Sataparna Mukherjee’s education in the UK to be funded by NASA.
By Dileep Thekkethil
When Sataparna Mukherjee, 18, a high school senior in West Bengal, posted her thoughts about ‘Black Holes’ in a social media group, she never thought that it could culminate in NASA offering her the coveted Goddard Internship Program, which entails funding the expense of her entire higher education at prestigious universities in Britain.
The coveted Goddard Internship Programme under the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) is only given to five scholars chosen from across the world and NASA funds their entire education expense after schooling.
Sataparna, a class 12 student at St. Judes School, Madhyamgram, Kamduni, is the daughter of Pradip Mukherjee, a primary school headmaster who led a peoples’ movement against the politicians and goons who tried to stifle the a brutal gang rape in the locality in 2013.
Sataparna, once she graduates from her high school this year, will study at Oxford University, where she will pursue graduation and post-graduation. She will later join for Ph.D. as NASA faculty in aerospace engineering at its London Astrobiology Centre.
Sataparna was quoted by The Times of India saying “It all started in May last year when I was a member of a group on a social networking site where there were many members, including some scientists. One day I shared some of my thoughts on ‘Black Hole Theory’, and one of the members of this group gave me Nasa’s official website and told me to post my findings, which I did.”
The paper that Sataparna wrote about Black Hole Theory and the way to create a ‘Time Machine’ got wide popularity. “I am very happy to get this opportunity where I will also work as a researcher at the Nasa centre in London,” she said.
Under the NASA Scholarship program, Sataparna will study and work as a NASA employee and she will be part of NASA’s earth science and technology development program, where she will receive an honorarium in addition to the money paid for her expenses.
Her father Pradip Mukherjee said, “She has made us, and the entire country, proud. She is going on August 17. Though every cost is borne by the university and NASA, we will arrange for the passage money, which is quite high. I am thinking of taking a loan because I don’t want to let this opportunity go.”
Pulak Chakraborty, a professor of English at the Nabagram Hiralapal College, who’s also Sataparna’s referee at Oxford, said to the Times: “She is a very good student and her ability should not be judged through her marks alone. She is original, and that has made her attain so much.”
2 Comments
I really wondered about your theory… I just need to talk with you and want to share my thoughts with you about this.
Shame on you for posting such hoax without authenticationg it and misleading public. Michael Douglas Cabbage – Associate Chief for Communications at Goddard
Institute for Space Studies [GISS], was contacted by The Huffington Post
to authenticate this news. He has clearly mentioned in an email that no
one with this name has been awarded this scholarship.It is only for US Citizens. Read this: http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2…