MolSSI Software Fellow: Heta A. Gandhi
Heta A. Gandhi, one of our current MolSSI Software Investment Fellows, is currently completing her PhD at the University of Rochester under the direction of Prof. Andrew White. She is working with Dr. Jessica Nash on extending machine learning software to coarse-grained molecular dynamics.
How did you first become interested in molecular science?
Working with molecular scientists! I worked with my current research advisor, Dr. Andrew White, during my MS. Even though I was working on energy systems modeling at the time, I got to learn much about molecular science and thought it was a fascinating field.
How are you benefitting from being a MolSSI Software Fellow?
It has been truly rewarding! Being a MolSSI fellow has given me an opportunity to expand my network within the molecular science field, learn new things, and work through some challenging software issues. Being a MolSSI Fellow has made me a more confident scientist.
Describe your engagement with your MolSSI Software Scientist mentor.
My MolSSI mentor, Jessica Nash, is quite encouraging, patient, and brings a fresh perspective for my project. On multiple occasions, Jessica has run my code/software to test it out or debug it.
What are your long-term career plans?
My long-term plan is to be an academician as an educator and researcher
Do you have any skills or talents that most people would not know about?
I am a sports enthusiast!
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I’m proud of being able to work on many diverse interdisciplinary and collaborative projects.
What are you happiest doing when you’re not working?
Being outside – hiking or river rafting!
What’s a goal you have for yourself that you’d like to accomplish in the next year or two?
Publish 3 high-impact papers through my research and graduate with my PhD!
Message from Heta to readers:
You are what you believe in. You become that which you believe you can become. So, just think about where you want to be, believe you can, and focus on getting to your goals. The struggles and failures you go through today will be your story to tell tomorrow, so enjoy the grind!