True collaboration possible with more diverse representation, says NASA engineer

Swati Mohan emphasizes diversity in STEM fields for unique viewpoints and true collaboration, encouraging women's representation.

“Diversity can be based on gender, ethnicity and culture. The more diversity there is across all dimensions [in a field], the more are the unique viewpoints,” said Swati Mohan, launch system chief engineer at National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She was speaking at an interaction organised by the United States Consulate General, Chennai, in association with Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre (TNSTC) on Tuesday.

“When everyone has different viewpoints with equal footing, people are going to be more interested in sharing their interests or giving solutions. When all the people speak up to share ideas, that’s when there’s true collaboration,” Ms. Mohan told The Hindu.

She spoke on the sidelines of her presentation - ‘Mars 2020: From Launch to Landing’ - which was viewed by students from nine women’s colleges at the B. M. Birla Planetarium in the Periyar Science and Technology Centre campus.

She answered questions put forth by students on the working of the rovers, possibility of human invasion in outer space, space debris issues, studying and dealing asteroid belts and determining presence of water in Mars.

She spoke on the partnership between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and co-engineer interests in critical and emerging technology (iCET).

Women in STEM

About women’s representation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), she said the level of interest varied depending on the field. “There is good representation with inter-disciplinary teams. There is still a long way to go when it comes to mathematics-intensive fields,” she said.