About Ananya

I am Ananya, from India, I love all things space. In high school, I was exploring career options when I stumbled upon geology and was captivated. Although I was always fascinated by space, it wasn't my first choice. Coming from a small town in India, I lacked exposure to the range of career paths accessible. Nevertheless, I chose geology as my career and earned a Bachelor's and Master's degree in the subject.

While pursuing my Master's in Geology, I was curious about research. I was keen to expand my knowledge before committing to a PhD. So, I joined the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS ISRO), a part of the Indian Space Research Organization in Dehradun, to pursue a second Master's degree. This time, my focus was on Remote Sensing and GIS, specializing in Geosciences.

During my time at IIRS ISRO, I was introduced to planetary science and was utterly "starstruck". (pun intended😄) From that moment, I knew this was my calling for the foreseeable future. Engaging in numerous research projects and presenting my findings at both national and international conferences further solidified my passion. Upon completing my Masters, I eagerly embarked on a PhD journey at Western Space, in Geology with a focus on Planetary Science & Exploration under the mentorship of Dr. Gordon 'Oz' Osinski.

In addition to my academic pursuits, I actively contribute to advancing geology and planetary sciences, as well as initiatives promoting Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA), and supporting women in STEM. Currently, I hold the roles of President of of Western's Space Grad Council. I was the former VP of the Geoscience Graduate Society and Western's Space Grad Council. Furthermore, I am honored to serve as the Outreach Lead for NASA's NextGen program. Earlier, I served as their EDIA Lead. I am proud to be affiliated with the Canadian Lunar Research Network as a graduate student member.

Science Mission Involvement

I am honored to be an affiliate member of NASA's Artemis 3 Geology Team and an associate member of the Canadian Space Agency's Lunar Rover Mission Team. I also serve as a member of the Mission Operations Team on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter CaSSIS instrument. I am also on the Systems Team of the Skylark CubeSat project at Western University.

Awards/ Honours

Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship in 2025 for academic excellence, research potential, and leadership
Lunar and Planetary Institute’s Career Development Award in 2025 with monetary compensation of $1000 for conference travel
Spotlight Winner for Global Women’s Breakfast organized by International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on February 11th, 2025, with monetary award of $200
Experiential Learning fund of $700 to attend NASA’s Artemis 3 Geology Team field training in El Paso, Texas in February, 2025
Keith and Cathy Gibbons Global Opportunities Award of $2000 to support international learning opportunities
Experiential Learning fund of $700 to attend the Planetary Surface Processes Field School in Arizona, Utah and Nevada
Second Best Poster presentation at the IIRS Academia Meet – 2023 for the “Geological Investigation of Mare Smythii using Hi-Res Data”
Best Paper Presentation among Young Researchers at Venus Science Conference (VSC 2022) organized by Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad
All India Rank – 105 in Graduate Aptitude Test for Engineering (GATE) in Geomatics Engineering organized by Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in 2022
Golden Jubilee Fellowship with funding of INR 1,92,000 at IIRS for outstanding academic performance
CSIR – NET Lectureship/ Assistant Professor with All India Rank – 52 in November 2020.
Gold Medal in B.Sc. (Hons.) Geology at BBAU for outstanding academic performance in 2019

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