Bigyan

Science is for Everyone

We Bring It Home —

About

Bigyan Inc. is dedicated to advancing science education by providing high-quality, expert-reviewed content in Bengali. We aim to cultivate a scientifically informed community by building a network of scientists, educators, and students, and by supporting grassroots organizations to prepare the next generation with a scientific worldview.

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(A non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in the USA)

Read Bengali articles on

bigyan.org.in

Vision

We envision a world where the highest quality science education—ranging from foundational concepts to cutting-edge discoveries—is accessible to all. At Bigyan, our immediate focus is on making science education accessible to the Bengali-speaking population, recognizing that most people in this linguistic community connect deeply with their mother tongue. We aim to cultivate a society with a strong scientific temperament, empowering individuals to improve their lives while contributing meaningfully to global scientific conversations.
We hope that our work inspires others to uplift communities by making science education accessible in their own mother tongues, fostering a broader culture of inclusion and progress.

What Does ‘Bigyan’ Mean?

The name ‘Bigyan’ (বিজ্ঞান) means ‘science’ in Bengali. It reflects our mission to bring the wonders of science closer to the Bengali-speaking community, making scientific knowledge both accessible and relatable.

Why Bengali?

Bengali, the native language of our co-founders, is the fifth most spoken native language in the world, with over 230 million speakers globally. By focusing on this vast and diverse audience, Bigyan Inc. bridges the gap between scientific knowledge and the people, leveraging the power of the mother tongue to inspire curiosity and a scientific temper in learners of all ages.

Core activities

Our core activities includes:

Creating a Library of Peer-Reviewed Science Articles in Bengali

Bigyan.org.in serves as an online library of peer-reviewed science articles, many of which are authored by leading experts in their fields. The content spans a wide range of topics, from foundational basics to cutting-edge research problems. These articles are designed to cater to senior high school and college students, as well as a general audience.

Some articles are based on interviews with world-renowned scientists, including Nobel laureates and MacArthur Fellows. Topics covered include diverse subjects such as Newton’s laws, neural networks, quantum computing, the science of musical scales, and the remarkable capabilities of insects.

bigyan.org.in

Grassroots Outreach

We collaborate with schools, teachers, and local organizations to bring science education to underserved communities. Our initiatives include workshops, the distribution of educational tools such as foldscopes, and the creation of wall magazines for rural schools. We are deeply grateful to our grassroots partners, such as the Contai Science Academy, for their invaluable support in these ventures.

Inspiring the Next Generation of Students

Through interviews and live sessions with Nobel laureates and prominent scientists, we connect global scientific leaders with young learners and enthusiasts. These interactions inspire the next generation to explore science and technology. For English interviews, we provide Bengali subtitles, meticulously crafted by subject experts to ensure accuracy and authenticity. Our online interviews also feature young scientists who share their personal stories and experiences working in science, offering relatable role models to aspiring learners.

Promoting Science through Creativity

We use creative mediums like cartoons and comics to make scientific principles engaging and accessible. Collaborations with international artists and educators ensure that our resources are both informative and enjoyable for learners of all ages.

A notable example is Physics Through Cartoons, crafted by world-renowned cartoonist Larry Gonick as part of a US National Science Foundation project on pedagogical teaching in physics, led by Bigyan volunteer Prof. Kausik Das. Additionally, comics on climate change, created by Arghya Manna in collaboration with the public outreach program at CSIR, India, have been widely appreciated.

The translated physics cartoons continue to be used in interactive workshops at high schools, inspiring curiosity and fostering a deeper understanding of physics concepts.

Cultivating a Network of Collaboration

Bigyan fosters a global community of scientists, educators, and students, working together to create resources, share knowledge, and build a culture of scientific curiosity. For example, physics teachers from various high schools and colleges in West Bengal collaborated with us to translate the Physics Through Cartoons project into Bengali and to develop solutions for educators. Additionally, teachers are partnering with Bigyan volunteers to design engaging science posters and integrate innovative science teaching pedagogy into schools.

কোন দিকে বল দেখি (কার্টুন প্রশ্ন – পর্ব ২)

Statistics

+ peer-reviewed popular science articles on bigyan.org.in

+ Page views on bigyan.org.in around the world

+ social media followers

+ Hours of watchtime on YouTube and Facebook

Articles

These articles are written in Bengali, but we provide English titles and brief summaries below to help non-Bengali speakers appreciate the diversity of our content.

Selected
Highlights
Curriculum based
Biography
In person

Autism: The Indian Scenario

What does autism look like in India? How much of the general population falls within the autism spectrum?

Climate Change: A Visual Perspective (Comics: Part 1)

This piece presents visual depictions of the impacts of climate change, illustrating potential environmental crises through images.

Lise Meitner: A Humanitarian Physicist

Lise Meitner, a pioneering nuclear physicist, overcame immense gender discrimination and societal challenges to co-discover nuclear fission in 1938.

Marvin Minsky: Pioneer of Artificial Intelligence

Marvin Minsky, the father of artificial intelligence. What kind of mindset does it take to conceive a groundbreaking idea like AI?

From Bear’s Sleep to Ribosome Structure: An Interview with Ada Yonath

Ada Yonath, Nobel laureate in Chemistry, shared her journey and groundbreaking research on ribosomes.

Machine Learning in Physics

Physicists are increasingly exploring the use of machine learning, especially in areas with large datasets.

The Story of Superconductors: Exploring Persistent Electrical Flow

We all learned about electrical resistance in school through Ohm’s Law. But what happens to resistance as temperature decreases continuously?

Stress: What? Why? How? What to Do?

Everyday pressures from work or family can escalate beyond a certain point, leading to mental health issues.

In Conversation with Nobel Laureate David Gross

In this interview, Nobel laureate David Gross discusses his groundbreaking work in quantum chromodynamics (QCD).

In Search of Lava Sources

The article delves into the origins of lava emitted by volcanoes, clarifying that while Earth’s interior has only one liquid layer.

When Gravity is in Hiding

The article explores various intriguing questions related to gravity, encouraging readers to think critically about phenomena such as why penguins in Antarctica don’t fall off the Earth.

DIY: Fun with polarization of light

simple experiments at home to demonstrate the polarization of light.

Geometry in Football?

This article presents a series of physics problems illustrated through cartoons, focusing on concepts like rotational motion and friction.

Which Way Will the Ball Go (Cartoon Questions – Part 2)

This article explores the geometric intricacies involved in the design of footballs.

Where Do We Come From?

This article explores the genetic origins of the Indian population, challenging traditional narratives that classify Indians into two groups.

History

Bigyan was founded on February 28, 2014—National Science Day in India—by a group of passionate researchers and educators determined to make science accessible in Bengali. Initially focused on publishing online peer-reviewed articles, Bigyan soon expanded its efforts, attracting practicing scientists, educators, and science enthusiasts as volunteers. This growing network enabled us to amplify our impact and reach a broader audience.

Over time, Bigyan ventured into publishing and distributing print collections of articles through magazines. This initiative later evolved into a professionally crafted wall magazine project, designed to bring science education directly to high schools.

Bigyan’s efforts were further supported by local celebrities, such as Mir Afsar Ali and Anupam Roy, who contributed their art and helped spread the word.

In 2022, Bigyan became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States. This milestone allowed us to sustain and expand our activities through donations from well-wishers. With this support, we engaged paid freelancers for tasks such as video editing and proofreading, ensuring the high quality of our content.

Bigyan’s efforts have been recognized by prominent media outlets, including Times of India, NDTV, and IndiaBioScience. In 2024, the American Physical Society (APS) cited Bigyan in awarding its prestigious APS Fellowship to one of our co-founders—a testament to the impact of our work.Your support can help us continue our mission to inspire the next generation and bring science closer to communities.

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In Media

Meeting of minds to make science fear-free: … have joined hands to dispel fears about science among high school students in the state.

The Times of India

Inspired to make science accessible to Bengali-speaking masses, creators of a popular science web portal plan to distribute Foldscopes — a $1 origami paper microscope — to schools in rural areas of West Bengal.

NDTV

Located halfway across the world from each other, four dedicated researchers felt the acute lack of well-researched science stories in their mother tongue, Bengali, and decided to come together to fill this gap.

IndiaBioScience

“a number of initiatives are breaking the language barrier in teaching science … these initiatives include Bigyan, an online platform with articles by scientists in Bengali”