Knowledge Creation and Open Innovation for Global Good

There are distinct stages in the evolution of modern Science. From being curiosity-driven in ancient times, it graduated to becoming hypothesis–experimentation dependent and then moved on to a phase where modelling and simulation studies shared the spotlight. These distinct stages have been referred to as the First, the Second and the Third Paradigms of Science, respectively. The current emphasis is on an Inter-disciplinary approach to the study of Science. This has spiked the need to combine the strength of Chemists with the holistic insights of Biologists with the skills of Informaticians, Mathematicians and Physicists and to bring this synergy on to one common platform.
This convergence of the branches is a recent phenomenon. The inexorable evolution of Science was driven, in the twentieth century, first by the engine of Physics and then, Chemistry. These disciplines were followed by high throughput and IT-enabled Biology, as a driver, in later times. 
Apart from the unprecedented levels of convergence; there is one other major difference brought about by time. All branches of Sciences have made significant advances. Forty years ago, the chemical understanding of life was a distant dream. The science of Biology was in its infancy. Today, the study of Biology is witnessing an explosive and transformational growth; as exemplified by the Human Genome Project and the Thousand Genome Sequencing Initiative. There is no doubt, that very soon, all species on Earth, even microbes inside the human organs, will be completely sequenced.
Such enormous initiatives will produce a deluge of data that will need to be captured, curated and analysed.  All evidence indicates that this wave, or the Fourth Paradigm of Science, is already a reality. It has transmuted the way Science is being done. In turn, this has fuelled the need for a totally new generation of Scientists to address the burning issues of today; for example, Healthcare. 
This is the time to energize the multi-talented young generation to transform the healthcare of tomorrow. It will mean exploring innovative solutions such as Open Source and Cloud Computing. It will involve global collaborations, at local levels, to provide Affordable Healthcare to all.  
This talk will cover a personal journey that took me from the corridors of Chemistry, through the realms of Molecular Biophysics, and shaped me to become a participant in the evolution of the Genomics era. Today, the emphasis has shifted to anticipating the Fourth Paradigm of Science and a future where Open Innovation will play a transformational role in how science is done, with the birth of Science 2.0. 
Geographically, the journey took me from Calcutta to Bangalore to New Delhi. It was a journey that criss-crossed the boundaries of three different cities. Figuratively, it was a trans-disciplinary voyage in the boundary-less domain of Science.