Work & Consulting
- Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), India
Historian & Advisor, Heritage Conservation Department, 2020 to Present - Economic & Political Weekly (EPW), Mumbai, India
Consulting Editor (Book Reviews), 2016-2018; Editorial Consultant, 2014 - Topomancy LLC, U.S./U.K./India
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, 2008-2018 - New York Public Library (NYPL), New York City, U.S.A.
Project Consultant, NYPL Maps Division and Labs, 2008-2014 - Library of Congress, Washington, DC, U.S.A.
Consultant, Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI), 2009-2014 - Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology, Bangalore, India
Research Consultant, New and Location-Based Media, 2003-2005 - PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge Action & Research), Mumbai, India
Co-Founder and Associate Director, 2001-03 - The Globalization Project, University of Chicago, U.S.A.
Research Assistant and Project Coordinator in Mumbai, 2000-2001 - India Centre for Human Rights & Law (ICHRL), Mumbai
Labour Law and Trade Unions Researcher, 2000-2001
Fellowships
- Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Science Technology & Society (STS) Research Cluster, Tembusu College, 2015-2017 - Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, India
Visiting Fellow and Graduate School Faculty, Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), 2014-2015 - American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS), New Delhi, India & Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
Junior Research Fellowship, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, 2010-2011 - Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (CHNM), George Mason University, U.S.A.
Zotero Project Technology Evangelist, Mozilla Foundation Fellowship, 2007-2008 - Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A.
Exchange Scholar, Department of Middle East, South Asian & African Studies (MESAAS), 2006-2007 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), U.S.A.
Presidential Fellowship, 2005-6; Eli and Dorothy Berman Institute Fellow, 2006-7; Teaching & Research Fellow, 2008-2010
Advising
- Maharashtra State Police, Mumbai, India
Advisor on Archives and Records, Director-General’s Office, 2018 to Present - Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), India
Advisor & Researcher, Estates Department, 2017 to Present - Human Economy Programme, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Associate Member, 2014 to 2018 - Center for Geographic Analysis (CGA), Harvard University, U.S.A.
Advisory Board Member, Harvard WorldMap, 2013 to 2018 - CRIT (Collective Research Initiatives Trust), Mumbai, India
Co-Founder and Executive Member, 2003-2012
Teaching
- Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, India
Graduate School Doctoral Seminar, Education, Science & Society in Modern India, 2015 - Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), U.S.A.
Teaching Assistant, Electronics & Law on the Electronic Frontier, Fall 2007 and Fall 2008 - Department of History, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), U.S.A.
Teaching Assistant, Towards the Scientific Revolution and Technology in American History, Spring 2008 and Fall 2009 - Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology, Bangalore, India
Visiting Faculty in New Media, Fall 2003 to Spring 2005 - Kamala Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture & Environmental Studies (KRVIA), Mumbai, India
Visiting Faculty in Urban History & Sociology, 2004-5 - Academy of Architecture, Rachana Sansad, Mumbai, India
Joint Convenor, Mumbai Study Group, 2000-2002
Grants & Awards
- National Endowment for Humanities (NEH), Washington, DC, U.S.A.
Digital Humanities Startup Grant, NYPL New York City Gazetteer and Chronology of Places, 2011-13 - American Library Association (ALA), Washington, D.C, U.S.A.
Cutting-Edge Technology in Library Services Award, NYPL Map Warper developed by Topomancy LLC, 2012 - Vodafone Digital Empowerment Foundation, New Delhi, India
mBillionth Award South Asia Finalist, ChaloBEST Project developed by Topomancy LLC, sponsored by Free Software Foundation (FSF) India, 2012 - Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), Bangalore, India
Sankranti Transform Urban India First Prize Award & Startup Grant, ChaloBEST Project, 2011-12 - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Bangkok, Thailand
“Mumbai FreeMap Community GIS (Geographic Information System)” Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP) ICT Research & Development Grant, 2005-7 - India Foundation for the Arts (IFA), Bangalore, India
“Mumbai Industrial Museum” Arts Collaboration Seed Grant, 2004-5
Education
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.
PhD in History and Anthropology, Program in Science Technology & Society (STS), 2005-2013
PhD Dissertation “Empire’s Metropolis: Money, Time & Space in Colonial Bombay, 1870-1930” - School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London, U.K.
M.A. in South Asian Studies and Politics, 1998-1999
M.A. Thesis (with Distinction) “The Analytics of Caste Power in Modern India”- Major in South Asian Politics,
- Minors in History of Science and Social Anthropology
- Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Washington, DC, U.S.A.
B.S.F.S. (Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service) with Honors, 1993-1997- Certificate in Asian Studies, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, 1995-96
- Honors Thesis in Culture & Politics “Critical Possibilities in Subaltern Studies”, 1997