Myself in the “perfect beach attire”! The image exemplifies my work-life balance… traveling for conferences, spending some time out in the nature, etc…
Bio
I grew up in a small town called Santiniketan in India, and I was fortunate to be schooled in Patha Bhavana. The school was founded by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. It is one of the most uniquely beautiful experiences I could ever have. The playful nature of learning and the deep connection with nature formed my outlook towards the world in a distinct way. Post high school, I spent 5 years in my home country for higher education. I was lucky to be surrounded by some exceptional instructors during my college days, who had a huge contribution towards my interest in statistics. At the same time, I was involved in teaching my classmates and it gave me immense joy when I could explain difficult topics. It’s my knack of teaching that made me decide to pursue my career in academia. PhD exposed me to the world of research, and it was a wonderful experience too. It was also one of the toughest times of my life due to several personal reasons. Overcoming the resilient times both personally and professionally brought the best in me and made me more confident about my presence in the academia. I have always been intrigued to work on applied problems in statistics. My post-doctoral research experience in collaboration with some eminent individuals’ in the field have further enriched me. I joined Oklahoma State University as an assistant professor in 2018 and have spent a significant time of my research collaborating with scientific researchers on important applied problems.
Statistics and Other Wild Things
I view the world through the lens of statistics and spend time thinking deeply about the statistical way to explain a lot of things around us. Statistical concepts are applicable everywhere around us, and I often find myself thinking about various topics ranging from ethics in machine learning approaches to history of sports, from feminism and social science problems to personalized medicine. I read a lot about these and jot down my statistical thoughts on them.
As much as I love statistics and my work as an assistant professor, I have always believed that there is a lot more about life outside the job duties. I thoroughly enjoy playing tennis, birding, taking photos, writing, and origami. The one that I am most passionate about is wildlife photography. When I am not teaching my classes or doing my research, it is more likely than not that you will find me outdoors. I take photos of birds and animals primarily because I love nature. It gives me immense satisfaction to be out there and document what I see. I would like to believe that I can make some difference in conservation by making people aware about the beauty around us and educating them on what needs to be done.
My wife Sreemala and I have recently started sharing our wildlife photography together as “The Wingmates”. Besides sharing our photographic work on social media, we also maintain a photography blog site, which can be found here.