KOCHI: “What we need is innovative minds. India has got talent, but we need to nurture it. There is a need to re-look our education system. Now we are giving emphasis on numbers. We should have a system to review the quantity and quality of work,” says Goutam Chattopadhyay, a senior research scientist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of Nasa. Goutam, who arrived in Kochi to deliver a talk on the space explorations of Nasa at Cusat, shares his thoughts with Express about nurturing talents.
What do you think lacks in our education system?
We should have an education system that encourages innovating thinking. Our policy makers have to think about it. China, for example, has invested so much in research. I think India has to give more autonomy to its research institutes. Institutes like the IISc and IITs should have the liberty to make decisions. They should be provided freedom to set up research labs and concentrate more on innovative research. Compared to China, the number of research students coming from India is very low. We have to concentrate on the quality and quantity of research.
What should be done to promote research?
We have to think out of the box. In USA, a scientist like me accepts a student only after identifying a project proposal to work on, Whereas in India we first take students and then think about the project. We have to change our mindset. There should be more interdisciplinary coordination among research institutes. If one department does not talk to the other, how can they have innovative ideas.
You have been associated with the Mars Rover project of Nasa. How was your experience?
The question everyone asks is why do we go to Mars. For us at Nasa it is the search for intelligent life. I am associated with the Jet Propulsion Lab of Nasa. We develop robotic machines for Nasa. For generations we have been wondering whether there is life beyond our planet. So we have been searching for probability of life out there. Mars is very similar to earth and we are trying to find out whether there is presence of methane and water, the signature of life, in Mars. We have found that water existed in Mars. Mars Rover Curiosity has provided much information about Mars, but we have to explore other areas of the planet. The Mars 2020 mission addresses high-priority science goals, including key questions about the potential for life on Mars. The mission will take the next step by seeking signs of habitable conditions and searching for signs of past microbial life.
How do you see India’s Mangalyaan and Chandrayaan missions?
It is a proud and hopeful achievement. It is not a small thing that ISRO has achieved the feat in the first attempt itself. Such endeavours can inspire a generation of students with scientific temper. I think Government of India should spend more money on space research.
What about the contributions of Indians to Nasa’s space programmes?
Around one third of the researchers at Nasa are Asians and Indians have contributed enormously to Nasa’s space endeavours. It is a dream for everyone interested in space science to work with Nasa. There is no dearth of talent and if you have talent you will be hired.
How do you see the talent pool at Cusat?
I came to Cusat to interact with the researchers and professors here as part of Erudite, the scholars-in-residence programme. One of the jobs of Nasa is to spot talent. We spread the word and inspire the next generation to develop innovative ideas. Cusat has talent and we need to nurture it.
18 years with Nasa
Goutam Chattopadhyay, a native of Kolkata, completed his engineering degree in Electronics & Telecommunication at BE College, Shibpur. He had even cracked IIT entrance exam but could not study since his family could not afford it. From BE College, he went to Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in 1987. In 1992, he went to the US to pursue higher studies, doing his masters at the University of Virginia and then Ph.D at California Institute of Technology (Caltech). On completion of the Ph.D in 1999, he was selected by Nasa.