The difference between science and the arts is not that they are different sides of the same coin even, or even different parts of the same continuum, but rather, they are manifestations of the same thing. The arts and sciences are avatars of human creativity.
Mae Jemison
Science
Divya’s research has spanned remote sensing, surface science, and stereo imaging and topography. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Space & Climate Physics at UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory, where she is developing methods of 3D image processing, visualization, and analysis for Mars surface geology. She will be joining the Europa Clipper team in 2021 as a postdoctoral scholar at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Events and Speaking
Divya often speaks about her work and beyond. She is the recipient of Elizabeth Puchnarewicz Award for Outstanding Contribution to Public Outreach from UCL and is passionate about outreach about planetary science, space missions, and space ethics. She is also the co-organizer of Space Science in Context, recipient of the UCL Resesarcher-led Initiative Award and has proceeded to become a virtual conference consultant.
Art
Divya is also the poet of the upcoming book do not perform this: a song cycle, which won an Editor’s Choice Award (‘Great’ Indian Poetry Collective, 2017), and two self-published collections, color (2016) and de caelo et tellure (2015). Divya has read and published her poetry internationally. Divya’s debut as a composer was the self-produced song cycle/album THEY WILL BE FREE (2017), which fuses epic poetry and contemporary classical music. She hopes to be the first cellist on Mars.
Dr. Divya M. Persaud 