Dr Sujata has regularly organised hands-on science competitions on large scales and conducted DIY science workshops. For example, over 10,000 school students participated in a mega hands-on air-powered car science competition at different locations in South Asia.

Her workshops also include Teachers’ Trainings and focused classroom sessions.

A recent successful workshop was on making bigger, longer lasting bubbles within bubbles. This was not only entertaining but also taught the physics of surface tension and the changing chemistry of soap bubbles with experiments.

Her other passion is Mathematics. Mathematics is a game with rules and no objectives. It is said that a mathematician believes nothing until it is proven right. A physicist believes everything until it is proven wrong. A chemist doesn’t care. A biologist doesn’t understand the question.

Take a look at her work on 3D energy structures.

Professionally, Sujata Virdhe was a scientist with ISRO with over 23 years of experience in satellite technology for different space missions. She is now consults on science/technology education. 

She started her career after completing her PhD in Applied Physics specialising in solar panels and power systems design and development with ISRO. Her main expertise is in solar energy, specifically in photovoltaics and power systems. She also worked closely with Indian industries to “indigenise” critical electronic and electrical components required for space missions.

As founding director of L Green Ventures, it was her dream to bring science to the common person. One of her cherished projects was the ‘Nebula Solar Goggles’ developed and manufactured specifically for the January 2010 Annular Solar Eclipse, which was visible in totality from the southern tip of India. She developed and tested the solar filters which were used by scores of people to view the longest Annular Solar Eclipse that appeared in decades.

Some of the her personal accomplishments include

• design patents (for 3-dimensional energy structures),
• research articles
• handful of national awards
• published books