Who is Who
The scientists, educators, and social engineers driving the global movement for barrier-free, digitally accessible education.
Dr. T V Raman
Patron & Chairman, ChakshumathiDr. T.V. Raman, a distinguished researcher at Google Research, is widely considered the “God of Digital Accessibility”. He is the main architect who divided human tech history into "before 2009" and "after 2009" with the revolution of Android Accessibility, enabling everyone from a 9-month-old infant to a 99-year-old grandmother to use mobile devices without needing to read letters.
Raman brought a digital revolution to User Interfaces (UI) rather than hardware monopoly. His famous innovations at Google include Smart Search, creating a system architecture for full accessibility across Google products, Google Translate, Google Lens, Google Lookout, and early TalkBack screen-reading technologies. He is also the inventor of early speech engines that changed the world for the blind.
Born partially sighted and becoming blind at the age of 14, Dr. Raman specializes in auditory user interfaces and structured electronic documents. He has worked on speech interaction and markup technologies at Digital's Cambridge Research Lab (CRL), Adobe Systems, and IBM Research. Today, he guides the Ram Parivar community of Chakshumathi, designing champions for children with special needs and serving as the mastermind behind the Eyes Free Science movement and Diversity Magazine.
Prof. V K Damodaran
2010 – 2025 Founder, ChakshumathiProf. V. K. Damodaran was a world-renowned Energy Scientist and noted as an Institution Builder. He served as the Premier Director of the Kerala State Department of Science, Technology and Environment Council (1987-95), Creator of ANERT, Controller of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (1995-96), and Founder-Director of the Energy Management Centre-Kerala.
He started his career as a lecturer at the College of Engineering, Guindy, Chennai, and later became a professor at NIT Calicut. Over his career, he led 16 major research projects with distinction.
He was a well-known science writer, authoring more than 20 books, and was President of the Kerala Science Writers’ Forum (KSSP) from 1978 to 80. A regular presenter on All India Radio and TV channels for nearly 50 years, he served as Editorial Advisor to the Asian Science Communicators’ Organization (ASCO). As a Life Senior Member of IEEE, he received the Global Meritorious Achievement Award for his contributions to energy, science, and education.
Prof. Damodaran also served as the Managing Director of the United Nations-sponsored International Network on Small Hydropower in Hangzhou, China (2001-05), and worked as an energy consultant for various UN projects. Alongside Ram Kamal, he co-founded Chakshumathi to bring scientific temper and barrier-free STEM camps to visually challenged children.
Ram Kamal
Co-Founder, Managing Director & EditorRam Kamal is an internationally reputed journalist and photojournalist with a keen focus on Social Engineering. Since 1997, he pivoted to Branding and Public Relations, serving as the branding pioneer for Qatar Airways, and later as events and branding consultant for the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA), the Dubai Shopping Festival, and many international sporting events.
In 2010, Ram Kamal dedicated his life to accessibility technologies for children with special needs. Alongside energy scientist Prof. V. K. Damodaran and under the patronage of Google's Dr. T. V. Raman, he co-founded Chakshumathi (Intuitive Mind). Today, Chakshumathi serves students with sensory challenges and neurodivergence in 11 countries and 22 Indian states through a wide network of engineering student volunteers.
Ram Kamal is the inventor of the "Digitally Accessible Pedagogy", which enables print-disabled children to bypass conventional learning barriers and join mainstream classrooms alongside peers.
He has served as the Principal Advisor to Samagra Shiksha Andhra Pradesh under the SALT World Bank project. Currently, he is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Program for Prevention and Eradication of Heart Attack, based in Dehradun, while actively continuing his leadership and advisory roles at Chakshumathi.