New Delhi: Bindu Rani, an esteemed astrophysicist from India, is currently contributing her expertise at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt. She plays a crucial role in studying distant stars, exoplanets and black holes, examining celestial phenomena billions of light-years away.Rani joined the Goddard Space Flight Center in 2016 as part of NASAs Postdoctoral Fellowship program. She is particularly intrigued by the dynamics and physical processes surrounding black holes.Who is Bindu RaniBindu Rani embarked on her academic journey with a Bachelors degree in Science from Government College Bahadurgarh in 2005. She continued her studies at the Department of Physics and Astrophysics at Delhi University, where she earned her Masters degree in Physics in 2007. In a recent interview featured on NASAs website, Rani shared, In 2013, I obtained a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany. From 2014 to 2016, I was a post-doctoral fellow at Max Planck.Following her tenure in Germany, Rani spent two years at the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute in South Korea as a staff scientist from 2020 to 2022. She then returned to Goddard to lead the Swift Guest Investigator Program in 2022. Outside of her professional life, Rani enjoys running, practicing yoga and reading social fiction by the Indian author Munshi Prem Chand.What inspires Bindu Rani to pursue astrophysicsRanis fascination with astrophysics began during her Masters studies, particularly with black holes and neutron stars. She explained, When I was doing my masters, I became captivated by black holes and neutron stars. This fascination drove me to pursue a career in this field. Having lived in India, South Korea, Germany and now the US, Rani attributes her drive to her curiosity and determination, citing her parents as her primary source of inspiration. She stated, Most of my inspiration comes from my own curiosity and the fact that I am very determined. My family, especially my parents, are my true inspiration.Ranis work at swift guest investigator programIn her role as the lead scientist for the Swift Guest Investigator Program, Rani is responsible for managing proposals, overseeing the programs staffing, conducting reviews and supporting users. She remarked, Swift is an incredible mission as it provides X-ray, ultraviolet and optical observations of various astronomical objects. The work we do is extremely engaging and motivating.Swifts telescopes capture radiation from black holes, which often appear as intense beams of light. Rani highlighted one of her most thrilling discoveries: The most exciting discovery was the detection of the brightest gamma-ray burst (BOAT GRB), which was a joint discovery by Swift and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope on October 9, 2022.Bindu Ranis vision for futureReflecting on her journey, Rani expressed, I am a girl from a small village in India who has now arrived at Goddard. Her ultimate ambition is to become an astronaut, a dream that sparked during her Masters studies.
