Suraj Shankar
He/Him
I am gay and I am a physicist.//
My name is Suraj and I am gay scientist working at the intersection between physics and biology. My interests span a wide range of topics from the elasticity and fluid dynamics of soft materials to collective behavior and morphogenesis in living systems, often involving tools from geometry and topology. I grew up in India and moved to the US for my PhD in physics. Ever since, I’ve been fortunate to have supportive mentors. Nonetheless, navigating my personal identity in STEM remains “work in progress”. I’ve learnt that I don’t need to separate my identities to remain in science/academia. In fact, I am a better scientist when I can take honest ownership of my queer identity.