I wasn’t > able to understand.” Veeramani was mindful of this and began to take > good care to say all the lessons out loud so that Agarwal could keep > up with her classmates. > > As a result, she found herself more interested in his classes. Her > dedication did not go unnoticed by Veeramani, who encouraged her. For > the first time, Agarwal began to believe that she could pursue a > doctorate in the subject that she was so fond of. Agarwal and > Veeramani decided to get married and in 1988 they moved to Chennai > where the latter had secured a faculty position at IIT. This worked > out really well for Agarwal too as she found her Ph.D. guide S.H. > Kulkarni at IIT-Madras. > > In 1996, she completed her Ph.D., making her, according to one > newspaper, one of the first two blind students in IIT-M to do so. But > Agarwal is wary of special attention. “It’s not like I had some aim or > ambition. I just took one step at a time. At each step, I made a full > effort. > > There are difficulties > > Seldom does she accept invitations by associations to talk to other > blind students – “Firstly I’m shy,” she admits with a soft laugh. > There’s more to her reluctance than this, though. “It should not be > the case that they do math when they are not interested. Then it will > be problematic. I want the blind students to know there are > difficulties.” > > “Often it happens that when I want to study, no one is around to read > to me. When I want to refer something, I may not be able to [on my > own]. But those things we have to overcome.” Clearly, having to depend > on others is not very enjoyable. “If I have to take a class, I have to > first prep. I need to ask a student to write on the board for me. Some > of them are not comfortable with this and it’s troublesome if the > writing is not coordinated with my speaking… It’s better to not be so > dependent, no?” > > “Sometimes I feel that they [the blind students] can instead pursue > other things that require less dependence.” > > One of Agarwal’s most difficult periods was after her Ph.D. when it > proved tough to get a job. “I applied to some colleges but didn’t get > called for interviews. Those days, it was difficult for everyone, but > it was clear that I wasn’t being considered because of my difficulty.” > But she got her break with University of Madras. “The then-Vice > Chancellor was a professor in Tamil literature and had a student who > was visually challenged. So he had the idea of how it can be managed.” > Agarwal was invited for an interview and her responses their queries > about manage correction, teaching, etc. were found to be satisfactory. > > Were you not anxious at all, I asked her? She smiled, “There was a bit > of fear. But not about teaching – that is no problem – only about the > times I may be asked to evaluate other college papers. Those tasks are > not mandatory but I was afraid I’d have to do all that.” Agarwal > stresses that while visually challenged persons in academia like her > may require better accessibility, technology and a bit of extra care, > they learn quickly. “My concentration is more. Some say my memory is > good. Anything you teach me, I’ll listen very carefully and learn.” > > Sushama uses her recorder so that she can listen to certain concepts, > theorems and their proofs over and over again. But besides that, she > is not overly reliant on technology, although she admits that > technological advancements are helpful for the visually impaired in > general. Though there is a Braille system for mathematics, Agarwal > does not use it. She didn’t find the need to as she was not born blind > and can recognise the regular mathematical symbols if someone feels it > out on her palm. > > nemeth > An example of Nemeth Braille used to depict a math expression. Credit: > The Life of ScienceA helping hand > > Throughout the interview, there was another person in the room > witnessing our conversation. I’d presumed that she was another faculty > member until Agarwal finally introduced her to me as her assistant > Kamali Natarajan. Natarajan has worked with her for nearly four years > now. “I go and pick her up in the morning, sit with her here and then > go back with her to her home before returning to mine,” Natarajan > said, in a mixture of Tamil and English. “Till I joined Ma’am, I was a > housewife.” > > imag7159 > Sushama’s assistant KamaliAgarwal told me that Natarajan did not > continue her education after passing tenth standard and getting > married early. After her children both married, she found herself with > a lot of free time. So when Natarajan saw a job notice in the > neighbourhood newsletter for a visually impaired maths professor’s > assistant, she contacted Agarwal. “Today, Madam is like a friend. We > share everything and if I don’t see her for two days I miss her,” > Natarajan said, making Agarwal smile widely. “And of course, the > salary I get is very helpful!” > > So what is it like for a non-academic person to spend her days in a > building full of mathematicians? Natarajan’s eyes widened in mock > horror. “Math is very difficult, very difficult. If you look at the > research scholars, you’ll see they are always serious. In other > colleges, students talk about films, politics. But these students, > nothing, only math math math.” I noticed Agarwal trying her best to > restrain her amusement. “I feel like taking them to the waterfalls – > you know – to cool their head. So serious they are always… anyway, > they are great,” Natarajan added, dramatically. By this time Agarwal > was chuckling at her assistant’s comments. > > As I finished my tea and got ready to leave, Agarwal was thoughtful. > “If I had been part of some association [of the visually impaired] > right from the beginning, I would have also participated in all these > activities – they go for trekking and walk very normally on the road, > you know? I don’t go walking alone. I always take someone with me. But > I just need a touch. Then I’ll follow her or walk side-by-side.” > > Teaching at RIASM > > The Ramanujan Institute teaches math in a way very few other colleges > do, according to Agarwal. “We emphasise on the concepts rather than > giving notes to study. In other places, they don’t do this because > they want 100% results in their class. Because of this students may > find it difficult, but only in their first semester.” > > When she was a student herself, there were very few women taking up > math. Today, 3/4th of her M.Sc. class comprises ladies. “Maybe this is > because boys have more pressure to take up jobs [after graduation]. At > least five or six of each batch of around 30 students go on to do > their Ph.Ds,” said Agarwal. > > -- > Avinash Shahi > Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU > > > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of > mobile phones / Tabs on: > http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the > person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. >
Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
