Overview
The Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) is a public, deemed research university devoted to higher education and research in the basic sciences. It functions under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and is regarded as India's oldest research institute.
IACS was established on 29 July 1876 by Mahendralal Sarkar, a private medical practitioner. From its inception, the institution has focused on fundamental research in the basic sciences, providing a dedicated space for scientific enquiry in India.
The association is located at Jadavpur in South Kolkata, in the vicinity of Jadavpur University, the Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, and the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology. The main campus is spread over a limited area of about 9.5 acres. To expand its facilities, IACS is in the process of developing an advanced SMART campus at Baruipur.
Research at IACS spans a broad range of disciplines, including physical sciences, chemical sciences, biological sciences, mathematical and computational sciences, materials sciences, and various applied and interdisciplinary areas. Through these programmes, the institution contributes to both foundational and interdisciplinary scientific work in India.
References
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article on the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science.