Astrophysics students find opportunities in OHIO Honors Program

The OHIO Honors Program (OHP) has opened doors for students around the world, including Avipsha Banerjee and Parikshit Joshi, two international scholars from India. Both students, majoring in astrophysics alongside other fields, shared how the program has shaped their experiences.

Banerjee, originally from Kolkata in eastern India, came to OHIO after exploring options in his home country. 

“I applied to a bunch of IITs, and I got into a few, too, like IIT Bombay,” he said, referring to India’s national technology institutes. “But again, it’s engineering. I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to know the physics behind the stars and galaxies, and India doesn’t really offer astrophysics degrees in undergrad.”

Joshi transferred to OHIO from Maharaja Sayajirao University in Gujarat, where he studied mechanical engineering. 

“When I came here for registration, I didn’t know there was an honors program,” he explained. “My advisor connected me to the assistant dean, and I set up an appointment with her. I got into the program!”

Both students faced challenges adapting to a new academic and cultural environment. 

“In India, we used to do one project per semester,” Joshi said. “Here, it’s three projects per class, and I was not good at using tools like Word.”

“The cultural difference is huge,” Banerjee said. “But the professors and peers here were supportive. They looked at what I could do and didn’t let the language barrier hold me back.” 

For Banerjee, OHIO has been a place to explore his passion for astrophysics while taking on new challenges. His work includes using the campus’s nuclear accelerator, the Edwards Accelerator Labratory, a rare resource among U.S. universities.

“We have a low-energy accelerator right across the chemistry building,” he said. “I worked there over the summer, and it was great.” He also completed a remote internship at Jefferson Lab, a national laboratory in Virginia, where he analyzed data on nuclear particle simulations and identified critical safety issues related to liquid hydrogen targets.

OHP pushed Banerjee to go beyond physics and mathematics. Through the Engagement Lab, he contributed to a semester-long project designing a game to help individuals with intellectual disabilities. 

“It was way out of my comfort zone,” he said. “But I learned that I can apply my programming skills in ways I never imagined.”

On campus, Banerjee has embraced leadership roles and opportunities to share his love of science with others. As vice president of the Physics Club and a member of the Astronomy Club, he organizes public observation nights at the Ohio University Observatory. 

“We help people see Jupiter and Saturn through telescopes,” he said. “It’s amazing to show them something they’ve never seen before.”

Banerjee has simple advice for other international students: “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes,” he said. “That’s how you learn.” 

Looking ahead, he plans to pursue graduate studies in astrophysics and is considering opportunities at Purdue University and institutions in the United Kingdom. 

Transferring to OHIO from Maharaja Sayajirao University in Gujarat opened new academic and personal opportunities for Joshi. Now a double major in mechanical engineering and astrophysics, he balances his rigorous coursework with hands-on projects that challenge him to think beyond the classroom.

One of his most significant accomplishments was participating in the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program. 

“It was a competition where NASA selected one team’s experiment to be flown to the International Space Station,” Joshi said. “We designed our experiment, and astronauts will perform it for us; I’m excited to see the results.”

Joshi also joined the Society of Automotive Engineers’ Baja team, which builds off-road vehicles from scratch. 

“We design and manufacture everything ourselves, from the chassis to the engine,” he said. “It’s been a great way to apply what I learn in my classes and connect with students from all years of the program.”

Through OHP’s Engagement Lab, he worked with a company in Argentina on a marketing project. 

“They wanted to enter the Brazilian garlic market, and we helped them with strategies,” he said. “It was completely outside my field, but I loved the challenge.”

Adapting to a new academic and cultural environment hasn’t been easy, but Joshi credits his professors and peers with helping him adjust. 

“I was shy and introverted when I first came here,” he said. “But I pushed myself to talk to others, and now I’m building the skills I need to succeed in research and in the professional world.”

Joshi plans to pursue graduate studies after earning his degree. 

“I want to go into the aerospace field and see how I fit in the corporate world,” he said. “If not, I’ll switch to academics, but either way, I feel ready for what’s next.”