Astronomy Researchers Celebrate Mentors

"Together with a large team, I study and hunt for astrophysical explosions in which heavy elements such as gold and platinum are generated. I aspire to eventually become a Professor of Astronomy and improve the climate in academia for women and gender minorities. One inspiring figure for me is Mary Jackson, NASA's first black female aeronautical engineer during an era of Jim Crow segregation laws. She not only persevered against all odds to achieve her dream career, but also worked hard to break the glass ceiling for many other women scientists at NASA."

Shreya Anand
Caltech graduate student

"I feel privileged to able to pursue my passion for astronomy as a profession. The biggest perk of the job is definitely working with a dynamic group of students and postdocs. Luckily, I haven't had to look too far in space or time for inspiration. While I was a student at Caltech, Professor Fiona Harrison inspired us by launching NASA's NuSTAR mission. While I was a postdoc at Carnegie, Director Wendy Freedman inspired us by her steady strides towards nailing the Hubble's constant."

Mansi Kasliwal (MS '07, PhD '11)
Caltech Professor of Astronomy

"My interest in astronomy began when I used to sleep under the stars at night and look at constellations when I was young. Now I study supernovae (stellar death events) through ZTF, and apply astroinformatics to make my work easier. Like a lot of young Indian women, I was inspired by Kalpana Chawla, the first woman of Indian origin to go to space. Her journey, from majoring in aerospace engineering in India (predominantly male field) to moving to USA, getting PhD in the same field, and then becoming an astronaut, broke down many barriers and brought hope and inspiration to many young women."

Yashvi Sharma
Caltech graduate student