Research · The Learning Centre Trust · Mangaluru

A home for science.
And for those who do it alone.

The CFAL Research Centre is the formal institution — with its own home at cfalindia.com. This page is for something different: the independent researcher who has no institution, but has work that matters and needs a place to belong.

The Formal Research Institution

CFAL Research Centre

The Research Centre is based at the CFAL campus in Kavoor, directed by Dr. Smitha Hegde. It has its own full website at cfalindia.com — with its projects, publications, team, and findings. Click below to visit.

Directed by Dr. Smitha Hegde · CFAL Campus, Kavoor
CFAL Research Centre
Plant Science · Urban Ecology · Environmental Biotechnology · Cognition
The Research Centre is embedded in the school campus — which means its scientists work alongside students every day. It focuses on the most urgent questions in urban ecology, coastal biodiversity, and human cognition. Students at Grades 7–12 work directly with researchers on live projects.
95,000+
Trees · Nam Mara
Mysuru Census
11,000+
Native trees
Amara · Mangaluru
40,000
Mangroves
planted · 2024
cfalindia.com/research ↗

The Research Centre's full website — projects, publications, team, and findings — is at cfalindia.com. Clicking the card above takes you there.


For Researchers Without an Institution

If you work alone —
this is your place.

Most research infrastructure in India is tied to universities. If you are not employed by one, you have no library, no publishing platform, no colleagues, no way to be found. Your work exists in isolation, and then stops existing.

The Learning Centre Trust is building something different — an open umbrella for independent researchers in any discipline. You bring your work. We provide the infrastructure, the community, and the audience.

This is not an employment offer. There is no salary here. What there is: a research library, a publishing platform, students who will listen, a Thursday evening conversation at TLC Café, and a page on this website with your name and your work on it. Permanently.

Add your research to this page →

What the Learning Centre provides

📚
Research library access The CFAL Research Centre library. Physical access at Kavoor campus. Digital access for affiliated researchers.
📄
A page for your work Your profile on tlc.edu.in — your research area, your papers, your contact. Permanently hosted. Updated when you send updates.
🔬
Publishing through the Research Centre Publish your work under the CFAL Research Centre umbrella. Reviewed by Dr. Smitha Hegde or a designated peer. Archived permanently.
🎓
Student access Interact with students at Grades 7–12. Bring your research into classrooms. Run a session. Supervise a student project.
Thursday conversations The TLC Café Thursday evening discussion — with scientists, teachers, historians, and anyone curious. A community of thinking people.

Independent researchers currently associated with TLC

Click any row to visit their individual page.

AM
Alan Machado (Prabhu)
History · Archival Research
Indo-Portuguese History · Goa Inquisition · Seringapatam Captivity · Indian Pre-History
Engineer turned historian. Five published books. Database methodology applied to primary archives in Lisbon and Brazil. Debunks historical "factoids" with evidence. Runs a peer-reviewed journal open to community submissions — hosted on this website.
Goa Inquisition Seringapatam Indian Pre-History 5 books
ML
Dr. Michael Lobo
Mathematics · Genealogy · Heritage
Mangalorean Community History · Genealogy · Mathematical Heritage · Heritage Walks
PhD in Mathematics. Author of landmark works documenting Mangalorean Catholic community genealogy and history. Leads heritage walks of Mangaluru for TLC students and the public. Decades of community documentation that exists nowhere else.
Mathematics Genealogy Mangaluru History Heritage Walks
AM
Adam Machado
Independent Researcher
Research area — confirm with VJ before publishing
Independent researcher working under the umbrella of the Learning Centre Trust. Specific research areas, active projects, and publications listed on individual page.
Independent Research TLC Community
BR
Mervin Rosario
Heritage · Community History
Heritage Walks of Mangaluru · Community History · Portuguese Influence · Old Mangaluru
Community historian and heritage walk guide. Deep knowledge of Mangaluru's layered history — its Portuguese quarters, its temples, mosques, and churches. Leads monthly heritage walks for TLC students and the public.
Heritage Walks Mangaluru History Portuguese Influence

Your name belongs in this list.

If you are doing independent research — in science, mathematics, history, ecology, arts, or any other discipline — and you have no institutional home, write to us. This page is built for exactly that.

Submit your research

Tell us about your work.

This is not a job application. There is no interview. There is no salary. There is a page on this website, a research library, a publishing platform, and a community of thinkers.

Submit your details below. Dr. Smitha Hegde or VJ Moras will respond within two weeks.

1
Fill the form. Send a brief description of your research area and what you are currently working on.
2
We review. Dr. Smitha Hegde or VJ Moras reads your submission and responds within two weeks.
3
If it fits, your profile goes live on this page. You get library access, publishing support, and an invitation to Thursday café.
4
You continue your work. You share it here. We help it reach the people it should reach.

After submitting, send any papers, articles, or writing samples to research@tlc.edu.in with subject line "Independent Researcher — [Your Name]". This helps us understand your work more fully.