Nairwita Mazumder – U.S Astrophysicists Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish and Kip Thorne etched their names jointly on the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2017 “for decisive contributors to the LIGO detector and the observation of Gravitational waves”. Perceptively, it perpetuates the theory of ripples in the fabric of space-time first proposed by Albert Einstein which got the astrophysicists reeling with ideas and finally the Nobel Prize is theirs.
India which could never be beaten for talent and it has a share in thisroaring success. A girl from Bengal suburb assisted the LIGO astrophysicists to help change the game. We are talking about Nairwita Mazumder, an ex-student of Jadavpur University, Kolkata from the department of Mathematics who bagged a chance to work with the aforementioned stalwarts of Physics and exhibit her own acumen.
Nairwita Mazumder has her fair share in helping them discover that if we can’t see something in the universe, they try to hear them. Any emergence of violence in the astrophysical activities at distant universe can create ripples in the space-time which is captured with the super sensitive instrument, Laser Interferometer at Earth and existence of Gravitational waves can be rounded up through further technicalities.
Nairwita Mazumder, an inspiration for many budding astrophysicists:
A Bengali by birth, Nairwita Mazumder hails from a Bengal Suburb Malda from a middle class background to father Amalendu Mazumder and mother Kaberi Chatterjee. Studious as she was, she completed both her BSC and MSC from Jadavpur University in Mathematics with specialization in Mathematical Physics. Her focus area had always been Cosmology related to different models of expanding universe. But in pursuit to do something other than theory, she worked with ace organizations such as IUCAA and IISER Trivandrum as Post-Doctoral fellow under Dr. Archana Paiwhere she rubbed shoulder with renowned scientists from LIGO in their scientific collaboration with India. Then there was no looking back for her as she established her credentials in a larger canvas. Her journey in LIGO Hangford Observatory started in January 2016 under Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish and Kip Thorne and it continues to open new horizons of theories.
Nairwita Mazumder is now happily married to Debasish Banerjee, an Engineer by profession and a mother to a little girl.
India needs more of such rainbow girls who will have their talent pat and add to the national glory. Keeping our fingers crossed until then.
