S. Prashant Kumar

S. Prashant Kumar is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Rank of Instructor at the University of Chicago and an Honorary Fellow at the Archives at NCBS (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru). His research focuses on the history of science and empire, examining intersections between mathematics, astronomy, technology, and colonialism. He previously held roles including Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Haverford College and Postdoctoral Fellow in Global Intellectual History at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Trained in theoretical physics, he earned his PhD in History and Sociology of Science from the University of Pennsylvania (2021).

His current book project, The Light Threshers: Time, Caste, and Computational Labor in South Asia, traces how caste-organized labor in astral sciences and metallurgy were integrated into global time measurement systems from the late 18th century to mid-20th century. This work highlights the dialectic between chronometry and historical chronology in shaping postcolonial temporal frameworks.

Key research interests include colonial-era scientific practices, the role of caste in technical labor, and the material culture of knowledge production. His publications span global aspects of Newtonianism, astronomical chronometry, and archival studies of Indian scientific heritage. He has curated the B.S. Madhava Rao Papers at NCBS archives and contributed to interdisciplinary projects linking literature (e.g., Borges) with mathematical concepts.

• Awards: Honorary Fellow at NCBS Archives
• Grants/Projects: Ongoing book project supported by IFK Vienna fellowship
• Labs/Teams: Collaborates with NCBS Archives and global intellectual history networks