A Cosmic Journey
The story of a path written in the stars.
4th Standard
The Spark: NAO
Cleared the regional round of the National Astronomy Olympiad. Reading their textbooks sparked a fascination that led me to participating each year, fueling a deep interest in the cosmos.
6th - 8th Standard
Hands-On Exploration
Joined SPACE-India astronomy club at school. They were transformative be it: solar observation, making dry-ice comets, finding asteroids, and even calculating Earth's circumference. Overnight observation camps at Sariska somehow made the universe tangible.
9th - 10th Standard
A Future Decided
With a clear vision, I decided my future lay among the cosmos. It seemed like a pipe dream but I solidified my resolve to become an astronomer.
11th - 12th Standard
Forging My Own Path
Even though choosing PCM in my +2, I went with research over engineering, built my own refractor, started the "Brittle Stars" blog, and competed in state-level badminton. I also bagged AIR 14 in Heliodyssey, winning a fully sponsored solar expedition to Oman to study an annular eclipse.
Partial Drop Year
Searching for the Right Trajectory
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1st Year at IISER Bhopal
A New System
After a partial drop year, I joined the BS Economic Sciences programme at IISER Bhopal. The first semester was online due to COVID, a time I used to focus on full-stack web development alongside my studies.
Temporary Orbit
Fixated on Physics
Though I started as an Economic Sciences student, my focus was always fixed on finding a way into physics and astronomy.
End of 1st Year
Orbital Correction
Scoring one of the highest CGPA in my branch gave me the option to switch. I chose to migrate to the 5-year BS-MS Natural Sciences programme, correcting my course toward astrophysics.
2nd & 3rd Year
Finding My Sun
Exploring Physics, Maths, and Data Science as pre-majors, I finally chose Physics as my major and joined the IISER Bhopal Astronomy Club and the Sports Council.
After 2nd Year
Dual Pathways
I got selected for an internship in Sysmatics Lab at EECS department, to develop a mobile app for collecting data for detecting signs of depression among academicians. Also got selected for the iGEM team of IISER Bhopal for the synthetic biology competition organized by MIT in Paris.
Leadership & Setbacks
Captaincy and Injury
I captained the IISER Bhopal badminton team at the Inter IISER Sports Meet. Unfortunately, I also broke my shoulder and tore my ACL during a game, leading me to transition my role from captain to a coach.
Summer After 3rd Year
First Foray into Research
Joined Raman Research Institute as a visiting student, working with the HERA radio array in South Africa. As a part of the validation team, I built my own visibility simulator, RRIViz.
Google Summer of Code 2024
GSoC & Open Source
Selected for Google Summer of Code with Stingray, I built a quicklook dashboard for X-ray time series data. This marked the start of my open-source journey.
HERA: Seeing the Invisible
My work at RRI involved simulating visibility data from radio interferometers like HERA. I also learned about matvis and other popular visibility simulators.
Winter Vacation
Doubling Down
Successfully completing both internships, I churned the midnight oil and returned to RRI in December to continue my work on RRIViz.
A Strategic Pivot
The BS Exit Decision
I decided to take a BS exit from college to pursue an MS in Astrophysics elsewhere for better opportunities.
Summer of Code 2025
GSoC 2025: ML for Science
Selected again for GSoC with ML4SCI, working on an LSST data analysis pipeline for DeepLense and applying machine learning to gravitational lensing.
Third RRI Stint
First Publication & New Horizons
Returning to RRI, I worked on fftvis, leading to my first co-authored paper on arXiv. I was also selected for fully-sponsored summer programs at the University of Toronto and IIT Indore for SKA training.
Current Endeavors
Analysis and Innovation
I am working on the spectral and timing analysis of Cygnus X-1, improving RRIViz, learning about EM solvers, and participating in the world's largest hackathon building a WYSIWYG LaTeX editor.
The Journey Continues...
...in search of a Master's in Astrophysics.
