Sumana Roy (she/her/hers)

Position/What you do at U of R?

I am currently a PhD candidate in Professor Dustin Trail's Early Earth and Experimental Geochemistry Lab.

Where are you from?

I am from the city of joy, Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal, India.

What got you interested in Earth and Environmental Sciences?

I had no idea about Earth and Environmental Sciences and only learned about it when my high school mathematics professor suggested I take a chance and try this subject. I am so grateful that I listened to him and enrolled as a Geology major. But growing up, I always wondered about our place in the universe and where we came from. My current research deals with the origin of life studies. So, in the end, I suppose everything aligned perfectly!

What do you enjoy most about U of R?

I am an introvert. But I enjoy talking to people (whether faculty members, staff, or graduate or undergraduate students) and hearing their stories. What amazes me is our similarities, even if we live far apart. This proves that the world is one family - "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam".

What is your favorite book?

My favorite book is Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr Brian Weiss. One of my favorite quotes from the book is, "...But life is endless, so we never die; we were never really born..."

Who inspires you?

BTS or Bangtan Sonyeondan (meaning bulletproof boy scouts in English). BTS is a popular seven-member boy band from South Korea. From the beginning, BTS members wanted their songs to reflect what concerns them most and write music and lyrics on their own - they sing about depression, social pressure and politics. BTS's first single, "No More Dream" released in 2013, discussed how kids are forced to give up their dreams to appease their parents. Their song "Spring Day" discussed the Sewol Ferry Disaster on April 16, 2014. Of 476 passengers and crew, 306 died in the disaster, including around 250 students from Danwon High School. One of their songs, "Ma City", is a tribute to the Gwangju Uprising, suppressed by the government in 1980. They were underdogs, as they came from a small company called Big Hit and carved a place for themselves in the music industry through their "Blood, Sweat and Tears". They have taught me the power of empathy, kindness, loving myself, and never giving up on my dreams.