My story in brief
- Following passion and values
Having gained a good experience of research and industry, I can go backward and see that the dots connect in a pretty straight line: following my passion. My passion always lies in solving complex problems, understanding functionalities, giving meaning to things, and presenting them to a wide audience in interesting ways to enhance lives in one way or the other.
Since I was a child, I liked to explore different prospects. I participated in various activities ranging from National Science Olympiads to cultural activities at school, to diversify and challenge myself. While nobody can be an expert on everything, diversification lets one see things in its holistic sense, which is a skill that gives intuition and heuristic in problem-solving.
During my undergraduate engineering studies, I was active in academic, cultural, and social events, including volunteering at student-run NGO, and organizing scientific conferences. After my undergraduate, I took the opportunity that naturally knocked and joined Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd as a software engineer. 3+ years of work experience at (TCS) Ltd. enriched me with several skills including preparing solution documentation, understanding business requirement, processing data, brainstorming, and data presentation (and of course attending fun office parties! 😊). It was a rewarding experience to work for fortune 500 client: Lloyds Banking Group, a large bank at the U.K. During this association, I got exposure of being part of big projects like the merger of banks, account switch, etc. I also got the opportunity to work on the client-side, at the Data Centre of State Bank of India. It was an interesting learning experience to be able to contrast the work culture at the offshore development center vs the client center. Despite the rich exposure, I got at TCS, I had a desire to challenge myself further. Hence, in my time outside of the office, I did volunteer research work and that's where my initial research papers come from. During this time, I also got an offer to join Ph.D. in IIT-BHU from the Electrical and Applied Physics Department, but I could not join at that time. Later, I joined the Masters program and collaborated with IIT-Bombay for my Masters thesis project. This turned out to be a soul-relieving experience defining my future and changing my career path henceforth!
I am proud of my diverse background and how I managed to achieve consistent success while rolling from engineering to IT solutions to solving complex biological problems. To many people, especially naïve students who are just starting their careers this seems like a roller coaster ride and I get a lot of questions around how and why you took such diverse turns in your career path. To me, it is not so much of a roller coaster, rather it is very consistent, as my goal was always to work at an interesting juncture where I can solve multidisciplinary problems and make a meaningful impact. When I moved to do my Masters and Ph.D., complex biological problems were a means to learn to wrap around my head on intricate problems and learn how to analyze data to provide meaningful solutions. To me, it is an engineering trait, and it has made me a jack of all trades. I have developed computational and mathematical models to understand pattern formation in cells and discovered mechanisms of how materials interact. This has possible applications in technological advancement in the field of smart material design. I think this discovery itself is super cool!
Further, the teaching, scientific writing, mentorship and leadership roles that I got to contribute to during my Ph.D. developed my personality even further. My multidisciplinary journey has enriched me with the confidence to step into a plethora of roles and succeed through them.