I am a faculty member in the Department of Computing, Macquarie University, Sydney (Australia).

I typically teach units related to Artificial Intelligence and Database Systems. My research interest is by and large in the space of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, especially in topics such as Belief Dynamics, Nonmonotonic Reasoning, Causal Reasoning, Belief Manipulation, Dynamics of Trust, and Intelligent Information Assimilation. I am particularly interested in the application of Social Choice Theory in the context of information management.

I am a co-founder of the Intelligent Systems Group at Macquarie, the other founder being Mehmet Orgun. We jointly supervise the functioning of this research group.

Some visitors might find the esoteric mantra on top of the left panel a bit trying. Being originally from a Hindu religious text -- Upanishads -- this has a mildly religious undertone. TS Eliot used it to conclude his post-war classic The Waste Land, to invoke peace. One hopes it is never too early to invoke this mantra for peace!

War is peace, said Orwell in New-speak. But war is more than just the New-speak for peace; war often nudges and pinches the numbed conscience, making it more mindful of the need for peace. The postcard like picture below the peace mantra, called Shanti Stupa or the Mound of Peace, celebrates the occasion of Ashok, an emperor in ancient India who, after a horrific war in 261 BC, adopted Buddhism and spread Buddha's message of peace in Asia. The war in question was the Kalinga War, Kalinga being the kingdom roughly corresponding to the present day Indian state of Orissa that I hail from. You can get a slightly more detailed story about this war by clicking the image on left.

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