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