PRIYANKA DAS RAJKATI

France appoints Assam girl, North East of India as Ambassador to Inspire Scientists of Tomorrow! Priyanka Das Rajkakati PriyanKaleidoscope

Priyanka Das, a youth from Assam, North East India presently based in Paris ,has been appointed as the Ambassador “For Girls and Science”, an initiative that was launched under the scholarship of the Government of France in 2014 to promote scientific pursuits among young people and especially, girls." She has even modified a particular part of the Rafale aircraft which is being purchased by Government of India and allotted to Indian Air Force. Her life resembles a three-sided Kaleidoscope. Each side represents the three things she has been passionate since she was a child: Science, Art ... and Space. Individually, each is just a regular façade depicting her interests, but combined they reflect a shining myriad of possibilities and completes her. A hitchhiker through the journey of life, she has always been in search of a route that would ultimately lead her into Space. Born in the Himalayan mountains, she grew up in Delhi, moved to France, and this year – a lunar analogue-astronaut mission in Hawai’i and a voyage to Antarctica! Furthermore, ever since she was a child, she had this dream where, apart from being an astronaut, she would one day be able to mix these three facades: Science, Art and Space. Priyanka says, “ I could see how much it confused my parents (and friends) as to what I wanted to become when I grew up – but they did encourage me to pave my own unique path. Constantly looking for inspiration and role models, I made use of this precious liberty gifted by my parents and experimented with my interests. A few unconventional choices later – I started in a Design school, went on to becoming a Physics graduate, to a Space Engineer and now finally, a Space Artist.” Priyanka Das Rajkakati

PriyanKaleidoscope “ For me, Art and Science are not distinct. If you pursue both fields, you reach a “grey zone” where the art you do requires a bit of science, and the science you do is heavily artistic. After years of experimenting with all kinds of scientific fields, I realized that I was always gravitating to the artistic aspect of the subject at hand. For example, in Biology, I was enthralled by bioluminescent bacteria and their patterns. In Computer Science, I saw an infinite potential for algorithmic art, even those generated by AI. In Signal Processing, which is a big part of my PhD on satellite signals, I was fascinated by the patterns made by the original geometric signals and the noise that the signal accumulates - the beauty of Fourier Transforms and Gaussian curves! ”

This is the grey zone that excites her and where she has currently set up her workstation. Inspired by the work of a lot of physicists, artists and even philosophers who have been exploring this grey zone, she has been very fortunate to find a lot of collaborations especially with the European Space Agency (ESA), from world renowned space scientists to artists who have sent their work to the international space station (ISS).