I’m Medha Prakash!

I really would want younger readers to know that there are a plethora of ways to explore the polar regions. There is no one way to build your connection with ice and if you really want to, there are many resource and people who would love to help you further develop that connection.

I am a 3rd-year undergraduate at the University of Virginia double majoring in Environmental Sciences and Statistics with a minor in Astronomy. I am from Portland, Oregon. I am currently a researcher with the Ice and Ocean Group under Dr. Lauren Simkins and PhD candidate Marion McKenzie. During my second-year, I was developing MATLAB code in order to gather different clast statistics such as circularity and orientation to help discern differences between glaciomarine and subglacial sediments of the Puget Lowland, deglaciated terrain of the former Cordilleran Ice Sheet. I transitioned projects, and in this one, I am quantitatively analyzing terrestrial esker and martian ridge morphometrics in order to enhance martian esker identification, define fundamental properties of martian eskers and better understand the implications on martian glaciology and hydrology. There are still many unknowns about esker formation and what the controls are, as we haven't identified any near Antarctica. Hopefully this research can provide some insight into controls on esker formation as well.

From a young age, everything about earth and space intrigued me. I would beg my parents to buy me books on rocks and minerals and read them in my free time. I wish I was pushed more to pursue my passions in planetary sciences earlier in my education. I really would want younger readers to know that there are a plethora of ways to explore the polar regions. It can involve going on a cruise to collect sediment cores, sitting in front of your laptop and analyzing satellite imagery and testing models, or spending time in the lab working with instruments analyzing samples. There is no one way to build your connection with ice and if you really want to, there are many resource and people who would love to help you further develop that connection.

I am a second-generation Indian American; both of my parents were born and raised in north India. I would say being an Indian has been a huge party of my identity and I am lucky to have had the opportunity to explore it. I used to an Indian classical dance form called Bharatanatyam, and my family would travel to India almost every summer. In college, I am currently part of Ektaal, a South Asian fusion a cappella group, and it is a great outlet for cultural expression. I love to bake, do crosswords, play tennis and the piano in my free time. I am also part of a climate education start up called WOURLD because I think it is very important to get the younger population involved in climate sciences.

In college, I am currently part of Ektaal, a South Asian fusion a cappella group, and it is a great outlet for cultural expression.

I would say being an Indian has been a huge party of my identity and I am lucky to have had the opportunity to explore it.

I have been interested in geosciences and space ever since I was a little kid. I used to buy books, and read about volcanoes, glaciers and different minerals and planets. In my first year of college, I went to Iceland with my family and some friends over winter break, and we had the opportunity to hike on an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull in a torrent of rain. I was in absolute awe of the vastness of all the glacial features right in front of me. After this proximity to the glacial ice, I knew this was something I had to pursue.

After my time as an undergraduate, I hope to go to graduate school and pursue a PhD. I want to research icy and ocean worlds such as Mars, Europa, and Enceladus in the future. I want to take what I have learned about surface processes on Earth and apply it to other planetary bodies. I also want to make earth and planetary sciences more inclusive and diverse through mentoring and tutoring.

My mentors from the Ice and Ocean Group at UVA and Jessica Weber and other members of the Origins and Habitability lab at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are role models for me. They inspire me to pass on everything they have taught me to more students, and I am very thankful for how they have helped me grow over my college career.

You can keep in touch with Medha on her website and her LinkedIn page!