Arnab Bhattacharya is an Indian physicist and science communicator. He is a research professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, where he works in semiconductor optoelectronics. Since 2021, he has also served as director of the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education. Bhattacharya is an avid proponent of public engagement and science education. Since 2009, he has led and curated Chai and Why, a widely attended science café in Mumbai. In 2017, the Indian National Science Academy honored him with the Indira Gandhi Prize for the Popularization of Science, one of India’s most prestigious science awards, for his contributions to public science communication. In this wide-ranging and insightful InterDialogue, we explore interconnected questions surrounding science communication, education, and outreach in both Indian and global contexts. We also discuss Bhattacharya’s projects during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he helped create low-cost methods for decontaminating N95 masks for reuse by frontline responders. In addition, we talk about his research on nanomaterials and India’s potential for developing domestic industries centered on advanced technologies such as semiconductors, solar energy, and nuclear power. Beyond his scientific research and outreach work, we also touch on the importance of maintaining work-life balance, as well as Bhattacharya’s passion for Indian classical music, nature, and cooking. Timestamps 1:02 – Bhattacharya’s introduction to science and science communication 10:59 – Interventions in science communication in India 16:16 – Hands-on alternatives to theoretical learning 21:34 – Bhattacharya’s involvement in pandemic response in India 27:36 – Public health communication during the pandemic 33:09 – Problems facing public health and science communication in India 41:01 – Bhattacharya’s directorship of the Homi Bhabha Center for Science Education 45:04 – Impact of AI on science education in India 50:43 – Bhattacharya’s research on lighting technology 55:54 – India’s potential for a domestic semiconductor industry 1:00:57 –...

Marta González is a Venezuelan-American physicist and complexity scientist whose research explores the dynamics of human mobility, urban systems, and sustainability through the lens of statistical physics and network science. She is a professor of civil and environmental engineering and city and regional planning at the University of California, Berkeley, where she also serves as associate director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center. González is internationally recognized for pioneering the use of large-scale mobility data to better understand cities and inform public policy. In this wide-ranging InterDialogue, González reflects on her journey from physics into complexity science and urban research, explaining how statistical physics provides powerful tools for understanding human mobility and the collective dynamics of cities. We discuss the emergence of urban science as an interdisciplinary field, the opportunities and limitations of mobile phone and mobility datasets, and how these data can improve transportation planning, climate adaptation, and the design of more resilient and sustainable cities. González also explores the challenges of translating scientific research into public policy, including questions of data access, privacy, and collaboration between researchers, governments, and industry. We further examine the future of urban mobility, autonomous vehicles, and clean energy, as well as the importance of international collaboration and expanding scientific capacity across the Global South. Finally, she reflects on the broader promise of complexity science for addressing some of the most pressing social and environmental challenges facing rapidly urbanizing societies. Timestamps 0:00 – Introduction and Marta González’s path into complexity science 5:01 – From statistical physics to human mobility research 10:18 – Mobile phone data and the emergence of urban science 15:42 – Sustainable cities, climate adaptation, and resilience 20:24 – Privacy, data access, and international collaboration 25:42 – Using complexity science to inform urban policy 29:32 – Measuring the impact of remote work...

Sunil Mukhi is an Indian theoretical physicist at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Pune, Maharashtra. Mukhi has led a distinguished career in theoretical particle physics. He received his PhD from Stony Brook University before joining the prestigious Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai, where he worked for 27 years. In 2012, he joined IISER Pune as chair of the physics department, where he is now an honorary emeritus professor and the Raja Ramanna Chair. Throughout the years, Mukhi has held sabbatical positions at CERN in Geneva, the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, and Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. He is a fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy, and the World Academy of Sciences. In 1999, he received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, one of India’s highest science awards, for his contributions to theoretical physics. In this InterDialogue, we begin by speaking about Mukhi’s advisory work on academic ethics, the structural incentives for academic misconduct, his concerns about AI use in academia and the difficulties of curtailing it, and India’s international scientific standing. We then speak about Mukhi’s research and contributions to theoretical physics, especially in the field of string theory. Mukhi also discusses his personal background, his career trajectory, and his reasons for returning to India after studying in the United States. We conclude by addressing the importance of science outreach, inclusivity in science, responsible behavior in scientific and public discourse, and the importance of extracurricular interests to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction 2:27 – Importance of academic ethics 5:59 – Consequences of academic misconduct 8:24 – Structural incentives for academic misconduct 11:23 – Legal challenges in academic ethics 13:14 – AI and academic ethics 16:46 – Addressing AI use...

Investment in science is a pillar for any dynamic, equitable modern society, and promoting scientific literacy across all levels of society can help foster innovation, dialogue, and consensus that crosses disciplinary and cultural boundaries. Science also helps to uncover answers to foundational questions that have captivated, confounded, and divided our species for millennia. But what is “science,” and what kind of “evidence” ensures that an approach is scientific? If we take “science” to broadly mean, in its purest sense, a “dynamic search for the truth,” or more explicitly, “the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence,” as the Science Council aptly defines it, then science extends beyond the established, highly specialized disciplines of reductionist natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, geoscience, and space science) that have been so successful in fostering our understanding of our planet and the cosmos. Under this definition, science also includes the rigorous data-driven (qualitative and quantitative) social sciences, the inherently non-reductionist “holistic” sciences such as ecological and Earth system sciences, and the budding interdisciplinary field of complex systems science, as well as robust traditional knowledge systems based on multi-generational experiences, observations, and reasoning. As with science, “evidence” can mean a lot of things as well, including primary research, pre-existing data, past and planned experiments, and the referencing of peer-reviewed publications and primary sources. It can also include local and traditional knowledge, thought experiments, theoretical proofs, contemplation, verifiable personal experience, and empirical observation. Broadening and weaving together these forms of scientific evidence holds the potential to address complex, interconnected global challenges and explain deep mysteries that could help unify our polarized societies around foundational understandings. Foundational Questions Foundational questions can transcend the divides of generations and cultures: Cosmology, physics, and evolutionary biology have shed...

In this InterDialogue recorded at the 17th General Conference of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in October 2025, The InterPlex founder Daniel Henryk Rasolt speaks with Brazilian physicist Marcelo Knobel about his background and career trajectory, science communication, the importance of TWAS, his tenure as the Executive Director of TWAS, the current state of science in Brazil, issues of brain drain, and his own research projects, among other timely topics. In addition to serving as the current Executive Director of TWAS, Knobel is the former rector of the University of Campinas, where he fostered interdisciplinary collaborations and innovative education programs. He has also done research on what he calls “effective communication” between higher education institutions and the public, while practicing what he preaches by disseminating articles, opinion pieces, books, and a podcast intended for a non-specialized audience. He is a global leader in science communication, international and interinstitutional collaborations, and science development in the Global South. Chapters 0:00 – Introduction 2:13 – Knobel’s Background and Career Trajectory 5:37 – Scientific Censorship in Argentina under the Dictatorship 7:57 – Importance of Effective Science Communication 11:58 – Lessons from Knobel’s Science Communication Experience 14:52 – Communicating Nuance and Adaptable Communication Techniques 20:00 – Interinstitutional and Interdisciplinary Communication and Collaboration 23:45 – Fostering Interdisciplinary Collaborations at TWAS 25:54 – History, Importance, and Current Situation of TWAS 28:19 – Knobel’s Tenure as Executive Director of TWAS 30:06 – Knobel’s Vision for the Future of TWAS 31:35 – TWAS in the Global Funding Landscape 35:45 – Current Situation of Science in Brazil 37:22 – Brain Drain and the Consequences of Disinvesting in Science 39:47 – Current Situation of Science and Brain Drain in the US 41:16 – Knobel’s Current Research Projects 48:43 – Knobel’s Book and his Science Communication Efforts 50:57 – Conclusion

In this InterDialogue, Spanish physicist and complex systems theorist Jesús Gómez-Gardeñes speaks with The InterPlex founder Daniel Henryk Rasolt about a wide range of topics, beginning with a discussion of LANET, the Latin American Conference on Complex Networks, which he helped found. Jesús Gómez-Gardeñes is a Full Professor in the Department of Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Zaragoza in Spain, where he leads the Group of Theoretical & Applied Modeling (GOTHAM lab) at the BIFI Institute. Professor Gómez-Gardeñes has led a varied and impactful career. His research has explored topics such as collective behavior, nonlinear dynamics, evolutionary dynamics, epidemics, and theoretical biology, all from the standpoint of complex systems and network theory. He is currently organizing the 2026 CompleNet conference, to be held in Zaragoza from May 4 to 8. This dialogue ranges from Gómez-Gardeñes’s experiences as a thought leader in complex network sciences in Europe and Latin America to his work on epidemics, urban mobility, and metapopulation networks. He also touches on confronting anti-science rhetoric and the need for scientists to address misinformation by establishing effective links with the media and policymakers. The discussion concludes with an assessment of the complexity inherent to Colombia, a nation that Gómez-Gardeñes has spent much time working in, and a view toward his current and future projects. Timestamps 0:00 – Introduction 4:32 – How LANET Was Founded 8:23 – International Academic Exchange between Colombia and Europe 11:28 – The Role of Complex Networks in Interdisciplinary Collaborations 14:19 – Networking and Collaborating Through Conferences 17:17 – Building Local Capacity and Fostering International Collaborations 23:21 – Expanding Reach and Accessibility, Hybrid Courses 26:37 – Gómez-Gardeñes’s Research on Epidemics 32:33 – Metapopulation Networks 36:08 – Pivoting From Urban Mobility Research to Epidemics 41:10 – Mosquitoes as Vectors 47:03 – Socio-Behavioral Factors and Epidemic Forecasting...