Someone want to let me in on the secret that is South Carolina? It was the only state of the union that, until recently, has a capital forgotten on almost every geography bee and prompted one to think of secession and stars-and-bars. Suddenly, everyone from my boss to a close friend is interested in purchasing property there, and this patch of Southern Appalachia is turning into quite the desi magnet. Not only has a doctor friend set up shop in Columbia, but has invited my very eager brother to do so as well.
I considered it all a coincidence until the discovery that famous geophysicist, Pradeep Talwani, is a professor at the University of South Carolina and director of the South Carolina Seismic Network, and Vijay Vulava has joined the faculty of the College of Charleston as an environmental geochemist. Hmmmm … the thot plickens.
Hark, what light through yonder passport photo breaks? Move over, Michael Manga – there’s a new sexy desi geologist in town. Unfortunately, like Michael, Vijay is married. His wife, Sirisha Vadlamudi, is an electrical engineer who specializes in virtual and augmented reality (sound familiar?).
Not to be excluded from the running is UTIG‘s Abhijit Gangopadhyay.
While you investigate the South Carolina riddle, I’ll keep my eyes peeled for more kannu-candy at the upcoming SEG conference in New Orleans.
the secret is mustard-based barbecue sauce. don’t hate til you try it…
I guess I’m with you on that…….. this guy is considered “sexy”? I’m not feelin it.
He’s cute enough, in a desi nerdboy type of way. Those are some fierce eyebrows, though.
Eyebrows like that are great to work with. You can shape them anyway you want.
is this a covert attempt at sepia destiny?
does one have to get in a punkthi?
SC is where it’s at… Charleston… Columbia…Greenville (or G-Vegas)…
SC is where it’s at… Charleston… Columbia…Greenville (or G-Vegas)…
Which one? Pradeep is at USC, Columbia.
His brother is even more famous, Manik Talwani.
I know both of them quite well personally.
Maitri, I never been to a more boring meeting than SEG. I am not kidding. AGU, AAPG are more colorful.
brown + rox = desi geologist
SC–meaning South Carolina in General.. The REAL USC is in Southern California 🙂 Go Trojans……
on the real, though, if anyone gets a chance to go to charleston, sc it’s a fascinating and beautiful city. there are actually some very deep historical connections to india. in the 18th century charleston was the richest city in north america thanks to its port. it was the key point of entry of a number of goods including rice, some varieties of which came from africa and others from india. it’s very likely that there were some ships that sailed the whole distance from, say, calcutta to charleston. certainly some of the wealth of that city came from trade with the east indies. anyway, it’s a great place; if anyone goes, let me know and i’ll pass on some dining recommendations.
There should be a post about a sexy desi geologist every Friday. It is a good way to go into the weekend and it really brightens your foul mood when you have just learned that all the data you have collected on your rocks in the past month has been contaminated and you have to do it all over. Blech.
abhi: bummer about your project… ugh. go sexy geologists!
sid: likley headed up to charleston in a few weeks.. will love recs, thanks! (remember veggie friendly!)
not what they mean by getting your rocks off, eh? sorry to hear, that definitely sucks. take a deep breath and maybe have a beer before going back to it. perhaps some of the monkeys could be dispatched from the bunker as research assistants?
OK, I really couldn’t think of anything intelligent to contribute on sexy geologists (though I have to agree, we have no clue on what’s sexy apparently)… so I’ve decided to remain juvenile…is it just me or does Vijay’s last name sound like something Seinfeld would have thought of.
Drink out of the carton by accident? This is why I’ll never be a geochemist. But, wait a second, aren’t you working on morphometrics? How did your data get f’ed up?
I’ve never been into desi guys, but this look really works for me, eyebrows and all. BTW, he’s a runner, too.
Desis=Docs,Techies,Layrs,Potels….but,Geologists??? guess they are the “Unexplored” GEMS.
I’m curious as to those who think this man is “sexy”… what is it that defines “sexiness” to you?
To me, a man who looks like he might be good in bed is “sexy”.
Otherwise their are good-looking people who are not sexy.
Take Aiswarya Rai for example. Nobody can say she is “ugly”. She has a pretty face, for sure. But she does not have a “sexy vibe”, in my opinion.
Sexiness is something related to, well, sex. If they look like they know how to make good love to a woman, then a man can be considered “sexy”.
In my opinion, the guy pictured here does not look like he would be good in bed.
That does not mean that he is not however. Even sexy looking men who look like they are good in bed, like John Abraham for example, may in fact be lousy lovers.
Beige – The school bell is ringing…time for your math class.
Brown FOB
Mera masti spoil mat karo yaar….
i agree with that. it’s a matter of personal taste though … my gong really bongs for marisa tomei and mandira bedi… and ms rai is kind of cold to me.
hey… it’s friday yaar. slow day.
Sexy? Entirely based on his looks?! Okay!!
Beige Sage said:
May be that his last name goes well with “Vulva”?
can’t we move beyond these western influenced preoccupations with with “sex” and “sexiness” and emphasize spiritual nobility?
“To me, a man who looks like he might be good in bed is “sexy”.”
LOL! What is with the funny quotes today?!? Is it b/c it’s Friday?
I’m with you Razib, spiritual nobility can also be sexy!
In fact, a man can be the hottest thing to ever have taken birth on Bhumi Devi’s lap, yet if spiritually he’s about nothin, then he ain’t sustainably sexy.
Suraj # 23 –
It all depends on if he knows how to work his last name.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA
No.
one could only imagine the uproar if we started nominating hot desi chica’s on the web 😉
Venkat, do it! I scoured the web this morning for a hot desi female geologist and came up with big fat eggs. Surely, I can’t be the only one! (Typing from floor as head got too big for body.)
Or just a sexy desi every Friday. Or, if no sepia destiny tab, how about a sepia hottie tab?
sepia hottie tab
lable it “cinnamon love” (that’s my nickname).
Self-assigned, Razib? 😉
I don’t know about “sexy”, but most of the pics I’ve seen of the Sepia crew here are good-looking. In fact, I would say all of them have a charm in their face of some sorts. But then, that could be said for all human beings, I guess.
My question from the beginning was what are such attractive, intelligent, witty, financially stable (or well off), men and women in their thirties doing still single? Does it bother them? Is it a sign of our times or something deeper?
more like cinnamon glove i am sure.
btw..whats the point of this post?
Venkat, do it! I scoured the web this morning for a hot desi female geologist and came up with big fat eggs. Surely, I can’t be the only one!
I think I can find (know) few of them, perhaps I’ll find few of the geo South Asian female fatales (no promises though) as a distraction today and post it here. Maybe, Maybe.
There was a igneous petrologist postdoc at Caltech a year or two ago – I am even forgetting her name, it was a Bengali family name. She was quite good looking on an absolute scale (scientist or no). I do not know where is, etc.
Just a few female geoscientists. No endorsement by any stretch or means. Zeshan Ismat is half Pakistani, half Euro American at Franklin and Marshall.
Mousumo Roy @ NMSU.
i don’t think it appropriate that the motherz of our brown children should be objectified as sex objects. A+, not T&A.
He looks like a youthful Sri Ramakrishna.
So much for spiritual nobility being sexy. The dimple in the chin is cute, though.
ohhh thanks kush.
my tectonic plates just shifted
There was a igneous petrologist postdoc at Caltech a year or two ago – I am even forgetting her name, it was a Bengali family name. She was quite good looking on an absolute scale (scientist or no).
Did you try workin’ it Kush or did you chicken out? If you’re down on your luck, maybe you can hire Razib to be your wing man.
Oh yeah, how could I forget Mousumi Roy from the GSA days? And, Kush, when it comes to SEG, some of us … believe it or not … like it.
Did you try workin’ it Kush or did you chicken out? If you’re down on your luck, maybe you can hire Razib to be your wing man.
Maybe, maybe I get Razib as my wing man. Damn this kid [Razib] is good.
Seriously, she was someone whom you would turn your head and bump into something if you just saw her on the street.
Again, exactly what is “sexy” about Mousumi Roy? Zeshan looks “cute”, but I don’t find any “sexiness” in Roy. Is it her profession that one finds hot?
Beige Siege,
Please read what I said in my comment 37: Just a few female geoscientists. No endorsement by any stretch or means.
I was highlighting of South Asian origin Geoscientists to Maitri. It was a tangential note.
Ok now I see that, Kush.
Do you have any connection to kamat’s potpouri, by the way?
Do you have any connection to kamat’s potpouri, by the way? Beige Sage,
Not specifically. They do list my blog as with many others, and I sometimes get referrals from their portal.
Otherwise, no connection.
He looks 100% native indian. Bollywood would cast him as a villain or a servant. You gotta look like you have at least some muslim khan pathan blood to be considered sexy in India.
The point of this post actually is not sexy but geologist which to me is sexy. It’s a nice shot of feel-good to see that non-geeks, who clean up nice and have interests outside of their research, are making it in the sciences, especially the geosciences, today.
Let’s change the topic a bit: Does one have to look like Michael Manga to be a desi who makes it onto People’s Sexiest List?
I took geology iin class XII and on a field trip to some hills , which backed up against a a nude beach, the prof. kept talking about exposures. Nerdy as we were, we were more taken by the pun than the you-know-what .
Dayum….them eyebrows are somethin else. He may have more hair there than some people have on their entire torsos.