An Interview With Taavishe Gupta

Taavishe is a 22-year-old space enthusiast from India, who aspires to become a propulsion engineer.

Photo by Taavishe Gupta

“Since I was a kid I wanted to be an astronaut and hence, every step I took to date somehow was based on that childhood dream. I did my bachelor’s in aerospace engineering from India where I actively participated in space-related projects and international competitions. My team was awarded World Rank 1 in the CanSat (US) 2017 competition which was a moment of self-confidence and realization for me. During this, my visit to the NASA Johnson Space Centre, Houston proved out to be that aha moment in my life. Visualizing one of the most powerful machines ever built Saturn V ignited a fire in me and all I wanted was to launch all the way to a new planet. As a sophomore, I also participated in the ESRA- Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition, Spaceport America Cup, New Mexico as a part of my university team which built my interest in launch vehicles and propulsion. My quest for knowledge leads me all the way to International Space University which gave me an international, intercultural, and interdisciplinary perspective of space education. Here, I am studying various space courses like space — sciences, engineering, applications, law, management, business, and human performance in space. In future, I will be working towards becoming a propulsion engineer and my childhood dream of ultimately becoming an astronaut still propels me.”

What inspires you?

That one idea which inspires and thrills me the most is — one day I may be strapped inside a rocket listening to the countdown and be ready for a space launch.

What did you want to be when you were younger?

Astronaut

Which subjects did you enjoy at school?

Physics and fine arts

What would you like to tell your younger self?

Be confidant and always strive to extract the best out of yourself.

Why did you choose STEM?

Because I was amazed to see documentaries on how machines work in space like the lunar rovers, launchers, etc, and wanted to do that myself.

How important is it for you to stand out?

It’s very important to stand out because otherwise you and your ideas will be lost in a crowd.

What difficulties did you face in the industry, as a woman?

I haven’t had much experience in the industry but one major difficulty I faced during my university projects was the blind beliefs of my professors and teammates that men can be better leaders and also their engineering ideas and mechanical precision were always assumed to be better.

What advice would you give to the next generation of female scientists?

Believe in yourself and your goals.

‘The known is finite, the unknown infinite; intellectually we stand on an islet in the midst of an illimitable ocean of explicability. Our business in every generation is to reclaim a little more land’ –T.H. Huxley.

#PlugTheGap#Vanshikalikestowrite#VanshikaDhyani#WomenInSTEM#WomenInPhysics