Stephy Jose receives Schmidt Science Fellowship
Stephy Jose, a graduate student from Kabir Ramola’s research group at TIFR Hyderabad has received the Schmidt Science Fellowship. This fellowship is an initiative of Schmidt Sciences in partnership with the Rhodes Trust. Aimed at promoting interdisciplinary science and building a community of the next generation of science leaders, the organization supports bright individuals to solve pressing problems and accelerate positive impacts for global society.
The programme funds a one or two-year postdoctoral placement and provides an extensive Science Leadership Program for students who have completed their PhD in disciplines such as natural sciences, computing, engineering, or mathematics.
At TIFR Hyderabad, Stephy worked on ‘Active Matter Systems’ using tools from statistical physics. Active matter systems including living beings are self driven entities having their own internal “engines”. She studied how these entities interact and how groups of them can spontaneously organize into clusters, patterns, or other emergent structures. Theoretical modeling employs models that are often analytically tractable; simplified versions of reality that focus on the core elements of a system. In spite of not capturing the full complexity of the real-world systems, such models are invaluable for building a foundational understanding of the same.
Further ahead, this fellowship comes with an interesting opportunity for her- to pivot her work towards biophysics; an interdisciplinary space where physics and biology converge. ‘I see immense potential for cross-disciplinary insights to address fundamental questions about the self-organization of biological systems across various scales using ideas from statistical physics. These include processes such as cell sorting, cell motion, tissue development, and morphogenesis, all of which are central to biological phenomena like embryonic development, wound healing, and cancer progression’, says Stephy.
Press note: 30-04-2025
Press coverage in Deccan Chronicle.
