Bridging the gender gap

“My introduction to science happened very organically. When I was growing up, science classes at our school were held outside the classroom and we used to wander around the Visva Bharati campus trying to learn about trees and birds. That inculcated my love for the subject.

Chemistry had a special place in my heart because my father, who was the headmaster of a school in Santiniketan, had a chemistry background and although he could not continue his PhD due to family obligations, he encouraged me to pursue one.

Pursuing an integrated MSc-PhD degree at JNCASR helped shape my critical mind. I attended a couple of international conferences during my Master’s itself which boosted my confidence and made my transition to a PhD life smoother. I initially rotated in a couple of organic chemistry laboratories. However, due to certain health conditions, continuing there became an ordeal for me and forced me to consider alternatives. I had never been a part of a theoretical chemistry laboratory during my post-graduation but as I loved studying the subject, I decided to pursue a summer project in computational chemistry. Later, during my MSc thesis work, my supervisor fell very ill. The chances of him coming back to work so soon was very bleak. But his indomitable spirit encouraged me to take a leap of faith and join his laboratory and that was one of the best decisions I made during my…