Data Science shares a lot of commonalities with Astronomy, both being mathematically and computationally intensive careers.
Maitraiyee Tiwari, our next pathbreaker, Astronomer & Data Scientist, works on data driven challenges in the world of automotives and machinery !
Maitraiyee talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about her stint in the US as a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Maryland where she got an opportunity to fly in the stratosphere to take observations with the SOFIA telescope onboard a Boeing 747!
For students, life is indeed too short to be doing something that doesn’t make you happy, but always be aware of the prospects of any field of study before pursuing a career in it.
Maitraiyee, can you share your background with our young readers?
I was born and raised in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. My father was a lawyer, and my mother worked as a government clerk. My father passed away when I was 11, and my mother single-handedly raised my brother and me. Growing up, making my mother proud and achieving financial security were my main motivations. At that age, this seemed to only be achievable by excelling in school.
I worked hard and consistently ranked among the top students in my class. I enjoyed both mathematics and history and was good in both subjects. At the time, pursuing a career in science was the norm, so I chose to study Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics in classes 11 and 12. This was when I truly fell in love with physics. It was the one subject where understanding how things work required minimal memorization!
Outside of academics, I participated in plays and dance competitions. I also learned to play the guitar and performed at various school functions. Additionally, I enjoyed reading fiction and am a proud Harry Potter fan! One area where I struggled was handcrafts. Whether it was sketching, painting, or knitting, I just couldn’t get the hang of it. However, my interests in other activities always kept me busy and engaged.
What did you do for graduation/post graduation?
I did a BSc in Physical Sciences (physics + chemistry + mathematics) from St Stephen’s College (Delhi), followed by an MSc in Physics from IIT Hyderabad.
What were some of the key influences that led you to such an offbeat, unconventional in Astronomy?
As I mentioned earlier, the passing of my father at an early age motivated me to excel in my studies and strive for financial independence. However, many other factors influenced my choices as well.
One of the most significant factors was the guidance and support of excellent teachers and mentors at every stage of my education. Their passion for physics made the subject enjoyable and fueled my interest in it. A few of these mentors include Rohit Vishwakarma during my school years, Bikram Phookun in my undergrad, Manish Niranjan during my Masters, Karl Menten and Friedrich Wyrowski during my PhD, and Xander Tielens during my years as a scientist. Their mentorship kept me engaged in physics and research.
Over the past ten years, I’ve realized that my love for understanding how things work is what truly drives me, and physics is all about exploring that curiosity.
How did you plan the steps to get into the career you wanted? Or how did you make a transition to a new career? Tell us about your career path
During my Masters, I was selected for the IAS (Indian Academy of Sciences) Summer Research Fellowship program. I decided to work on black holes under the mentorship of Prof. Patrick Das Gupta at the University of Delhi. This internship really got me interested in Astrophysics. As a result, I decided to do my PhD in Astrophysics.
I started my PhD in 2016 at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany, where I studied how massive stars are formed, using infrared and radio wavelength observations. During this period, I developed my skills in programming, data analysis, and scientific writing.
After finishing my PhD in 2019, I moved to the US as a postdoctoral associate at the University of Maryland where I mainly worked with data observed using the SOFIA telescope, which is a telescope mounted on an airplane (Boeing 747) that flies in the stratosphere. As a postdoctoral associate, I got the opportunity to work with students and supervise them in various projects. In addition to my mainstream research, I also started looking into using machine learning techniques to analyze astrophysical data.
In 2022, I moved back to Germany, and I transitioned from academia to industry by joining Mercedes-Benz as a Data Scientist. Here, I shifted my focus from understanding cosmic phenomena to solving real-world problems. I was responsible to make a data product that segments customers based on their personal characteristics and purchasing behavior. I used automotive sales & aftersales data and applied traditional machine learning & deep learning techniques to build this data product. The consumers of this product were the business units within Mercedes-Benz who aimed at using this product to make personalized offers to customers. Customers would get recommendations to buy various products based on this segmentation. One can imagine it to be similar to Netflix or amazon recommendation systems.
Overall, I gained experience in cloud computing, data engineering, and project management, while working closely with business stakeholders.
After more than a year at Mercedes-Benz, I am now preparing to join Bosch Digital Twin as a Technical Engineer. This company specializes in asset performance management for large and complex turbomachinery by creating their digital twins.
How did you get your first break?
In academia, I consider getting into a PhD program at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany as my first break and I got it by directly writing to the director of the department expressing my interest in working on star formation topics and by sharing my CV with him. He invited me for an interview, after which he offered me the position.
In Industry, getting a job at Mercedes-Benz can be considered as my first break and I got it by solving a data challenge using machine learning techniques, followed by 2 interviews.
What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?
When I entered the PhD program, I had a very strong theoretical background but no experience working with data. This was initially quite a challenge since most of my peers had a masters in astrophysics with experience in using astrophysical software for data analysis. Initially, I really had to put in the extra hours to catch up with the astrophysics related topics I had not covered in my masters in Physics. Additionally, I reached out to people for help. I was never ashamed to ask for help, no matter how silly the question seemed. This openness not only helped me learn a lot, but also led to many fruitful collaborations with other scientists.
Where do you work now?
I will soon start working at Bosch Digital Twin as a Technical Engineer.
What problems do you solve?
My main task is to ensure smooth functioning of large turbomachinery used in industries such as oil and gas, shipbuilding and steel manufacturing. This will be done by creating a simulation of these systems and feeding it with real time data from sensors attached to the system, in order to predict the behavior of the machine.
What skills are required for your role? How did you acquire the skills?
This job needs someone with a strong background in Physics and Data Science. Besides these technical skills, an in-depth knowledge of stakeholder management is needed.
I am a trained physicist with a solid background in mechanics and sensors. In addition, I have 8+ years of experience in data science accrued through my PhD, Postdoc and Data Scientist positions. Moreover, I learned various machine learning techniques through Coursera courses and through my previous position at Mercedes-Benz. At Mercedes, I also gained experience in dealing with different stakeholders, where I was communicating results to business units on a daily basis.
What’s a typical day like?
My typical workday involves: writing code for data cleaning and applying ML models; using my knowledge in physics to interpret the results. Furthermore, a typical day would include communicating results to both technical and non-technical stakeholders through presentations.
What is it you love about this job?
I love understanding how things work and problem-solving. This job allows me to use my knowledge in physics and data science to do exactly that.
How does your work benefit society?
Apart from saving time and energy required in predictive maintenance of large and complex machines in industries, using digital twins for asset performance management also provides safety. For example, repairing/maintaining chemical plants can be hazardous and using digital twins, one can reduce the downtimes of various machines in these factories, ensuring safety of workers.
Tell us an example of a specific memorable work you did that is very close to you!
While working in the US, I got an opportunity to take observations with the SOFIA telescope onboard a Boeing 747 airplane. I observed for 3 nights of 13-hour shifts each. While onboard, I was allowed inside the cockpit during take-offs and landings. This plane flies in the stratosphere and is flown by specially trained US Air Force pilots. It was a privilege to be able to experience something like this and I can never forget that feeling.
Your advice to students based on your experience?
I have 3 pieces of advice for students:
– As is often quoted, life is indeed too short to be doing something that doesn’t make you happy, but always be aware of the prospects of any field of study before pursuing a career in it.
– Financial independence is a necessity and not a luxury. Never compromise on that.
– There is no replacement for hard-work, but being at the right place at the right time is also equally important, so don’t be too hard on yourself if something doesn’t work out.
Future Plans?
My future plans are to continue enjoying my work, helping society as much as I can, and exploring new places with my partner.