Please provide some background information about yourself (e.g. major, year in school, hometown, etc.).

I spent  formative years in several different cities and states across India because my father moved around a lot. So I know 5 different languages and am very open to change. I  have lived in Champaign the longest- 10 years of my life. So by that definition, Champaign is probably my hometown. It definitely feels like home.  I came here to do a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from a background of Electrical and Electronics engineering and a brief stint of Nano-mechanical research. So the vagabond nature of my childhood definitely kept me open minded about all the discipline changes. My Ph.D. mentor Steve Granick was especially encouraging about my lack of background in polymer physics and saw it as an opportunity to bring fresh perspective to the science.

 

Tell us about your experience as a postdoc researcher and as a Bharatanatyam dancer from teaching to performing.

As a Ph.D. student I did fundamental research watching single molecules of polymer move around. Hence for my postdoc, I decided to change perspectives and work with The Dow Chemical Company to help make green coating materials that are less hazardous to users and the environment. I often joke that I literally watched paint dry under a confocal microscope for my research, only I was watching one paint particle at a time. Working in the application side of science with chemical engineers and Industrial scientists from non-polymer physics background definitely diversified my problem solving perspective. I recently started as a Senior Research Engineer at Inprentus, inc, a startup company by Illinois Physics professor Peter Abbamonte and am enjoying a completely different side of problem solving and scientific application of first principles. When I was a Ph.D. student, I was primarily a performer and would be asked by parents in the community to teach their kids. I never took the request seriously until during my postdoc when I found myself in a mentorship position. I suddenly realized that I am now a resource person for the next generation of students. So I started teaching dance to a pair of siblings in a basement. A class of four has now turned into a many hours of teaching across Champaign, Bloomington and Decatur. Community members have been very enthusiastic about connecting their children to Indian traditional arts and enjoy an alternative to other classical dance forms like the Ballet.

 

What other activities are you involved in the Champaign-Urbana area or on campus?
As a student, I was president of SPICMACAY- an RSO dedicated to organizing Indian classical music lecture-demonstrations and concerts by world class musicians. I also was part of a couple outreach programs at Krannert and Spurlock museums where community members got first hand experience with dance related activities like trying the percussive bells or using hand gestures. As a teacher of Indian classical dance, now I work with Center for Global studies outreach coordinator to present my young students at various primary school multicultural nights in CU. Last year the kids at Carey Busey, Booker T Washington and Robeson Elementary School got to witness their classmates perform Bharatanatyam. I particularly enjoy showcasing little kids to an audience of similar age group as I feel the schoolmates see their friends in a new light and the performing child understands that sharing diversity is more fun compared to hiding it or pretending it doesn't exist.

 

What quote inspires you and encourages you to be the person you are and do what you love?

I like Charlie Chaplin's quote that says, " I don't need interesting camera angles, I am interesting." It echoes to me the idea that if content is strong, it shall overshadow presentation flaws.And hence I always strive to make the content prime in everything I do. In terms of doing what I love, I like this quote from Inception: "What's the most resilient and lethal parasite? An idea." I get so many ideas to do so many things but no time to follow through them. So I stick only with those ideas that are sticky enough to not leave my head despite the exhaustion and deadlines and other pressures of the mundane existence.

 

What did you want to be when you were a child?

When I was four I watched a beloved Indian Prime minister get assasinated on TV and decided I wanted to be the President of India instead of the prime minister. When I was about 8 until 16 I wanted to be an air force pilot because I wanted to serve my country as a courageous female. Then I got glasses. Then I wanted to be a rich person until I took a science fellowship as a sophomore that paid peanuts and realized I didn't need that much money to be happy.

 

What’s an important lesson you’ve learned in your 20’s?

I was too short sighted to learn anything in my 20s. In my 30s I realized that one's 20s should rightly be a time when one explores, makes mistakes, corrects course and experiments about one's wants and needs. I took risky decisions and didn't have the anxiety to regret it because I had the arrogance of the youth. I was so sure things would work out. Sometimes they did. Sometimes they did not. But I am glad I tried everything I tried. Later in life, one tends to be a slave to their failures and choose safer roads to travel.  

 

Name a fear or professional challenge you have.

Crippling levels of self-doubt. I fear professionally and personally that the impact I make is never going to be enough. Sometimes imposter syndrome kicks in at full strength where you are convinced your skills are so obviously not special despite people around you telling you otherwise.

 

What does success mean to you?

Success to me is to progress while spreading positivity. Making a student or a colleague laugh is as important, if not more than doing the job. That way even if you are disappointed at the end of the day, you have had a laugh about it.

 

Name a woman or women (past or present) that inspires you.

I am inspired by women who shatter perceptions, have relentless mental game during adversities and spread positivity. Florence Nightingale, Kalpana Chawla, Indira Nooyi, Simone Biles, Michele Obama, Elizabeth Warren, J K Rowling  are my beacons but the list is endless.  

Has learning from a mistake ever led you to success?
I think realizing a mistake and learning from a mistake are successes in themselves. Most times I tend to rationalize and justify my mistakes rather than recognize something is wrong. The challenge is to know when to believe in rationalizations and when to realize something is amiss and  course correct. During my Ph.D. I was very depressed and had very little energy and everyone I talked to said that is normal. I realized during my postdoc that I was severely Vitamin D and B deficient and wasn't taking care of myself which led me to believe my motivation was at fault when it was my physiology. Now I take good care of my body and have more energy that helps me work around the clock and feel good about myself.