In this episode, I converse with Meghana Ranganathan, a fourth-year Ph.D student in Climate Science at the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT. Meghana completed her undergraduate education at Swarthmore College and received a B.A. in mathematics, with a specialization in applied mathematics. Her past research has been on eclectic areas of interest, including focuses on El Nino-Southern Oscillation forecasting, statistical paleontology, and building queuing theory models for emergency rooms to identify bottlenecks in the intake process. Meghana is also passionate about diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion in STEM and has been actively involved in education and activism around issues of racism and colonialism in the geosciences.

Meghana's current research focuses on the dynamics and energetics of ice streams in West Antarctica, illuminating processes on the micro-scale and connecting micro-scale processes with macro-scale dynamics. We indulge in a fascinating conversation on her terrific journey in science; naturally discovering maths in college and flaws with mathematical pedagogy in schools; applying a mathematical lens to solving the pressing challenge of the day - climate change; grad school and confronting the ubiquitous imposter syndrome; the importance of lucid science communication; breathtaking research on glaciology; engaging communities on the ground; forays into writing and the storytelling aspect of science; and many more things!!