What we do?

  • We help people act with insight.
  • We help companies grow from the inside.
  • We help employees turn into thinkers.

We ignite thought

If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it. Its peculiar character, too, is that no one possesses the less, because every other possesses the whole of it. He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.

--Thomas Jefferson
on Patents and Freedom of Ideas

Outreach

Acadinnet's current outreach programs include:
Public Lectures on or related to S&T.
Hands-on Workshops on Software Development for economically-handicapped children.
Educational Material related to insights in science.
Mentoring of Unusual Talent spotted by Acadinnet (at its discretion).

Philanthropists willing to sponsor an Outreach Program are welcome. For details please click on the program you wish to sponsor.

The outreach programs are not yet operational. An announcement will appear when they are.

Public lectures

Acadinnet seeks sponsors for these lectures. A sponsor may select a lecture from the Insights in Science or Intellectual Property lectures series. Acadinnet will not charge any speaking fees on condition that the lecture would be open to the public. The sponsor will need to provide a suitable lecture hall in Bangalore with appropriate audio-visual facilities, tea/coffee for attendees, and transportation for the speaker and those accompanying him in the context of the lecture. The lecture should not be used by a sponsor as an opportunity to advertise itself. Sponsorship will be acknowledged in lecture announcements and at the lecture venue during the lecture.

To sponsor, please visit http://www.acadinnet.com/Lectures/Sponsors/Application.

This program is not yet operational. An announcement will appear when it is.

Hands-on Workshops on Software Development

Acadinnet seeks sponsors for this program. Each workshop will admit 10-12 trainees from the economically handicapped section of society. The trainees can be chosen by the sponsor. The duration of the workshop, course content, schedule, and cost of the workshop will be decided in consultation with the sponsor. The aim of this program is to spot raw talent and train them into advance software developers. This program is not meant to churn out testing and maintenance software engineers.

To sponsor, please visit http://www.acadinnet.com/Lectures/Sponsors/Application.

This program is not yet operational. An announcement will appear when it is.

Educational Material

Acadinnet intends to create a repository of education material that can be used by students and teachers on topics related to science & technology and will web-accessible by the public. The emphasis will be on providing insights in science and its application to technology development. The material will not be suitable for providing rote education.

To sponsor, please visit http://www.acadinnet.com/Lectures/Sponsors/Application.

This program is not yet operational. An announcement will appear when it is.

Mentoring of Unusual Talent

Acadinnet, on its own initiative and discretion, may mentor a select number of unusually talented people in science & technology. While Acadinnet will welcome sponsors for this program, they will not have any say in the running of this program.

To sponsor, please visit http://www.acadinnet.com/Lectures/Sponsors/Application.

This program is not yet operational. An announcement will appear when it is.

Insights in Science Lecture Abstracts
From hunter-gatherer to knowledge-worker
In very broad terms, the world's economic development can be divided into four stages: hunter-gatherer (till about 12,000 years ago; more than 99% of our time on earth), agricultural (beginning about 12,000 years ago till about 1500 AD), industrial (from about 1500 AD to later half of 20th century), and postindustrial (later half of 20th century and continuing)1 , although a substantial comingling of two or more stages can be seen even today in many countries, including the world's most advanced nations. The hunter-gatherer stage can support only about one inhabitant per square mile and demands a nomadic life involving extraordinary land-intensive activity. In the post-industrial information (knowledge-gatherer) age, we are primarily concerned about creating knowledge and using it to produce marketable products and services as quickly and economically as possible. The focus is therefore on knowledge workers. The knowledge-gatherer stage can support several orders of magnitude more inhabitants per square mile than was possible in the hunter-gatherer stage.
Axiomatic mathematics
Euclid's geometry is the first specific evidence of an axiomatic treatment of mathematics. Some 2000 years after Euclid, several mathematicians reexamined its axioms and discovered non-Euclidean geometry. One such geometry forms the space-time geometry of Einstein's general theory of relativity. The discovery of non-Euclidean geometry was a revolution in mathematics, which led to what now forms the heart of mathematics-formal axiomatic systems. Formal systems form the basis of reasoning in mathematics and of all the computations we do on digital computers.
How reliably can we compute?
Several simple computations, as implemented on digital computers, will be examined. Their surprising common feature is that while there is no flaw in the coded logic, the computations fail. The reason for their failure and their remedies will be discussed. The lesson: programming is not about coding; it is about algorithms and their error propagation characteristics. We shall also take a look at some unusual ways humans prove mathematical propositions.
On symmetry
The notion of symmetry plays a central role in theoretical physics. The central theme of this lecture is the Emmy Nöther theorem, which states that for every observable symmetry in Nature there is a corresponding entity that is conserved. And for every conservation law there is a corresponding symmetry. For example, the law of conservation of angular momentum is a consequence of the isotropy of space.
Quantum cryptography and quantum teleportation
The world of quantum mechanics is truly magical. In this lecture we will look at the basic mathematical framework around which QM is built, and then look at the amazingly simple solutions to two problems: (i) the safe exchange of keys for encrypted messages, and (ii) the teleportation of matter. In both these solutions, Charles Bennett, a distinguished IBM researcher, played a pioneering role.
Intellectual Property Lecture Abstracts
On innovation
In a competitive world where economic survival depends on being innovative, significant problems generally require beyond the state-of-the-art knowledge to find a solution. That is why competitive advantage devolves on societies which provide quality university education, foster well-complemented university-industry R&D collaborations, and are willing to welcome brains-in-circulation from anywhere in the world. Most people seem to forget that R&D and innovation are twin sisters.
Part I Copyright, trademark, trade secret
Some basic aspects of intellectual property rights related to copyright, trademark, and trade secret will be discussed. Patents will be discussed in the next lecture.
Part II Patent
This lecture will cover matters related to patentability, who can be named as an inventor in a patent, and ownership of patents. Important aspects related to the preparation of a patent application will also be discussed.
Part III Patent prosecution
Prosecution is the process by which a patent application is defended before the patent office before it takes a decision on the patent application. The process is both time consuming and rigorous. It typically consists of arguing in writing with an examiner about claims: over prior art, technical details, legal precedents, and claim language specifics. Important aspects related to patent prosecution will be discussed.
Part IV Infringement & litigation
Getting patents which will be found valid, enforceable and infringed when involved in patent infringement litigation are crucial. Infringed patents can be enforced through litigation; a patent is essentially the right to sue. Infringement and litigation is mainly about the power to regulate the manner in which goods and services are sold; it is not about the way people use those goods and services. Getting a patent and getting an enforceable patent are two different things. Important aspects related to infringement and litigation will be discussed.
Part V The 'Bayh-Dole' Acts
The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 enacted in the U.S. in 1980 has been emulated by several other countries. After years of expectation, India too introduced a similar bill titled "Protection and Utilization of Public Funded Intellectual Property Bill 2008" in the Rajya Sabha on December 15, 2008. We examine the possible impact of the bill should it become law in light of experiences in the U.S. and Japan.