Supporting Science, Art,
and Equity

The TNQ Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that supports five key areas: life sciences, mathematics, the arts, social equity, and animal welfare.

Its core outreach programmes include two annual lecture series — the TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences and the TNQ Distinguished Lectures in Mathematics. These lectures bring leading voices and discoveries to a wider audience.

The Foundation also runs the TNQ Inspiring Science Awards for life sciences, and TNQ Numbers & Shapes, a programme dedicated to mathematics.

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The TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences

Established in 2008, this lectureship series is presented by TNQ Foundation. The annual event aims to bring internationally renowned scientists face-to-face with the Indian scientific community–students, researchers, and faculty members. The objective of the lecture series is to showcase current and path-breaking research in the life sciences and facilitate interaction between the speakers and the Indian scientific community. Over the years, these lectures have been presented across the major cities of India–Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and New Delhi.

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TNQ Numbers & Shapes

TNQ Numbers & Shapes is committed to advancing the study of mathematics and supporting mathematical research in India.

Through a mentorship and collaboration programme, it offers students exposure, guidance, and travel support to pursue research in pure mathematics. For early-career faculty, it provides flexible support to sustain and deepen their work. Our goal is to foster serious engagement with mathematics and help build a vibrant community where both students and faculty can grow, collaborate, and contribute to a lifelong pursuit of the subject.

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TNQ Foundation

Backing Contemporary
Art in India

As part of its commitment to the arts, the TNQ Foundation supports the Kochi Biennale Foundation - the organisation behind some of India’s most important contemporary art initiatives. The Foundation plays a vital role in promoting art education, sustaining artist-led practices, and building public engagement with contemporary art.

This partnership reflects TNQ’s belief in the value of long-term cultural infrastructure and the need to create platforms for artistic expression and dialogue.

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Archives at NCBS

Archives at NCBS is a public center for the history of science in India, based at TIFR’s National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bengaluru. The Archives holds a repository of documents, photographs, oral histories along with resources in the print and audiovisual mode relevant to the history of contemporary biology in India.

TNQ Foundation supports two main programs of Archives at NCBS—the Obaid Siddiqi Chair in the History and Culture of Science, and the Research Scholar- in-Residence. The Obaid Siddiqi Chair is awarded to a distinguished scholar for a 12-month period, in which the scholar works on a cross-disciplinary approach to bridge the gap between Science, Social science and Humanities, and deliver public lectures on their work. Prof. Gita Chadha was the Obaid Siddqi Chair for 2023-24, Dr.Savithri Preetha Nair is the Chair for the year 2024-25.

The Research Scholars-in-Residence programs are 6-10 months long programs offered to 1-3 researchers from areas such as science, journalism, humanities, arts, social sciences, and archival theory and practice. The scholars engage with the NCBS campus and the public through lectures, installations and coursework, and collaborate with the Archives at NCBS in developing inter-disciplinary research programs.

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