Indian Genes

Susmita Mohanty is an Indian spaceship designer, serial space entrepreneur and a climate action advocate. She is well known for her research on space related topics. She co-founded India's first private space start-up, Earth2Orbit in 2009.She is the only space entrepreneur in the world to have started companies on three different continents in Asia, Europe and North America.Susmita is one of the few people to have visited both the Arctic and Antarctica .She completed her bachelor's degree in Electrical engineering from Gujarat University and master's degree in Industrial Design from the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad. She also completed Masters in Space studies from the International Space University in Strasbourg.She co-founded Moonfront, an aerospace consulting firm based in San Francisco in 2001, which marked her entry into space entrepreneurship. She also co-founded Liquifer System Group (LSG), an aerospace architecture and design firm in Vienna, Austria in 2004. She also served as one of the prominent members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aerospace Architecture for over a period of ten years while she was residing in California. In 2005, she was conferred with the International Achievement Award for promoting international cooperation. She was included in the elite list of 25 Indians to Watch by the Financial Times magazine in 2012 and also featured on the front cover page of Fortune magazine in 2017.She was nominated to the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council for Space Technologies for a period of three consecutive years from 2016 to 2019. She was included in the BBC's list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2019.ReplyForward

In EP 13, we continue where we left off in EP 12 and Bernardo Kasturp dives deeper into consciousness and how this is central to our understanding of the world around us. He also answers questions posted on line and fascinates us with insights that are thought provoking and brilliant. THis is an episode that would be enjoyed as a continuation of EP 12 and we highly recommend that you listen in sequence.

In EP 12 Indian Genes talks to Bernardo Kastrup's who has been leading the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another Ph.D. in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the 'Casimir Effect' of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, his ideas have been featured on 'Scientific American,' the 'Institute of Art and Ideas,' the 'Blog of the American Philosophical Association' and 'Big Think,' among others.

Sara Seager is the Class of 1941 Professor of Planetary Science, Professor of Physics, and Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her past research is credited with laying the foundation for the field of exoplanet atmospheres, while her current research focuses on exoplanet atmospheres and the future search for signs of life by way of atmospheric biosignature gases. Professor Seager is involved with a number of space-based exoplanet searches including as the Deputy Science Director for the MIT-led NASA mission TESS, as the PI for the on-orbit JPL/MIT CubeSat ASTERIA, and as a lead for Starshade Rendezvous Mission (a space-based mission concept under technology development for direct imaging discovery and characterization of Earth analogs). Before joining MIT in 2007, Professor Seager spent four years on the senior research staff at the Carnegie Institution of Washington preceded by three years at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. Her PhD is from Harvard University, and her BSc from the University of Toronto. Among other accolades, Professor Seager is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a 2013 MacArthur Fellow. In EP 11 Sara talks to Indian Genes on the latest on Exoplanet discoveries including the TESS mission and latest cutting edge research in her field.

Ashwing Vasavada from NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and a CALTECH / UCLA star, has been involved with the Mars Rover Curiosity for over eight years now and has virtually spent that time living on Mars through the Curiosity mission. If anyone knows the conditions on Mars, then it is Ashwin and in this episode he discusses in detail, the history of NASA’s space missions as well as how they were conceptualized, designed and deployed. He also gives a first hand account on the various missions like Viking, Voyager, Hope & Spirit, Perseverance and talks about NASA’s Mars 2020 missions and what could be expected moving forward. As the lead scientist for the Curiosity Rover Mission he explains the planning and technology that went into building the rover. He covers interesting facts like the engineering and design of the rover, its 17 cameras and lasers on board, and how this is used to collect rock samples, the difference between solar panels and nuclear powered rovers, how dust on the surface of Mars impacts these choices, the Chem Cam and how it was used, how and why airbags were used for the Hope & Spirit landings and many more details on the project. Ashwin also tackles broader areas like the possibility of life on the surface of Mars or below the surface as per latest available scientific data from those missions. This is a comprehensive discussion on all NASA missions and a lot of details mentioned in this episode have never been heard before or available online. This is an opportunity to have all your questions answered and give you a better understanding of these missions as he breaks down and systematically takes you through all the stages of the Mars missions, also spending time to answer questions posed to him by students online. This is a historic podcast episode and one you do not want to miss. From all of us at Indian Genes, we do hope you enjoy this exclusive episode and look forward to you also checking out our previous episodes.

India’s first space traveler, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, AC is a former Indian Air Force pilot who flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on April 3rd, 1984 with the Interkosmos program. He is the only Indian citizen to travel in space. He speaks exclusively to Indian Genes about his mission and the memories that he carries with him. Rakesh Sharma openly speaks his mind on values, ethics and responsibilities that go with space exploration and provides advice to students and future explorers, innovators and seekers. During the discussion he reveals interesting moments and memories from his mission that have not been shared before. This is an interview of a lifetime as you get to know the man behind the legend. A man that inspired an entire nation of 1.3 Billion.

Narayan talks to Indian Genes about the current global set up in the Space sector and also discusses current compliance and law with regards to space research and travel. This discussion also covers ISRO and future opportunities in the Private Sector for Space Research and Travel. 

Dr. James Beacham searches for answers to the biggest open questions of physics using the largest experiment ever, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. He hunts for dark matter, gravitons, quantum black holes, and dark photons as a member of the ATLAS collaboration, one of the teams that discovered the Higgs boson in 2012. In addition to his research, he is a frequent speaker at popular sci/tech/art events around the world, including the American Museum of Natural History, the Royal Institution, SXSW, and the BBC. His talk, “How we explore unanswered questions in physics”, was featured on TED.com and has been viewed more than 1.5 million times. He contributes to podcasts, radio shows, and documentaries, and has been featured in The New York Times, Wired, and Gizmodo, among others. Beacham trained as a filmmaker before becoming a physicist and regularly collaborates with artists. In 2015 he launched Ex/Noise/CERN, a project exploring the connections between particle physics and experimental music and film. Indian Genes spoke to James Beacham about his Noble Prize discovery on the Higgs Boson as well as the latest discoveries into the very beginning of the Universe, our latest quest into the subatomic world, quantum physics. We also discuss how we could approach particle physics and create a future that is beneficial to all humans, answering questions that still lay hidden from our experiences.

Dr. James Beacham searches for answers to the biggest open questions of physics using the largest experiment ever, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. He hunts for dark matter, gravitons, quantum black holes, and dark photons as a member of the ATLAS collaboration, one of the teams that discovered the Higgs boson in 2012. In addition to his research, he is a frequent speaker at popular sci/tech/art events around the world, including the American Museum of Natural History, the Royal Institution, SXSW, and the BBC. His talk, “How we explore unanswered questions in physics”, was featured on TED.com and has been viewed more than 1.5 million times. He contributes to podcasts, radio shows, and documentaries, and has been featured in The New York Times, Wired, and Gizmodo, among others. Beacham trained as a filmmaker before becoming a physicist and regularly collaborates with artists. In 2015 he launched Ex/Noise/CERN, a project exploring the connections between particle physics and experimental music and film. Indian Genes spoke to James Beacham about his Noble Prize discovery on the Higgs Boson as well as the latest discoveries into the very beginning of the Universe, our latest quest into the subatomic world, quantum physics. We also discuss how we could approach particle physics and create a future that is beneficial to all humans, answering questions that still lay hidden from our experiences.

Dr John Bucher talks to Indian Genes about comparative mythology, the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics. He also discusses story and scrip writing. Listen to the latest episode below and across all major platforms.