At OSU, I work with Professor Ji Wang on observations of exoplanet atmospheres and astronomical instrumentation. Both facets of my research work towards deep characterization of giant planet atmospheres over a broad range of physical conditions. Aside from my research, I enjoy playing the piano, jogging, solving crosswords with friends, and crocheting.
About Me
I was born and raised in Beaverton, Oregon where my family instilled in me a deep appreciation for the sciences, music, and home-cooked Indian cuisine. My first foray into academia began in 2012 with evaluating novel Network-on-Chip architectures at Portland State University's Teuscher Lab through the Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering program. I am extremely grateful for this formative and unique experience in high school that allowed me to develop my first coding skills in MATLAB and provided the opportunity to contribute to a co-authored publication.
I received a BS in Physics from Caltech in 2019. During my time in undergrad, I conducted summer research through the Caltech SURF program in observational astronomy with Professor Judy Cohen, quantum optics in the Faraon Lab, and instrumentation with Dr. Inseob Hahn at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. These distinct experiences, though very disparate and largely unrelated to my current work, each equipped me with relevant skills and played a critical role in my pursuit of a graduate degree in astronomical instrumentation. At Caltech, I was also a Venerable (formerly Ruddock) House Historian, a pianist in Caltech Chamber, and Hindustani vocalist in Caltech Sargam. My House and musical activities were essential social and creative outlets for me in a rigorous academic environment.
I am a mentor for OSU's Polaris program, a student-run program in which undergraduates and graduate students in physics and astronomy are partnered to build a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible (DEIA) academic community. From personal experience, I firmly believe peer mentorship and collaboration help early-career scientists develop a science identity and combat attrition in the field. Through Polaris, my mentees and I learn together about DEIA and academic culture in STEM; mentees are also introduced to research in astronomy through a term-long project designed by their mentors. I have also been a facilitator for our Undergraduate Residential Summer Access program (URSA; a two-week early arrival program for incoming OSU freshmen interested in physics and astronomy with similar goals as Polaris) and a mentor for the Zenith Mentorship Program (a virtual program for visually-impaired high school students interested in astronomy and space science) in the past.