Swati Ravi is an astrophysics PhD student at MIT. Her work is all-consuming research focused on building X-ray telescopes that take pictures of the sky. She never really thought about photography as an art form. But in 2023 she heard about a Student Lending Art Program that allowed students to take home contemporary art and hang it on their walls for a few months.
She selected an arresting black-and-white framed photo of “The River Ouse, East Sussex, England” by Patti Smith. The next year, she got “Cornus Nuttallii” by Karl Blossfeldt. Ravi soon realized the photos were having an impact on her. They made her see the beauty in her own work.
“It’s very rewarding to be able to engage with photography in a totally different context,” Ravi said. “It’s been nice to also understand and transform, in my mind, how something that’s maybe taken for scientific merit is also something that can live as a piece of artwork.”
– Swati Ravi, Destinations Safety and Mission Assurance Intern“During my internship with the Space Destinations safety group, I worked on developing the space station payload safety review process. Having responsibility over a project suited to my experience and interests has enabled me to cultivate and apply relevant engineering skills like creative problem solving and cross-company communication. Additionally, I am grateful for being part of a community so passionate about the industry with invaluable mentorship from my team and a strong sense of support from the rest of the intern cohort.”
Swati 