Mini-Profiles of STEM Role Models 10

Given the popularity of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science at the University of Groningen mini-profiles, I have decided to extend the series to continue to provide as many role models in STEM as I can publish.

If you’re interested in taking part, please e-mail me your answers to the questions below and a fun picture of yourself at: k.m.tych@rug.nl with the title ‘STEM Role Models mini-profile’. Thank you!

This mini-profile is of Assistant professor in Chemical Engineering at the University of Groningen, specialising in self-healing polymers, rheology and vapour deposition amongst other things, Ranjita Bose. I hope you enjoy it and the rest of the series!

Job title:

Assistant professor in chemical engineering

Subject area:

Polymers. We research polymers to make them suitable in many areas such as biomedical applications, energy storage, and high-strength applications. We aim to improve their properties to make them stronger, more electrically conductive, self-healing as well as easier to recycle.

How did you get into science?:

At the age of 14, my local newspaper in India published a daily series highlighting the life and work of 200 famous scientists. Students were encouraged to enter a competition by collecting paper cuttings of all 200 articles and make a folder with extra information and sketches. My folder did not win the competition but it sparked a lifelong interest in science and doing research. I remember exploring many resources (pre-internet days!) to learn more about these fascinating stories of early pioneers like Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, Dmitri Mendeleev, Gregor Mendel, Wilhelm Röntgen, Erwin Schrödinger, Ernest Rutherford, Satyendra Nath Bose, CV Raman, and many more.

Where else have you worked/studied?

India, United States, and the Netherlands.

What are your hobbies/what do you do for fun?

I love hiking (especially long distance hut-to-hut routes in the Alps), cooking and eating, traveling to different places (a great way to explore new foods), crochet, and reading (non-scientific books).