Aaditeshwar Seth

I am an assistant professor at IIT Delhi and head the ACT4D (Appropriate Computing Technologies for Development) research group. My areas of interest are:

- Low-cost computer networks and ICT systems for rural areas
- Content based networks
- Participatory information sharing on social networks
 Office Address:
Room 424, Bharti Building
IIT Delhi
New Delhi
India - 110 016

I worked briefly with IBM Research, before which I did my PhD under Prof. S. Keshav and Prof. R. Cohen from the University of Waterloo, and my BTech from IIT Kanpur. In 2009 I co-founded Gram Vaani, a social entrepreneurial venture to enable development through community media in rural areas of India.
Email: aseth -at- cse -dot- iitd -dot- ernet -dot- in


Project openings: We have a number of openings for students and reseach associates. Please apply! One way to stay updated on our work is to also join the ACT4D mailing list.

Publications
Thesis
Current work
Teaching
Miscellaneous news
General stuff
Current work

I have a strong belief that being able to create and share information (media) can set many things right in the world. And I like to build technology to do this, by starting from real problems arising in the field, and then build the necessary theory for solving the problems. My research therefore comprises of very hands-on projects, but with a healthy dose of generalizable theory and principles. I am especially motivated by the use of technology in rural and underdeveloped areas, and I am always looking for bright and dynamic students to work with me on the various projects listed below.

Information about most of my work can be found on the ACT4D website. Some current projects are around community radio and IVR systems, content distribution in rural areas, Internet measurements over 2G and 3G networks, news and social media analysis, and bringing social networks into the network stack. In the past, I have also worked extensively on delay tolerant networks and recommendation systems using social networks.

Teaching

CSL374 Computer Networks (fall 2011): I created some new assignments related to bandwidth measurements from mobile devices, and P2P Bluetooth content sharing.

CSL858 Advanced Computer Networks (winter 2011): [external link]

CSL374 Computer Networks (fall 2010): [internal link]. Assignments were based on some changes to the FunnyCells assignment from last term, and a few other Internet-related assignments 1, 2.

SIV861 ICTD (fall 2010): Short module on Information and Communication Technologies for Development.

CSL374 Computer Networks (winter 2010): The first course I taught! [internal link]. I put together an interesting assignment around molecular communication. Instructors may want to use it for their own computer networks teaching.

Miscellaneous news

Jan 2012: My PhD student Amit Ruhela, won the best presentation award at the COMSNETS 2012 PhD forum.

Oct 2011: Zahir deployed Gram Vaani's GRINS community radio automation system in Africa.

May 2011: My students Abhinav Uppal, Sandeep Gupta, and Sahil Singla won the best BTech project award in computer science.

Oct 2010: Gram Vaani was among the 35 startups recognized in the Economic Times Power of Ideas competition.

Dec 2009: GRINS, the radio automation system from Gram Vaani, won the special Juror's Distinction Award in the 2009 Manthan Awards for technological innovation for development.

Dec 2009: The Spoken Web project at IBM IRL, on which I worked earlier and still continue to collaborate with the group, won the National Award for innovation in technologies to improve lives of the disabled.

Sep 2009: I joined the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Delhi.

Jul 2009: Gram Vaani successfully launched its first pilot with Radio Bundelkhand at Orchha, MP.

Jan 2009: Gram Vaani officially begins its operation in my home!

Older news...

Some awesome books I've read

Non-fiction: Schumacher's Small is Beautiful, McLuhan's Understanding Media, Hayek's The Road to Serfdom,
Shashi Tharoor's India: From Midnight to the Millenium, Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel,
Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, Habermas's The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere,
Ian Smille's Mastering the Machine, Sainath's Everybody Loves a Good Drought

Fiction (authors): Steinbeck, Orwell, Huxley, Antony Burgess, Harper Lee, Camus, JD Salinger, Kafka, Faulkner,
DBC Pierre, JM Coetzee, Douglas Adams, Scott Fitzgerald, Marquez, Maugham, Ian McEvan, Cormac McCarthy,
Ralph Ellison

If you get the track of what I like reading, feel free to recommend other books and authors to me.
Last updated December 2009