India, Feb. 24 -- On March 7, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) will host its much-awaited annual "Open Day", the day on which the general public is welcomed into the hallowed halls of the 117-year-old research institute, and through lectures, live experiments, demonstrations and exhibitions, introduced to the cutting-edge, socially and industrially impactful research its 40-odd departments are currently engaged in.

The first true Indian example of a public-private partnership - in this case, between the institute's promoter, Bombay-based industrialist and philanthropist JN Tata, who pledged a substantial portion of his personal wealth to the cause, benefactor Maharaja Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, who made a grant of a little over 3...